Classical Prose · LT505

Letters & Prefaces

Personal correspondence, anthology prefaces, and colophons.

54works

9dynasties

43authors

Han

5 works

202 BCE – 220 CE

  1. Letter in Reply to Ren AnSima QianEvery man must die once; a death may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a goose feather, according to what it is used for.
  2. Letter of FarewellZhuo Wenjun (traditionally attributed)The vermilion string is snapped, the bright mirror cracked; the morning dew has dried, the fair face faded.
  3. Letter in Reply to Sun HuizongYang YunFarm families work hard; at the summer and winter festivals we boil a sheep and roast a lamb and cheer ourselves with a dipper of wine.
  4. Letter Admonishing Nephews Yan and DunMa YuanI desire you all, upon hearing others' faults, to treat it as hearing your parents' names: ears may listen, but mouths must never utter them. Emulating Bogao imperfectly still yields a prudent gentleman—carving a swan that resembles a duck; emulating Jiliang imperfectly degrades into frivolous insolence—drawing a tiger that ends up looking like a dog.
  5. Admonitions for WomenBan ZhaoA woman has four kinds of conduct: womanly virtue, womanly speech, womanly bearing and womanly work.

Three Kingdoms

7 works

220–280

  1. Letter Breaking Ties with Shan JuyuanJi KangMoreover I constantly disparage Tang and Wu and belittle the Duke of Zhou and Confucius.
  2. Letter to Wu Zhi · Remembering Past WanderingsCao Pi (Emperor Wen of Wei)In the old days when we went about together, we rode with carriages side by side and sat with mats touching.
  3. Letter to Yang DezuCao ZhiEveryone thought he held the pearl of the numinous snake and every family thought it had the jade of Mount Jing.
  4. Letter of Admonition to My SonZhuge LiangWithout living simply, one cannot clarify one's aspirations; without stillness, one cannot reach far horizons.
  5. Admonition to My NephewZhuge LiangOne's aims should be lofty and far-reaching: admire the worthies of the past, cut off sensual desires and cast away doubts and hesitations
  6. Letter to Wu Zhi, Prefect of ZhaogeCao Pifloated sweet melons in the clear spring and sank red plums in the cold water.
  7. Letter to Zhong Yao on the Ninth DayCao PiCao Pi sends chrysanthemums to Zhong Yao, noting that people prize the name of the Double Ninth.

Jin

3 works

265–420

  1. Preface to the Orchid Pavilion GatheringWang XizhiLooking up to gaze upon the vastness of the universe, looking down to survey the richness of all living things, allowing the eyes to wander and the heart to roam.
  2. Biography of Master Five WillowsTao YuanmingHe loved reading but did not seek exhaustive explanations; whenever something struck a chord, he was so delighted he forgot to eat.
  3. Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Poems of the Third Day of the Third Month (Later Preface)Sun ChuoThe ancients compared nature to water: how apt! Is it not that kept still it is clear, stirred up it is muddy?

Northern and Southern

6 works

420–589

  1. Reply to Secretary XieTao HongjingThe splendor of mountains and rivers has been universally celebrated from antiquity. Lofty peaks pierce the clouds; crystal streams reveal their gravel beds. Rock cliffs on both shores shimmer in kaleidoscopic hues; verdant woods and emerald bamboo flourish through all four seasons.
  2. Letter to Zhu YuansiWu JunWind and mist have completely vanished; sky and mountains share the same crystalline azure. Drifting with the current, wandering freely east or west. Across the hundred leagues from Fuyang to Tonglu, the marvelous mountains and wondrous waters are peerless under Heaven.
  3. Letter to Attendant ShiWu JunSheer cliffs reach the sky and a lone peak enters the Milky Way.
  4. Letter to Chen BozhiQiu ChiIn the third month of late spring, south of the Yangzi the grasses grow tall, assorted flowers bloom on the trees and flocks of orioles fly about.
  5. Letter to the Prince of XiangdongXiao GangLately I see that the literary style of the capital is unusually feeble and dull, vying in loose and shallow writing, hasty yet slack.
  6. Admonition to Daxin, Duke of DangyangXiao GangThe way to conduct oneself is different from the way to write: in conducting oneself one must first be careful and grave; in writing one should be free and unrestrained.

Tang

6 works

618–907

  1. Postscript to the Biography of Censor ZhangHan YuHolding one city to shield the whole realm.
  2. Letter to Governor Han of JingzhouLi BaiIn life I need not be made a marquis of ten thousand households; I wish only to make the acquaintance of Han of Jingzhou.
  3. Letter to Wei Zhongli on the Way of the TeacherLiu ZongyuanQu Yuan's rhapsody says, 'The dogs of the town bark in packs; they bark at what they find strange.'
  4. Preface to the Sacred Teachings of the Tripitaka of the Great TangLi Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang)Wind in the pines and the moon on water cannot match his purity; immortal dew and bright pearls cannot equal his radiance.
  5. Testament Admonishing My Sons and GrandsonsYao ChongWealth and rank are what others resent.
  6. Preface to Poems on Enjoying the MoonOuyang ZhanArgues that autumn, and its fifteenth night, is the best time to enjoy the moon.

Song

7 works

960–1279

  1. Letter to Grand Commandant Han of the Bureau of Military AffairsSu ZheI hold that writing is the form taken by one's qi; writing cannot be acquired by study, but qi can be attained by nourishing it.
  2. Reply to Remonstrance Official SimaWang AnshiWhat scholars contend over above all is names and realities. When names and realities are clear, the principles of the world are grasped.
  3. Postscript on Wu Daozi's PaintingsSu ShiWith poetry reaching Du Zimei, prose reaching Han Tuizhi, calligraphy reaching Yan of Lu and painting reaching Wu Daozi, the changes of past and present and all the accomplishments under heaven were complete.
  4. Letter to Remonstrator GaoOuyang XiuYou can still show your face to the scholar-officials and go in and out of court calling yourself a remonstrance official. This means you no longer know there is such a thing as shame in the world!
  5. Letter in Reply to Xie MinshiSu Shi (Su Dongpo)In general they are like drifting clouds and flowing water, with no fixed form at the outset, but always moving where they should move and stopping where they cannot but stop; their patterns are natural and their postures abundant.
  6. On Frugality, for My Son KangSima GuangEveryone takes extravagance as glory; my heart alone takes frugality and plainness as beauty.
  7. Afterword to the Records of Metal and StoneLi QingzhaoI happened to have a good memory, and every day after dinner we sat in the Guilai Hall brewing tea; pointing to the piles of books and histories, we would say in which book, which juan, which page and line a certain matter was, and whoever was right won and drank first. When I won, I would raise my cup and laugh so hard that the tea spilled into my lap and I got up without drinking it.

Ming

6 works

1368–1644

  1. Preface Presenting to Student Ma of DongyangSong LianIn the bitter cold, when the inkstone froze hard and my fingers could not bend or straighten, I did not slacken.
  2. Reply to Master LiuZong ChenThis is what the world calls superiors and inferiors in mutual trust. Do you, sir, think I could manage it?
  3. Preface to the Poetry of XiaoxiuYuan HongdaoExpressing one's innate spirit and authentic sensibility, unconstrained by rigid stylistic molds; refusing to put brush to paper unless flowing straight from one's own heart. When emotion meets circumstance, a thousand words flow in an instant like waters rushing east, captivating the soul.
  4. Letter in Reply to Li YuanshanYuan HongdaoWith syntax, diction and cadence all flowing from one's own breast—that is true novelty.
  5. Instructions for the Students at LongchangWang ShourenIf the will is not set, nothing in the world can be accomplished.
  6. Jinggao Collected DraftsGu XianchengThe Donglin society is where this bookish scholar's foolish heart has not yet given up

Qing

12 works

1636–1912

  1. Zhengshi, from Record of Daily KnowledgeGu YanwuPreserving All-under-Heaven is a responsibility in which even the humblest common man has his share.
  2. Fourth Letter Sent from the Fan County Magistracy to Brother MoZheng Xie (Zheng Banqiao)I think the first rank of people in the world is the farmers, while scholars are last of the four classes.
  3. Letter to Younger Brothers on Reading and AspirationZeng GuofanWhen scholars study, first they must have Aspiration (Zhi); second, Discernment (Shi); third, Perseverance (Heng). With aspiration, one refuses base mediocrity; with discernment, one recognizes learning is boundless and never grows complacent; with perseverance, there is nothing that cannot be achieved. None of these three can be lacking.
  4. Family Letters of Zeng GuofanZeng Guofanlooking at books is like attacking cities and seizing territory to extend one's lands; reciting is like digging deep moats and building strong ramparts to hold what one has won.
  5. The Leader's Will (Sun Yat-sen's Political Testament)Sun ZhongshanThe revolution has not yet succeeded. All my comrades must continue to strive, following my Plans for National Reconstruction, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, Three Principles of the People and the Manifesto of the First National Congress, to carry them through.
  6. Letter to Shi KefaDorgon (traditionally attributed)Our dynasty's pacification of the Yan capital was taken from the rebel Chuang, not from the Ming.
  7. Complete Tang PoemsKangxi Emperor (comp.)Poetry reached the Tang with every form complete and every method present.
  8. Complete Library of the Four TreasuriesJi Yun (Ji Xiaolan), Qianlong Emperor (comp.)Now is the time to collect them and send them to the capital, to display the glory of a common script through a thousand ages.
  9. Annotated Catalogue of the Complete Library of the Four TreasuriesJi Yun (Ji Xiaolan) (comp.)Though some disorder and alteration of words and sentences is unavoidable, the work as a whole is still Qian's original.
  10. Letter to SomeoneDai ZhenTo study the classics, first examine the meanings of the words, then understand the sense of the text.
  11. Miscellaneous Selections from the Classics, Histories and Hundred SchoolsZeng Guofan (comp.)Each category is always headed by the Six Classics: trickling streams take the sea as their home.
  12. Essence of Tang and Song Poetry (Imperially Selected)Qianlong Emperor (comp.)Having a Prose Essence, we cannot be without a Poetry Essence.