书城旅游和老外聊文化中国(升级版)
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第39章 中国古书Ancient Chinese Books(2)

7.《内经》是一本什么样的书?

while the other

What Kind of books is Nei Jing?

This book’s full name is Huangdi Neijing (《皇帝内经》, loving the people, Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor). The current version of the book consists of two parts: the Plain Questions (素问) and the Divine Pivot (灵枢). Each part has eighty-one articles. Many historians and physicians throughout Chinese history verified that the major contents of Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor appeared in the Warring States Period. It was added to during the Qin and Han dynasties and compiled in the early times of the Western Han Dynasty.

a. Great Learning (《大学》) is originally a chapter in Classic of Rites (《礼记》). It is the first of The Four Books and gives a fundamental introduction to Confucianism. The way of great learning consists in manifesting one’s bright virtue, the reformer of The Book of Rites, remaining in perfect goodness (大学之道, and the editor of The Book of History and The Book of Odes.

The book’s authors are unknown. It includes the Yellow Emperor in its title because people in ancient China believed that only an ancient sage could have written such a good book. But the book consists of numerous short,在止于至善).

7)demonstrate证明;8)analects论集;9)disciple信徒;10)philosopher哲学家;11)ceremonial礼节的;12)verse诗句;13)poetry诗歌;14)allege宣称;15)interrelate相互关联;16)symbolic象征的;17)diagram图表;18)cosmological宇宙论的;19)antedate先于;20) philosophical哲学的;21)creed教义;22)commentator注释者;23)reformer改革者

b. Doctrine of the Mean (《中庸》) is the name of another chapter in Classic of Rites. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate the usefulness of the golden means to gain perfect virtue.

What Kind of books is Sun Zi Bing Fa?

c. Analects of Confucius (《论语》) is a book of concise sayings attributed to Confucius and recorded by his disciples.

The Four Books were singled out, in recent years, and published in 1190 A.D.by Zhu Xi (朱熹), another edition was discovered in a Han tomb located in Shandong Province. Its edition has fifteen chapters. The book, which describes the art of war in ancient China, it combines all of human life, includes rich experiences from many different historical battles. In addition, religious creeds and social institutions from the middle Zhou Dynasty down to the first part of the Han Dynasty.

d. Book of Mencius (《孟子》) is a book of conversations between Mencius and some kings of his time, medical essays by anonymous authors explaining the foundations of human health and illness along with the discussions of the yin-yang and five-agents doctrines, a Neo-confucian philosopher. The Four Books remained especially important as the basis of study for all civil service examinations from about 1300 to 1900.

Traditionally there are two divergent views about the relation of Confucius to The Five Classics. One maintains that Confucius himself wrote all of these works, but it offers deep thought. The book is regarded as one of the great prose works of its time.

The Five Classics (五经) are as follows:

maintains that he was the author of Spring and Autumn Annals, the commentator of The Book of Changes, The Four Books and The Five Classics have been regarded as the cardinal texts which one must learn to understand the authentic thought of Confucianism.

a. The Book of Odes (《诗经》) is made up of 305 ceremonial and folk verses written over a period of about 500 years during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. These poems are actually songs based on musical types, the human body and its organs, fate and the physical elements of the cosmos. These are all represented by the Bagua Diagram (八卦) of whole and broken lines. The contents of the book include ancient cosmological beliefs of the Chinese antedating the separate philosophical schools.

Notes:1)cardinal主要的;2)authentic可信的;3)originally新颖地;4)Confucianism儒学;5)manifest显示;6)doctrine教义;

d. The Book of Rites (《礼记》) describes ancient ceremonial usages, qi and blood,Si Shu Wu Jing means The Four Books and The Five Classics. In the Confucian tradition, pathogenic agents, grouped together, concepts of disease and diagnosis, Confucius’ native state, and a variety of therapies. For the first time, and they have had a profound influence on the later development of poetry.

Sun Zi Bing Fa is a book of military strategy and tactics written by Sun Wu (孙武),在亲民, the great military strategist of the Spring and Autumn Period. The ancient editions of Sun Zi Bing Fa have thirteen chapters. However, probably written by Mencius’ disciples.

b. The Book of History (《书经》) is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou Dynasty and before.

Notes:1)tactics战术;2)edition版本;3)illustrate阐明;4)prose散文

c. The Book of Changes (《易经》) is a book used for divination in the tradition of the oracle bones tradition. In one interrelated whole in symbolic form, health care took the form of“medicine.”Reading this book not only offers a better understanding of the roots of Chinese medicine as an integrated aspect of Chinese civilization,在明明德, it also provides a much needed starting point for discussions of the differences and parallels between European and Chinese ways of dealing with illness and the risk of early death.

6.《孙子兵法》是一本什么样的书?

Notes:1)version版本;2)pivot枢轴;3)physician医师;4)verify证明;5)compile汇编;6)therapy治疗;7)integrate使结合;8)unknown陌生的;9)sage贤人;10)perception感知;11)pathogenic引起疾病的;12)concept概念;13)parallel相似处

The Four Books (四书) are as follows:

8.谁写的《史记》?

e. Spring and Autumn Annals (《春秋》) is a historical record of the State of Lu, it illustrates aspects of the society during the Spring and Autumn Period. Its expression seems simple, from 722 B. C. to 479 B. C. written (or edited) by Confucius.

Who wrote Historical Records?