Profound reading: Ten Classics Influencing Chinese Culture

In this superficial-reading age when leisure reading replaces learning reading， popular reading replaces classic reading and browsing replaced intensive reading， people are usually indulged in their cell phones， refreshing their weibo and WeChat posts. However， many popular mottos used across those social media platforms are still from classics such as Analects of Confuciusand Mencius. This is quite interesting. What classics still interest people in modern times？ And how could they get to know about the classics？

And that’s why we have decided to publish the book Ten Classics Influencing Chinese Culture. It selects ten pieces of works from classics on Confucianism， Taoism and Buddhism that are believed to have the most profound and far-reaching influence on Chinese culture， including Classic of Changes， Analects of Confucius， Mencius， Great Learning，Book of Filial Piety on Confucianism and Doctrine of the Mean， Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi on Taoism and Diamond Sutra and Platform Sutraon Buddhism. The ten chapters of it introduce respectively the authors， written time， main content， annotations， relevant researches in history of the works， as well as their influence on Chinese culture and the modern values of Chinese people.

Writers of this book are scholars in Chinese philosophy and Buddhism， who are teaching at universities and engaged in relevant studies. This book makes readers improve their cultural awareness and cultural identity in the process of reviewing classics. Features of the book are embodied in the following three aspects：

I. Study and research on the connotation and origin of classics

Among the ten classics introduced by the writers， Classic of Changes， as the head of all classics and the first one in Six Arts， covers math and argumentation， abstract and concrete， mystery and rationality， and metaphysics and physics， which not only provides people with the cosmology and world outlook but also provides an effective guiding principle of cultivating moral character， regulating family， managing the nation in order and making all peaceful. Tao Te Chingand Zhuangzi of Taoism， based on the theory that the Tao way follows nature， build a theory of harmony and also deduce social and political philosophy and philosophy of life. Four Books of Confucianism， Analects of Confucius， Mencius， Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean， had been used as text books at official and private schools since the Song Dynasty and become a main part of Confucianism because of their unique cultural significance. Buddhism， as a foreign culture， has a mutual influence on Chinese culture when it was brought into China since the Han Dynasty. Sacred scriptures Diamond Sutra and Platform Sutra not only embody spirit and thought value in Chinese Buddhism， but also have an influence on monks and laymen， social culture， morality， kindness， printing， calligraphy， painting， literature and philosophy.

In the book， besides the explanation of authors and contents in each classic， the study and research on the connotation and origin of classics best embody prudent attitude of writers in editing books and pursuing their studies. The writers chronologically introduce features of each classic in different versions and notes of the past years in detail. The editors also review academic history of each classic to embody academic traditions of distinguishing different learning and researching their source in ancient China. The book also encloses essence sentences and brief notes after each chapter to guide readers to read classics again. And the extended reading booklist gives a clue for extensive reading.

II. Analysis of classic spirit and value

In China where people “value the old adage and respect the ancestors’ disciplines”， the classics that gathered ancestors’ thought and wisdom can be spread along with the age is not only for its academic value， but also for its deep and wide influence on Chinese culture. Therefore， analyzing spirit and ideological value of classics and exploring their profound influence on Chinese culture become another important theme of this book.

It depicts in this book that the formation and development of a great cultural tradition should not only have clean and fresh water from the source， but also absorb all rivers and gather all tributaries. In the development process of Chinese traditional ideology and culture， classics of different schools like Confucianism， Taoism and Buddhism influences and penetrates in each other， which play an important role in aspects such as inheriting ancient culture， integrating of traditional culture， and blending foreign culture： the foundational work Tao Te Chingof Taoist school “not only includes the influence of religious culture of matriarchy， but also reflects the rational awareness of precocious agricultural civilization on the mighty force of the natural creation and popular changes of the universe. Metaphysical exploration and philosophical creation constitutes one of the mainstream and backbone of the development of Chinese philosophy. Considering the development of Zen thought at various stages， the influence of Taoism of Lao Tz has left clear traces…” Taking the thought of Diamond Sutraas the source， Altar Sutra， which represents the achievement of Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism， “inherits the tradition of Buddhism in China and opens a precedent of Lixue （a Confucian school of idealist philosophy） in the Song and Ming Dynasties”， of which “two kinds of culture Zen and poetry are interlinked， emphasizing self-mind and self-nature， understanding the mind and seeing the disposition， as well as the natural state of silence， open and clear and experimental realization state”， which facilitates the artistic traditions that “fuse Zen into poetry， likened the poetry to the doctrine of Zen and assist the poetry into Zen of Zen literature” in ancient Chinese poetry literature…

The writers frequently emphasize the “fresh source” impact on the development of Chinese civilization of each classic in writing， analyze the influence of classics on Chinese culture （including philosophy， politics， morality， law， religion， science and technology， medical science， literature， architecture， and even the inner culture in the broadest sense of the term like values， thinking model， national psychology， national character， behavioral pattern， etc.） from various dimensions. It reveals the meaning of “source” that is the beginning of cultural classics.

III. Return to “classic reading”

Professor Wang Yuguang of Peking University has said in the book Read Walks with the Classics（Haitian Publishing House， 2013） that “the purpose of reading is not only for reference use or extending knowledge， but also a guide for readers to enrich and mature their spirit.” What information technology has changed is the habit and way of reading， not the meaning of the human life or the progress of civilization. No matter how reading form changes， cultural force of classics always exists like a magnet. Even till now， we haven’t written a masterpiece that can surpass some classics of “Written on Bamboo and Silk” two thousand years ago in style， scale and creative ideas， which may be the significance of returning to “classic reading” at this information era. Therefore， when we close the book and re-stare the white book cover of Ten Classics influencing the chinese culture， the design that a fisherman is standing on a lonesome boat is floating on the broad river， with low cloud and wild gooses flying in line overhead， makes the book more meaningful together with its content. As well as the old Chinese philosophy- the thought of “change” in ZhouYi， “the benevolent loves others” in The Analects of Confucius， and “Tao follows nature” in Tao Te Ching.

The book has not only won recognition from domestic readers， but also been under contract for its exportation to Korea. Its companion piece Ten Philosophers Influencing Chinese Culturewill also be released soon.