Si Shu Wu Jing means The Four Books and The Five Classics. In the Confucian tradition, 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.
The Four Books (四书) are as follows:
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, loving the people, remaining in perfect goodness (大学之道，在明明德，在亲民，在止于至善).
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.
c. Analects of Confucius (《论语》) is a book of concise sayings attributed to Confucius and recorded by his disciples.
d. Book of Mencius (《孟子》) is a book of conversations between Mencius and some kings of his time, probably written by Mencius’ disciples.
The Four Books were singled out, grouped together, and published in 1190 A.D.by Zhu Xi (朱熹), 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.
The Five Classics (五经) are as follows:
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, and they have had a profound influence on the later development of poetry.
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.
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, it combines all of human life, 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.
d. The Book of Rites (《礼记》) describes ancient ceremonial usages, religious creeds and social institutions from the middle Zhou Dynasty down to the first part of the Han Dynasty.
e. Spring and Autumn Annals (《春秋》) is a historical record of the State of Lu, Confucius’ native state, from 722 B. C. to 479 B. C. written (or edited) by Confucius.
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, while the other
maintains that he was the author of Spring and Autumn Annals, the commentator of The Book of Changes, the reformer of The Book of Rites, and the editor of The Book of History and The Book of Odes.
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；
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
6.《孙子兵法》是一本什么样的书？
What Kind of books is Sun Zi Bing Fa?
Sun Zi Bing Fa is a book of military strategy and tactics written by Sun Wu (孙武), the great military strategist of the Spring and Autumn Period. The ancient editions of Sun Zi Bing Fa have thirteen chapters. However, in recent years, 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, includes rich experiences from many different historical battles. In addition, it illustrates aspects of the society during the Spring and Autumn Period. Its expression seems simple, but it offers deep thought. The book is regarded as one of the great prose works of its time.
Notes：1）tactics战术；2）edition版本；3）illustrate阐明；4）prose散文
7.《内经》是一本什么样的书？
What Kind of books is Nei Jing?
This book’s full name is Huangdi Neijing (《皇帝内经》， 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.
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, 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, the human body and its organs, qi and blood, pathogenic agents, concepts of disease and diagnosis, and a variety of therapies. For the first time, 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, 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.
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
8.谁写的《史记》？
Who wrote Historical Records?