The Chinese classic texts or Chinese canonical texts () are the classical literature in Chinese culture that are considered to be the best or the most valuable. These include both poetry and prose, some dating from the Eastern Zhou (771–256 BCE). Some of them are attributed to Confucius, but he might only have been their editor. Those texts are divided by scholars in to those before and after 221 BCE: pre-Qin and post-Qin texts. One of the features of Chinese culture that allows its continuity is the importance given to these ancient texts, which shape the culture.

The Four Books and Five Classics were the subject of mandatory study by those Confucian scholars who wished to become government officials. Any political discussion was full of references to this background, and one could not be one of the literati, or even a military officer, without knowing them perfectly. Generally, children first studied the Chinese characters with rote memorization of the Three Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames, then went on to memorize the other classics, in order to ascend in the social hierarchy.

Pre-Qin texts (before 221 BCE)

• The Classics of Confucianism:
  • The Four Books:
    • The Great Learning is a chapter from the Classic of Rites.
    • The Doctrine of the Golden Mean is another chapter from the Classic of Rites.
    • The Analects of Confucius, a twenty-chapter work of dialogues between Confucius and his disciples, recorded by later Confucian scholars.
    • The Mencius, a book of conversations between Mencius and some kings of his time.
  • The Five Classics:
    • The I Ching is a manual of divination based on the eight trigrams attributed to the mythical figure Fuxi (by the time of Confucius these right trigrams had been multiplied to sixty-four hexagrams). The I Ching is still used by modern adherents of folk religion.
    • The Classic of Poetry is made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs, 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities, 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies, and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.
    • The Three Rites are the three ancient ritual texts listed among the classics of Confucianism, a record of social forms and ceremonies of the Western Zhou, and a restoration of the original copy after the burning of Confucian texts in 213 BCE:
      • The Classic of Rites
      • The Rites of Zhou
      • The Etiquette and Ceremonials
    • The Classic of History is a collection of documents and speeches of the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou and period before. It contains examples of the earliest Chinese prose.
    • The Spring and Autumn Annals is chronologically the earliest annal; consisting of about 16,000 words, it records the events of the State of Lu from 722 BCE to 481 BCE, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.
      • The Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo) is a different report of the same events as the Spring and Autumn Annals with a few significant differences. It covers a longer period than the Spring and Autumn Annals.
      • The Commentary of Gongyang, another surviving commentary on the same events (see Spring and Autumn Annals).
      • The Commentary of Guliang, another surviving commentary on the same events (see Spring and Autumn Annals).
    • The Classic of Music is sometimes referred to as the sixth classic; it was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty.
  • The other Confucian canon:
    • The Classic of Filial Piety is a very small classical book on how to behave towards a senior, be it one's father, an elder brother, or the ruler.
    • The Erya is a dictionary explaining the meaning and interpretation of words in the context of the Confucian Canon.

• The Classics of Taoism:
  • Tao Te Ching, attributed to Laozi.
  • Zhuangzi, attributed to the philosopher of the same name, Zhuangzi.
  • The Classic of the Perfect Emptiness, attributed to Liezi.

• The Classic of Mohism:
  • Mozi, attributed to the philosopher of the same name, Mozi.

• The Classics of Legalism:
  • Guanzi, attributed to Guan Zhong.
  • Hanfeizi, attributed to Han Fei.
  • Shenzi, attributed to Shen Buhai; all but one chapter is lost.
  • Shenzi, attributed to Shen Dao. It originally consisted of ten volumes and forty-two chapters, of which all but seven chapters have been lost.
  • The Book of Law, attributed to Li Kui.

• The Classics of Military Science:
  • The Art of War, attributed to Sunzi.
  • The Thirty-Six Strategies, recently recovered.
  • The Three Strategies of Master Yellow Stone, attributed to Huangshi Gong.
  • The Methods of the Minister of War, attributed to Sima Rangju.
  • Wuzi, attributed to Wu Qi.
  • Weiliaozi, attributed to Wei Liao.

• The Classics of the History of China:
  • The Guoyu, a collection of historical records of numerous states recorded the period from Western Zhou to 453 BCE.
  • The Classic of the Seas and Mountains, a collection of mythical tales from various locations.

Post-Qin texts (after 206 BCE)

• The Twenty-Four Histories, a collection of authoritative histories of China, including the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian and the Book of Han by Ban Gu.
• The Strategies of the Warring States, attributed to Liu Xiang.
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, a historical record of the Sixteen Kingdoms, attributed to Cui Hong, is lost.
• The Shiming, is a dictionary compiled by Liu Xi by the end of 2nd century.
• The Dialogues between Li Jing and Tang Taizong, attributed to Li Jing
• The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, with Sima Guang as its main editor.
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue, a historical record of the states of Wu and Yue during the period of Spring and Autumn, attributed to Zhao Ye.
• The Thousand Character Classic, attributed to Zhou Xingsi.
• The Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era, compiled by Gautama Siddha, is a Chinese encyclopedia on astrology and divination.
• The Tongdian, written by Du You, a contemporary text focused on the Tang Dynasty.
• The Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, written by Duan Chengshi, which records fantastic stories, anecdotes, and exotic customs,.
• The Four Great Books of Song, was a term refer to the four large compilation during the beginning of Song Dynasty.
• The Siku Quanshu, is the biggest collection of books in the Chinese history.
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a semi-fictionalised account of the fall of the Han Dynasty and the period that followed until the Jin Dynasty dynasty reunited china, attributated to Luo Guanzhong

See also

• Chinese literature
• Imperial examination

Sources and external links

• Chinese Text Project (Chinese philosophy texts in classical Chinese with English and modern Chinese translations)
• Wengu text database (Classic of Poetry, Analects of Confucius, Tao Te Ching, and I Ching, in Chinese and translations)
• Chinese Classics (James Legge's translations of the Analects of Confucius, the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Works of Mencius and the Tao Te Ching)
• Chinese classic text online (in Big5 Chinese encoding)
• Chinese Literature Classics (listed in English, with links to Chinese texts and translations in several languages)
• Albert E.Dien Chinese Beliefs in the Afterworld (PDF)
• Chinese Philosophy Forum Discussion about chinese philosophical classics and text

Chinese classic texts | Confucian texts

Classiques chinois | 中文古典典籍