What books should I read first to understand the traditional culture of China?

There are many books about the traditional culture of China. Here are some of them briefly.

1. "Four Books and Five Classics"

The Four Books and Five Classics are China's bibles. "Four Books and Five Classics" are the general names of Daxue, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, Mencius (four books), The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Book of Rites, Yijing and Chunqiu (five classics). This textbook, which has been read by China people for thousands of years, contains China's ancient political ideals and the way of governing the country, and is a key to our understanding of ancient China society. Many languages in the book, such as "doing one's duty", "being confident" and "witty remarks", are still in use today.

2. Laozi

Laozi has 5,000 words, which shocked ancient times, and there are many books to study it. Laozi was the first pure philosopher in China, and his thoughts became a deep-rooted ideological tendency of China people. Taoism and its thoughts have an important influence on almost every literate China people. Laozi

Concise, thorough, profound, full of dialectical spirit, especially inspiring people's thinking. Laozi's writing is not particularly difficult, and there are many commentators in past dynasties. Choosing a better version should be helpful for reading comprehension.

3. Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi inherited and developed Laozi's thoughts. Together with Laozi, he was called "Laozi and Zhuangzi" and became a Taoist classic. Zhuangzi's attitude towards life and death is very philosophical, and "pass the parcel" has become a typical portrait of Zhuangzi. In Zhuangzi, Wang Yang is unrestrained and gorgeous, which represents the highest achievement of pre-Qin prose.

It had a profound influence on the development of China's ancient prose. Many fables are used in the book to illustrate the truth. For example, My Skillful Hands Help Cows is a famous one.

4. Everything is wrong

Han Feizi is a master of pre-Qin legalism. Han Feizi's thought was the dominant thought of China's first unified feudal dynasty. Legalist thought is the representative of China's ancient political hegemony. Together with the "King Way" represented by the "Four Books and Five Classics", it was practiced both inside and outside, and the rulers of past dynasties were more or less influenced by it.

5. Sun Tzu's Art of War

The Art of War is not China's first art book, but it is the best one. It was born in the context of hundreds of years of war in the Spring and Autumn Period, covering all important military issues, and was regarded as a standard by military strategists in China. It has also been translated into many foreign languages and has world influence. The concise sentences in Sun Tzu's The Art of War contain rich contents, which are also instructive to people's behavior in contemporary commercial society.

6. Huangdi Neijing

Huangdi Neijing is China's first medical work, which is said to have been written by Huangdi, representing the earliest brilliant achievements of China medicine. His dialectical thought on pathology and treatment has become the guiding ideology for the development of traditional Chinese medicine, laying a solid foundation for the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Huangdi Neijing was written in the pre-Qin period.

The writing of this book is ancient, and readers who are not familiar with TCM terminology may have some difficulties.

7. Historical records

The Historical Records, which Sima Qian angrily wrote after he was imprisoned in the Western Han Dynasty, was called by Lu Xun as "a masterpiece of historians, leaving Sao without rhyme". It initiated the biographical historiography of China and became a model of official historiography in past dynasties. Historical Records records the history from ancient times to that time, in which the "book" part is difficult to understand, but it is Sima.

The concentrated expression of dynamic historical thought. The essence of this book lies in "aristocratic family" and "biography". Sima Qian painted many historical figures with personalities and feelings for us, and he devoted his feelings to historical figures. Historical Records is not only a historical work, but also a literary work.

8. Shi Shuo Xin Yu

Ignoring Shi Shuo Xin Yu ignores an extremely important aspect of traditional China people's spirit. Romantic love in Wei and Jin Dynasties has become the ideal personality of generations of literati, which is inseparable from their pursuit of beauty, freedom and passion. The story of this book is short and pithy, the words are concise and catchy, and the thoughts are fresh and smooth.

Or depression, it is often understandable to read.

9. Zhenguan politician

Emperor Taizong's rule of chastity in Li Shimin is regarded as the representative of the ideal and clear politics in China feudal society. This book records Li Shimin's conversations and activities. Li Shimin's outstanding talents made him a great man, and he also met several outstanding talents. Their thoughts on governing the country and their mode of doing things have become a classic.

Fan is still worthy of our critical absorption today.

10. Diamond Sutra

The Diamond Sutra was not written by China people. It is an Indian Buddhist scripture, but it has become an organic part of China's traditional culture 1000 years. Because of its short space and representative ideas, it became 13, which is the most read classic. The idea that "color is emptiness and emptiness is color" advocated by him has become one of the themes of Buddhism in China. Its short space may make up for the difficulty of some words being rather crude.

1 1. Tanjing

The Tanjing was written by the disciple of Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, also known as the Tanjing of the Sixth Ancestor, and it was the first work to express China's Buddhist thought. It combined China tradition with Buddhist teachings and founded Pure chinese zen. It is very popular to preach, teach and solve doubts with heart-to-heart communication. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, it has influenced not only intellectuals, but also working people. The Tanjing is profound in thought and simple in words, so it is not too difficult to understand its literal meaning.

12. Yan's family instructions

By Yan Zhitui in the Northern Dynasties. China was a patriarchal society in ancient times, and the ideal life of this society was to farm and study. Yan Family Instructions is a blueprint for maintaining and realizing this ideal. It puts forward standards and requirements that meet this ideal for almost everything in the family. So, once it's produced,

Be regarded as the golden rule by generations. Although there are complicated dogmas, there are also many places that are still valuable today.

13. Purple Tongzhi scissors

The representative of China ancient chronological history books is Sima Guang in the Northern Song Dynasty. Zi Tongzhi Jian records the history from Warring States to Five Dynasties, which can be used as a reference for rulers. This book is the highest literary achievement after Historical Records, with clear records, vivid descriptions and clear and thorough reasoning. succedent

With it, a mirror of continuing capital management and a mirror of Qing Dynasty formed a complete system of ancient chronicles.

14. Tan Caigen

Caigen Tan is a book compiled by Hong Yingming in Ming Dynasty, which is a collection of aphorisms about self-cultivation and treating others. It combines the Confucian doctrine of the mean, the Taoist inaction and the Buddhist thought of being born, forming a system of life methods of being born. Because it talks about the basic relationship between people and things and between people, it has a long history and still has a lot of enlightening value until now. Whether you are successful or frustrated, whether you are in business or politics, you can find your favorite sentences.

15. Letter from Zeng Guofan

Zeng Guofan was the so-called famous minister of ZTE and the leader of Neo-Confucianism. The letters he wrote to his family and children after busy official duties showed his views on family affairs and family growth under the guidance of feudal neo-Confucianism, which gained a high reputation at that time and later. At the end of feudal society, he tried to revive feudal morality, but some of the basic ideas of self-cultivation and family life were also very meaningful. Comrade Mao Zedong said when he was young: "A fool loves his own man and serves Ceng Wenzheng alone."