The Classics
Despite the “bibliocaust“ in which the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (r. 221–210 BCE) burned books other than legal and essential professional texts， many works of pre-Qin literature survive， thanks to their preservation in those historical works that were spared burning. The designation of select texts as “classics“ images promoted the prestige of these early writings. These classics evolved through the accretion of commentaries， most of which interpreted earlier texts in order to legitimate given rulers or political orientations.
【知识点】
bibliocaust「名词」秦始皇的“焚书”政策
司马迁所著《史记》中《秦始皇本纪》记载：公元前213年（秦统一中国的第八年），丞相李斯建议“请史官非秦记皆烧之。非博士官所职，天下敢有藏《诗》、《书》、百家语者，悉诣守、尉杂等烧之。”秦始皇同意了李斯的建议并颁布了法令“挟书律”，直到公元前191年才被汉朝汉惠帝废除。
r.「历史文献常见标注」在位、执政（用来提示读者：这里的年份并非人物在世的时间，而是在位时间）
legitimate「名词」使合法化，使可接受
《尚书》：儒家五经之一，由一位叫做伏生的孔门弟子冒着被灭族的危险藏起来阅读，后汉文帝派人找到他，他再复述出来的。汉武帝当政时，他的叔叔刘余拆毁了孔子的宅院，才发现了墙壁中藏有的许多古籍，其中包括这部《尚书》。
Since the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) the “Five Classics“ refer to a divination manual， the Classic of Changes 易经; the oldest anthology of poems， the Classic of Poetry 诗经; a collection of speeches and decrees， the Classic of Documents 书经; a historical chronicle， the Springs and Autumns 春秋; and three handbooks of rules for behavior named together as the Ritual 礼. Thanks to the invention of paper (second century BCE)， these classics were carved in stone to produce rubbings and memorized by almost all educated Chinese.
rubbing「名词」拓本（在汉代发明造纸术以前，中国古代文献基本上以竹简和丝绢作为文本载体。竹简笨重而易受虫蛀，蚕丝做成的丝绢轻便但又十分昂贵。中国的经典文本真正脱离精英官员阶层的垄断，始于宋代发明印刷术，让纸质书的传播力度大幅提升。）
divination manual「短语」占卜指南（即《易经》）
A broader sense of authoritative writings came with the fourth-century division of texts into four main categories. This taxonomy made classics primary and history secondary， followed by the “masters“(thinkers later called philosophers)， and collections of belles lettres. Rich in aphorisms， lively dialogues， fables and anecdotes， texts in the “masters“ category were usually composites of later date that collected a given master's dialogues with disciples or opponents. The rubric also included professional medical， military， and religious texts， including the Daoist and Buddhist canons. Texts that would later be labeled fiction did not generally merit inclusion in any of these categories， all centrally concerned with conveying the Way.
经（classics）：指儒家经典
史（history）：包括官方的二十四史、通鉴、纪年史等
子（masters）：包括诸子百家及佛教、道家的书籍
集（collections of belles lettres）：即文集、诗词汇编等（belles-lettres源自法语，意为“美好的文字”，指的是以纯艺术为主要追求的文学作品）
merit「动词」值得
古代中国的“小说”，是与“大说”、“大家”、“大思想”相对的文类，指的是通俗的、大众的、娱乐的民间文学形式。古代文言小说按照“经史子集”的四分法，一般会被归为“子”部中的“杂家”或“史”部中的“杂史”和“野史”。而通俗白话小说，一般不会作为文学被计入这四种文类之中。
Debates about the Way had taken shape during the pre-Qin period when the lack of a political center permitted the rise of professional thinkers and diplomats. As these concerned scholars sought to persuade rulers of better paths to peace and good government， those unable to serve as officials often became teachers of disciples. These thinkers made the Warring States China's richest period of philosophical debate， a time famous for its “Hundred Schools of Thought.“ Of these schools， the historian Sima Tan 司马谈(d. 110 BCE) identified six that， thanks in part to his formulation， would come to have a sustained influence. In addition to identifying as schools the Naturalists 阴阳家， Confucians 儒家， and Moists 墨家， Sima invented the categories of Legalists 法家， Logicians 名家(“Sophists，“ lit.， the “School of Names“)， and Daoists 道家.
school「名词」学派，流派
d.「历史文献常见标注」卒于（用来提示读者：这里的年份指人物卒于多少年）
阴阳家（Naturalists）：提倡顺应“四时”、“阴阳”变化之序，提出了由相生相克的金木水火土构成的“五行”之说，强调自然世界对人事的影响。代表人物：齐国的邹衍
名家（Logicians）：以严谨的逻辑思想而文明。代表人物：赵国的公孙龙
Buddhism， too， would soon contribute profoundly to debates about the path of right living. Originally from India， Buddhism became a major branch of Chinese thought， and Buddhist stories from India were among the earliest fictional works in China. By the second century， poetic renderings of the life of Sakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhist parables were translated into Chinese， and these parables and sutras (threads) became essential elements of the literary tradition.(The esteemed term for “classics“[jing 经] was also used for sutra titles.) Often synthesized with Confucian and Daoist ideas， Buddhist concepts of illusion， predestined union， karma， and reincarnation soon took root as folk beliefs; beliefs with especially wide appeal during the disunion following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220. By the Tang dynasty (617–907)， when a reunited China expanded militarily and welcomed broader dealings with foreign ideas and people， Buddhist themes and forms had influenced many major developments in Chinese literature. Understanding of this influence was revolutionized by the early twentieth-century unearthing of almost 40，000 manuscripts from a cave sealed since the eleventh century near Dunhuang in western China.
【知识点】
parable「名词」寓言（一般宣扬道德或宗教教义，《圣经》里耶稣所讲的故事就是parables）
sutra「名词」佛教的经文（由天竺僧人摄摩腾和竺法兰在东汉洛阳城外的白马石共同翻译的《四十二章经》相传是第一部有中文版本的佛典）
借花献佛：出自《过去现在因果经》，是释迦摩尼施法治理虫害获得了穷人们的爱戴的故事
Despite different emphases， these major schools of thought shared many overlapping beliefs， including belief in an ultimate Way of harmony grounded in the unity of heaven， earth， and humanity. Each school saw the others' teachings not as wrong but as possessing only a partial understanding of the greater whole. As centuries of debate and cross-fertilization created an evolving syncretism， these schools' shared concerns became major currents in the literary tradition. The foundations of Chinese literature can be mapped as overlapping paths for approaching the Way.
syncretism「名词」不同宗教、哲学或思想的融合