Thousand Character Classic for English Readers: 千字文 천자문

by Zhou Xingsi, K.C. Lee (Editor), Gene Lee (Translator)

The Thousand Character Classic is a poem used for teaching Chinese characters. It contains exactly one thousand characters, each used only once, It covers various issues including heaven and earth, some of China’s history, geography, agriculture, and so on. Many episodes were also included, and the number of people mentioned in this poem is over 40.
This book, Thousand Character Classic for English Readers, is for casual and serious readers who want to grasp what this poem is about. I think that if you just read the English translation of this poem, it should help a lot. The current version also contains Korean pronunciation and translation at the end of each four character clause, but it can be skipped if not necessary.

Genres: Language

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 600

About the author

Zhou Xingsi, 周興嗣 or Zhōu Xìngsì (470–521).

Reviews

[Vaishali · Rating 5 out of 5]

One-third of the San Bai Qian, here's another ingenious text of unique characters woven into 4-word, 2-phrase units for the ambitious medieval student. Brilliantly standardized the learning of Chinese.

(English translations below are rehashes of various ones across the web, done so that I may wholistic understand Zhou's beautiful work. Not a straight rendering of 8 characters.)

Excerpts :
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天地玄黃 宇宙洪荒
Sky was black. Earth was yellow. Space and time were vast and infinite.

始制文字 乃服衣裳
Writing marked the beginning. Even more so the wearing of clothes.

愛育黎首 臣伏戎羌
With love the leader taught the dark and soiled. The uncivilized tribes submitted.

化被草木 賴及萬方
Wise teachings are used on plants and trees. The country is thus bountiful.

尺璧非寶 寸陰是競
Units of jade are no treasure. Moments of time are to fight for.

守真志滿 逐物意移
Being pure brings happiness. Chasing things distracts the mind.

世祿侈富 車駕肥輕
Inheriting much wealth and ease, the prosperous ride sturdy horses.

俊乂密勿 多士寔寧
The best and brightest are diligent. This results in refined people and a tranquil society.

治本於農 務茲稼穡
Government and society are due to farm yields. Dutifully and carefully plant and harvest.

索居閒處 沉默寂寥
Sit alone in a tranquil place. Be quiet and still.

求古尋論 散慮逍遙
Reflect on the ancient words, study and write. Then let go, and enjoy life.

易輶攸畏 屬耳垣牆
Be alert to laziness. Office workers hear everything.

年矢每催 曦暉朗曜
The clock of years times out all lives. The blazing sun alone survives.




.

[Mfds698732 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dette er den bedste formidling af kinesisk poesi jeg har læst, og den bør være et eksempel for andre lignende oversættelser. Opsætningen med den bogstavlige betydning, det originale kinesiske tegn og så en fortolkning på vers kombineret med de mange uddybende kommentarer giver mulighed for en grundig forståelse af en ellers meget fremmed digterkunst der normalt kræver meget baggrundsviden.

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting simple book for anyone interested in learning a bit of Chinese ancient history.
Full of funny poems, soft political background and descriptions of the daily life in the early days prior to the "three kingdoms". Already a good choice if you are simply into the ancient tales of China, but if you are actually studying the lenguage, this one is a great pick to practice your reading skills.
It is impressive to think that little children used to get educated with this book, considering its political content.
I would absolutely love to read something similar in the future (if anyone reads this and has a reccommendation, please do comment!)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars
Immensely educational, interesting and valuable. The translation is beautiful - especially because it is stated how difficult it is to translate it. I loved the commentary for the historical and cultural information as well as the annex at the back. The different calligraphy transcriptions at the back are beautiful. I think, this is something everyone interested in the Chinese language as well as their history should read. I definitely wouldn’t say that I understood everything that was said, but I am impressed.

[Yadi Gaviria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
Realmente lo disfruté muchísimo, se me hizo una lectura bien interesante y con datos super buenos respecto a China y su historia, pero aún así es un libro medio pesado y difícil de entender en ocasiones, ¿como es que este libro es con el que estudiaban en la antigüedad los niños? Mis respetos a esos niños y a Zhou Xingsi por hacer que el emperador aprobara este libro como un libro infantil jajajja brutal

[feux d'artifice]

Lol this is what kids had to read back in 6th century china? Mad respects lol.

I liked the historical background of this work. I feel like I need a few more rereads and to get my Chinese reading abilities up to snuff to properly appreciate the work itself.

[Victor Ramón Beltrán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy interesante lectura para conocer pequeñas historias, refranes y origenes de China. Las historias elegidas son muy acertadas, y que tenga el texto en caracteres, en pinyin y en español ayuda a meterte mas en las historias; asi como que al final añadan las fotos del texto original.