Hi everyone,

After publishing several Translations and Studies of "Classics" (jing 經) and "Histories" (shi 史) in our last installment, in this installment - Part VI in the Series - we will focus on the rest of texts covered in Part IV on text-critical editions. Most of them - though not all - are from the Traditional "Collections" (ji 集) category of the “Four Divisions” (Sibu 四部) bibliographic classification system.

It is important to note that this part of the comprehensive resource list excludes the texts classified under the “Masters” (Zibu 子部) category of the traditional Sibu classification used in Chinese bibliography. Those texts will be the dedicated topic of our upcoming “Philosophy and Thought” installment. We have also excluded traditional philological works like the Shuowen Jiezi or the Shiming, as they fit more organically within the future installment on Traditional Scholarship (the sole exception here being the Erya).

4.3  Others

Translations and Studies of various works from Early China:

4.3.1 Chuci 楚辞

Translation

• Hawkes, David (1985): The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Williams, Nicholas Morrow (2022). Elegies of Chu: An Anthology of Early Chinese Poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Study

• Waters, Geoffrey R. (1985): Three Elegies of Ch'u: an Introduction to the Traditional Interpretation of the Ch'u Tz'u. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
• Waley, Arthur (1955): The Nine Songs: a Study of Shamanism in Ancient China. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
• Kern, Martin and Stephen Owen (2023): Qu Yuan and the Chuci. New Approaches. Studies in the History of Chinese Texts 15. Leiden: Brill.
• Mao 毛, Qing 慶 (2023): Chuci yanjiu shi楚辭研究史. Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe.
• Huang黄, Linggeng灵庚, Liu Yuejin 刘跃进 and Zhou Zhengying周正英 (Ed.) (2023): Chuci da dian. Di yi bian楚辞大典·第一编. 35 Volumes. Beijing: Guojia tushuguan chubanshe.

4.3.2 Da Dai Liji 大戴礼记

Translation

• Hsu, Nai-Yi and Michael D. K. Ing (2025): Dai De's Records of Ritual. The Da Dai Liji. Leiden/Boston: Brill.

Study

• Gan甘, Liangyong良勇 (2012): Da Dai Liji yanjiu《大戴禮記研究》. Doctoral Dissertation. Hangzhou: Zhejiang daxue.

4.3.3 Mu Tianzi Zhuan 穆天子传

Translation

• Mathieu, Rémi (1978): Le Mu tianzi zhuan: Traduction annotée, étude critique. Paris: Collège de France
• Frühauf, Manfred W. (2024): Überlieferungen von Mu, Sohn des Himmels. Eine philologisch-historische Studie zum Mu Tianzi zhuan. Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter.

Note: this book is open access

• Gao 高, Yongwang 永旺 (2019): Mu Tianzi Zhuan 穆天子传. In the Series Zhonghua jingdian mingzhu quanben quanzhu quanyi congshu中華經典名著全本全注全譯叢書. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.

Study

• Shaughnessy, Edward L. (2006) – Rewriting Early Chinese Texts. Albany: SUNY Press.
• Porter, Deborah Lynn (1996) – From Deluge to Discourse: Myth, History, and the Generation of Chinese Fiction. Albany: SUNY press.
• Song宋, Zhiying志英 and Chao Yuepei晁嶽佩 (2014): Mu Tianzi Zhuan yanjiu wenxian jikan《穆天子傳》研究文獻輯刊. 3 volumes. Beijing: Beijing tushuguan chubanshe.
• Gu 顾, Shi 实 (2015): Mu Tianzi Zhuan xizheng jiangshu 穆天子传西征讲疏. Shanghai: Shanghai kexue jishu wenxian chubanshe.

Note: Originally published in 1931, it is a classic study of the geography of the Mu Tianzi Zhuan

4.3.4 Lienüzhuan 列女傳

Translation

• Kinney, Anne Behnke (2014): Exemplary Women of Early China: The Lienü zhuan of Liu Xiang. New York: Columbia University Press.

Study

• Hinsch, Bret (2004): "The Textual History of Liu Xiang's Lienüzhuan." Monumenta Serica 52: 95-112.
• Hinsch, Bret (2005): "Reading Lienüzhuan (Biographies of Women) Through the Life of Liu Xiang." Journal of Asian History 39 (2): 129-157.
• Hinsch, Bret (2006): "Cross-Genre Influence on the Fictional Aspects of Lienü narratives." Journal of Oriental Studies 41 (1): 41-65.
• Hinsch, Bret (2007): "The Composition of Lienüzhuan: Was Liu Xiang the Author or Editor?" Asia Major, 3rd series, 20 (1): 1-23.
• Shi史, Changli常力 (2026): Qunzhu. Liu Xiang Lienüzhuan yanjiu 群姝：劉向《列女傳》研究. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.

4.3.5 Liexianzhuan 列仙传

Translation

• Kaltenmark, Max (1953): Le Lie-sien tchouan: Biographies légendaires des immortels taoïstes de l'antiquité. Beijing: Université de Paris, Publications du Centre d'études sinologiques de Pékin.
• Campany, Robert Ford (2026): Traditions of Exemplary Transcendents by Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE). Part of the Series Library of Chinese Humanities. Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter.
• Lin林, Wu屋 (2023): Liexianzhuan 列仙传. In the Series Zhonghua jingdian mingzhu quanben quanzhu quanyi congshu中華經典名著全本全注全譯叢書. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.

Study

• Wei韦, Peipei佩佩 (2015): Liexianzhuan yanjiu列仙传研究. Jinan: Shandong daxue (Master thesis).
• Zhang 張, Meiying 美櫻(2007): "Liexian Shenxian Tongxian" san xianzhuan zhi shushu xingshi yu zhuti fenxi《列仙、神仙、洞仙》三仙傳之敘述形式與主題分析. In: 古典文獻研究輯刊 4^(th) Series 29. New Taipei: Hua Mulan chubanshe.

4.3.6 Shuoyuan 说苑

Translation

• Henry, Eric (2022): Garden of Eloquence / Shuoyuan 說苑. Washington: University of Washington Press.
• Stumpfeldt, Hans (2011) Ein Garten der Sprüche: Das Shuo-yüan des Liu Hsiang (79–8 v. Chr.). Gossenberg: Ostasien Verlag.

Study

• Schwermann, Christian (2017.): "Anecdote Collections as Argumentative Texts: The Composition of the Shuoyuan." In Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China, edited by Paul van Els, and Sarah A. Queen, 147-192. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
• Xu 徐, Jianwei 建委 (2011): Shuoyuan yanjiu. Yi Zhanguo Qin-Han zhi jian de wenxian leiji yu xueshu shimwei zhongxin《說苑》研究︰以戰國秦漢之間的文獻累積與學術史為中心. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe.

4.3.7 Xinxu 新序

Translation

No western translations exists

• Ma 马, Shinian 世年 (2022): Xinxu 新序. In the Series 中华经典名著全本全注全译丛书. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.

Study

• Wang 王, Qimin啟敏 (2011): Liu Xiang Xin xu Shuo yuan yanjiu 劉向《新序》、《說苑》研究. Hefei: Anhui daxue chubanshe.

4.3.8 Jiaoshi Yilin 焦氏易林

Translation

• Gait, Christopher (2016): The Forest of Changes. A Han Dynasty Compendium of Divination. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Plattform.

Study

• Lin 林, Yinchang銀昌 (2025): Jiaoshi Yilin wenxue yanjiu《焦氏易林》文学研究. Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe.

4.3.9 Yuejueshu 越絕書

Translation

• Milburn, Olivia (2010): The Glory of Yue. An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue shu. Leiden: Brill.
• Zhang張, Zhongqing 仲清 (2020): Yuejueshu 越絕書. In the Series Zhonghua jingdian mingzhu quanben quanzhu quanyi congshu中華經典名著全本全注全譯叢書. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.

Study

• Li 李, Bujia步嘉 (2003): Yuejueshu yanjiu 《越绝书》研究.  Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe.
• Zhang, Yanfei (2022): Das Motiv des Yue Jue Shu. Analyse des Buches aus geschichtlichem, literarischem und philosophischem Blick. (Dissertation at the LMU).

Note: Also available Open Access

4.3.10 Wu Yue Chunqiu 吴越春秋

Translation

• Milburn, Olivia (2024): Spring & Autumn Annals of Wu & Yue. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Olivia Milburn. Albany: Suny Press.
• He, Jianjun (2021): Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue. An Annotated Translation of Wu Yue Chunqiu. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
• Huang 黃, Rensheng 仁生 (1996): Xinyi Wu Yue Chunqiu 新譯吳越春秋. Taipei: Sanmin shuju.

Study

• Lin林, Xiaoyun小雲 (2014): Wu Yue Chunqiu yanjiu 《吳越春秋》研究. Wuhan: Zhonghua keji daxue chubanshe.
• Milburn, Olivia (2020): Cherishing Antiquity. The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom. Leiden: Brill.

 

4.3.11 Duduan 獨斷

Translation

I haven’t found a complete translation of the Duduan, although most of it is included in Enno Giele (2006).

Study

• Enno Giele (2006): Imperial Decision-Making and Communication in Early China. A Study of Cai Yong's Duduan. Opera Sinologica 20. Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz.
• Dai Guoxi 代國璽. 2015. "Cai Yong Duduan kaolun 蔡邕《獨斷》考論." Wenxian 文獻 2015 (1): 154-166.
• Asselin, Mark Laurent (2010): A Significant Season. Cai Yong (ca. 133–192) and His Contemporaries. American Oriental Series Monograph 92. New Haven: American Oriental Society.

4.3.12 Chunqiu Fanlu 春秋繁露

Translation

• Queen, Sarah A. and John S. Major (2015): Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn. Attributed to Dong Zhongshu. Translations from the Asian Classics. New York: Columbia University Press.

Study

• Queen, Sarah A. (1996): From Chronicle to Canon. The Hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn, according to Tung Chung-shu. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Wu吳, Tao濤 (2023): Chunqiu Fanlu xueshu shi 春秋繁露學術史. Jinan: Jinan chubanshe.

4.3.13 Hanshi Waizhuan 韓詩外傳

Translation

• Hightower, James Robert (1952): Han Shih Wai Chuan: Han Ying's Illustrations of the Didactic Application of the Classic of Songs. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Study

• Chen陈, Wanying 婉莹 (2023):  Hanshi Waizhuan yanjiu《韩诗外传》研究. Shanghai: Dongfang chuban zhongxin.

4.3.14 Fengsu Tongyi 风俗通义

Translation

• Sun, Xuexia 孫雪霞 and Chen Tongsheng 陳桐生 (Tr.) (2021): Fengsu Tongyi 風俗通義. In the Series Zhonghua jingdian mingzhu quanben quanzhu quanyi congshu中華經典名著全本全注全譯叢書. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.

Study

• Nylan, Michael (1982): Ying Shao's Feng su t'ung yi : an exploration of problems in Han dynasty political, philosophical and social unity. Dissertation Princeton University.
• Cang Xiuliang 倉修良. 1995. "Ying Shao he Fengsu tongyi 應劭和《風俗通義》." Wenxian 文獻 1995 (3): 213-233.
• Zhang Handong 張漢東. 2000. "Fengsu tongyi de minsuxue jiazhi 《風俗通義》的民俗學價值." Minsu yanjiu 民俗研究 2000 (2): 164-171.
• Dong Yan 董焱. 2007. "Fengsu tongyi de wenxian jiazhi 《風俗通義》的文獻價值." Beijing shixue luncong 北京史學論叢 2007 (1): 275-289.
• Liu Mingyi 劉明怡. 2009. "Fengsu tongyi de wenti tedian ji qi wenxue yiyi 《風俗通義》的文體特點及其文學意義." Wenxue yichan 文學遺產 2009 (2): 20-29.
• Liu Haifeng 劉海峰. 2012. "Fengsu tongyi yanjiu zongshu 《風俗通義》研究綜述." Tianzhong xuekan 天中學刊 27 (6): 110-114.

4.3.15 Shanhaijing 山海經

Translation

• Birrell, Anne (1999): The Classic of Mountains and Seas. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
• Strassberg, Richard E. (2008): Chinese Bestiary. Strange Creatures from the Guideways through Mountains and Seas. Berkeley: University of California Press
• Goldblatt, Howard et al. (2021): Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas. A Chinese Classic. New York: Arcade Publishing.
• Yuan袁, Ke 珂 (2016): Shanhaijing quanyi山海经全译. Beijing: Zhongguo jihua chubanshe.

Study

• Fricasso, Riccardo (1991): The Shanhaijing. A Bibliography by Subject. In: Cina 23, 1991. P. 81-104.
• Chen 陈, Lianshan 连山 (2012): Shanhaijing xueshu shi kaolun《山海经》学术史考论. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe.
• Ma 馬, Changyi 昌儀 (2001): Guben Shanhaijing tushuo 古本山海經圖說. Jinan: Shandong huabao chubanshe.
• Zhang 张, Chunsheng 春生 (2007): Shanhaijing yanjiu 山海经研究. Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe.

4.3.16 Kongzi Jiayü 孔子家語

Translation

• Kramers, Robert Paul (1950): K'ung Tzu Chia Yü: The School Sayings of Confucius. Leiden: Brill.
• Bruya, Brian and Wenwen Li (2026): Dialogues of Confucius. The Complete Text. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Study

• Wu 鄔, Kejing 可晶 (2015): Kongzi Jiayu chengshu kao《孔子家語》成書考. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.
• Yang 杨, Chaoming 朝明 (2017): Kongzi Jiayu zonghe yanjiu《孔子家语》综合研究. Jinan: Qilu chushe.

4.3.17 Kongcongzi 孔叢子

Translation

• Ariel, Yoav (1989): K'ung-Ts'ung-Tzu: The K'ung Family Masters' Anthology. 2 volumes. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Study

• Crone, Thomas. 2023. "Seeking Truth Beyond Facts: Debates on Facts and History in the Kongcongzi." Monumenta Serica 71 (1): 1-19.
• Sun 孙, Shaohua 少华 (2011): Kongcongzi yanjiu 《孔丛子》研究. Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe.
• Lei雷, Xinhan欣翰 (2019): Kongcongzi xundu ji yanjiu《孔叢子》訓讀及研究. Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe.

4.3.18 Baihutong 白虎通

Translation

• Som, Tjan Tjoe (1952): Po Hu T'ung: the Comprehensive Discussion in the White Tiger Hall. Leiden: Brill.
• Xiao 肖, Hang 航 (2024):  Baihutongyi 白虎通义. Part of the series Zhonghua jingdian mingzhu quanben quanzhu quanyi congshu中华经典名著全本全注全译丛书. Beijing: Zhonghua chubanshe.

Study

• Shi, Jian (2022): The Way to the White Tiger Hall Conference. Evidence Gleaned from the Formation Process of the Baihu Tong. In: Early China 45, p. 303-339.
• Van Ess, Hans (1993): Politik und Gelehrsamkeit in der Zeit der Han. Die Alttext/Neutext Kontroverse. Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz.
• Zhou 周, Deliang 德良 (2007): Baihutong ji Han li yanjiu 白虎通暨漢禮研究. Taipei: Taiwan xuesheng shuju.
• Zhou 周, Deliang 德良 (2019): Qibai nian lai Baihutongkaoju chengguo yu shangque七百年來《白虎通》考據成果與商榷. Taipei: Wen Shi zhe chubanshe.
• Li 李, Min 敏 (2025): Baihutongyi yu handai jingxue《白虎通义》与汉代经学. Beijing Renmin chubanshe.

4.3.19 Yantielun 鹽鐵論

Translation

• Gale, Esson M. (1931): Discourses on Salt and Iron: a Debate on State Control of Commerce and Industry in Ancient China. Leiden: Brill. (chapter 1-28)
• Huan桓 Kuan宽, Chen Tongsheng 陈桐生 (Transl.) (2023): Yantielun 盐铁论. Part of the series Zhonghua jingdian mingzhu quanben quanzhu quanyi congshu中华经典名著全本全注全译丛书. Beijing: Zhonghua chubanshe.

Study

• Xu徐, Hanchang漢昌 (1983): Yantielun yanjiu《鹽鐵論研究》. Taipei: Wen Shi Zhe chubanshe.
• Wang王, Yong永（2009): Yantielun yanjiu《盐铁论》研究. Yinchuan: Ningxia daxue chubanshe.

That's it. We will focus in the next two installments on Traditional Scholarship and the broad tradition of Chinese Philology with a special focus on Chinese Textual Criticism (Jiaochouxue 校讎學) and adjacent disciplines like Authentification Studies (Bianweixue 辨偽學) and Fragmentology (Jiyixue 輯佚學).

Please let us know if you know any other publications on these texts.

Yours sincerely

the r/EarlyChina Moderators

Hey all, I'm back. Desperately need your help.

You may remember, I built the Analects Reader app. It's been on iPhone for a few weeks and doing great.

But Android is stuck. Google makes new developers run a closed test for 14 days first, and mine just got rejected because (they claim!) users didn't leave enough feedback. SO, I've made giving feedback extremely easy.

Every character card (pictured below) now has a problem report link.

https://preview.redd.it/y0nmw28qh4th1.jpg?width=692&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f91bc95145cb0d44842e3a160802c1b120b2c951

You can report a problem with that definition, the translation, or just about anything else that way. Now it takes about ten seconds to let me know if you find something that needs fixing.

If you're on Android, here's how to help:

1. Join the tester group (nothing is posted there, it's just the list, and membership is not public): https://groups.google.com/g/analectsreaderbeta
2. Install from Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.analects.reader

Thanks a bunch!!!

You may remember 望梅止渴 , which comes from a story about Cao Cao(曹操). 对酒当歌, on the other hand, comes from his famous poem "短歌行" (Duǎn Gē Xíng).

It comes from these famous lines:

对酒当歌，人生几何？ Duì jiǔ dāng gē, rén shēng jǐ hé? 譬如朝露，去日苦多。 pì rú zhāo lù，qù rì kǔ duō
“With wine before us, let’s sing. How much time do we really have in life? Just like morning dew, life is fleeting.”

Today, 对酒当歌 is often used when enjoying a drink with friends, or when talking about enjoying the moment and reflecting on how short life is.

A little background

Cao Cao (曹操) was not only a famous warlord and statesman, but also an important poet of the Jian'an period (建安), which was the final period of the Eastern Han dynasty.

He was one of the leading figures of Jian'an literature, together with his sons Cao Pi (曹丕) and Cao Zhi (曹植). The three are known as the “Three Caos” (三曹). Together with the “Seven Scholars of Jian'an” (建安七子), they are regarded as the major literary figures of the Jian'an period.

Remeber this one! If you ever go to China, try raising your glass at a dinner and saying: “对酒当歌，人生几何！”
It’ll definitely liven things up!