Description

Book Synopsis

A wonderfully enjoyable storehouse of ancient Chinese history and legends, which also has an important role in understanding 21st-century China

''And remember: Heaven''s blessing will cease forever if there''s despair and poverty in your lands''

The Most Venerable Book (also known as The Book of History) is one of the Five Classics, a key work of Chinese literature which preserves some of the most ancient and dramatic chronicles of the history, both real and mythological, of the Chinese state. For many centuries it was a central work for anyone wishing to work for the Imperial administration, preserving as it does a fascinating mixture of key Confucian concepts as well as page after page of heroes, benevolent rulers, sagacious ministers, and struggles against flood, corruption and vicious, despotic rulers. The First Emperor tried in 213 BC to have all copies of the book destroyed because of its subversive implication that ''the Mandate of He

Trade Review
The text is alive with the deeds and misdeeds of Chinese rulers, some told in graphic and gory detail . . . Palmer's introduction is witty and eschews any sign of academic-speak . . . There has been a revival in interest in China in Confucian ethics in recent years as people search for moral points of reference . . . The Shang Shu is part of this, and Martin Palmer has presented the English reading audience with an excellent route to an understanding of these ideas * China Daily - European Weekly *

The Most Venerable Book Shang Shu

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    A Paperback / softback by Confucius, Martin Palmer, Jay Ramsay

    £10.44

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    RRP £10.99 – you save £0.55 (5%)

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Classics
      Published 31 July 2014
      ISBN-13 9780141197463
      978-0141197463
      ISBN-10 0141197463
      Also in:
      Confucianism

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      A wonderfully enjoyable storehouse of ancient Chinese history and legends, which also has an important role in understanding 21st-century China

      ''And remember: Heaven''s blessing will cease forever if there''s despair and poverty in your lands''

      The Most Venerable Book (also known as The Book of History) is one of the Five Classics, a key work of Chinese literature which preserves some of the most ancient and dramatic chronicles of the history, both real and mythological, of the Chinese state. For many centuries it was a central work for anyone wishing to work for the Imperial administration, preserving as it does a fascinating mixture of key Confucian concepts as well as page after page of heroes, benevolent rulers, sagacious ministers, and struggles against flood, corruption and vicious, despotic rulers. The First Emperor tried in 213 BC to have all copies of the book destroyed because of its subversive implication that ''the Mandate of He

      Trade Review
      The text is alive with the deeds and misdeeds of Chinese rulers, some told in graphic and gory detail . . . Palmer's introduction is witty and eschews any sign of academic-speak . . . There has been a revival in interest in China in Confucian ethics in recent years as people search for moral points of reference . . . The Shang Shu is part of this, and Martin Palmer has presented the English reading audience with an excellent route to an understanding of these ideas * China Daily - European Weekly *

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