In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we continue exploring the traits of the natural world by taking a look at the four cardinal directions (四方): north (北), south (南), east (东), and west (西). We also talk about the importance of the center (中), and the fundamental role it plays in shaping how Chinese people see the world.

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In Chinese philosophy, water (水), fire (火), wood (木), metal (金), and earth (土) are five elements that make up the properties of everything in the universe. This episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) tells the story of the discovery of fire in ancient China. In some cultures, fire was a gift from the gods, but in the ancient Chinese story it’s a discovery of man. This is one of the ways that the centrality of man is highlighted in the Chinese view of the world.

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The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

A few episodes ago (#14: Servitiude and patriarchy) the Three Character Classic (三字经) took what seemed like a detour from the natural world to discuss the ties between sovereign and subject (君臣义), father and son (父子亲), and husband and wife (夫妇顺). This part of the book appears to take a similar detour with a discussion of benevolence (仁), honor (义), courtesy (礼), wisdom (智), and truth (信). But rather than being detours, they’re included in the chapter on the order of the natural world because there was a belief that natural laws governed relationships and morality.

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) we cover the six main cereals in traditional Chinese agriculture, and tell the story of a mythical figure called Shennong (神农), “the Divine Farmer”. According to legend, he led a group of followers up a moutain, tasting hundreds of plants to find out what was safe to eat, and which herbs could be used as medicines. The oral history of his discoveries became the Han Dynasty (漢朝) text “Shennong’s Compendium of Medicine” (神农本草经).

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

Horses (马), cattle (牛), sheep (羊), fowl (鸡), dogs (犬), and pigs (豕): These are the six domesticated animals, and the topic of this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经). This verse follows on from our last episode, in which we talked about another group of six – the edible grains (rice 稻, sorghum粱, beans 菽, wheat 麦, glutinous millet 黍, millet 稷).

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In a previous episode, we talked about the importance of the mean (中庸) in Chinese thought, which means in essence to keep things in balance. This is something we touch on again in this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) about the seven emotions: happiness (喜) anger (怒), sorrow (哀), fear (惧), love (爱), hatred (恶), and desire (欲). All seven are natural and they can be healthy, but as our story explains, too much of any one of them can cause us problems.

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

“High mountains and running waters” (高山流水) is one of the most iconic pieces of classical Chinese music. Its creator played it so beautifully, it was as if he could create this scenery out of thin air. Alas, his story has a tragic end, but before we get to that, in this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) we’ll tell you about the natural materials used to make the eight sounds (八普) of ancient Chinese instruments: gourd (匏), clay (土), leather (革), wood (木), stone (石), metal (金), silk (丝), and bamboo (竹).

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we talk about the nine generations of relations that make up one’s family, in the traditional definition of the word. There’s a lot of “this person begats that one, who begats etc.” in this episode, so this is one episode where, if your eyes glaze over, your hosts won’t take offense.

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

This episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) is reminiscent of our earliest episodes about study. We talk about the importance of all kids having a good education (凡训蒙) based on careful study of the fundamentals (须讲究). In this case, it means learning how to read ancient texts (详训诂) and understand them despite their lack of punctuation (明句读).

In the episode, we tell a story about a scholar visiting his pupil. It might be a bit hard to understand without seeing the two sentences at the heart of the tale, so here they are:

下雨天，留客天？天留，人不留。

And, 下雨天，留客天。天留人不？留。

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In this episode, we introduce what is perhaps the most influential ancient Chinese text: The Analects of Confucius (论语者). In 20 articles (二十篇), it details what the dicsiples of Confucius (群弟子) recorded of his ideas (记善言).

The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.