Three Character Classic

{{Chinese

| t = 三字經

| s = 三字经

| p = Sānzì Jīng

| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|s|an|1|.|zi|4|-|j|ing|1}}

| w = San¹ Tzŭ⁴ Ching¹

| gr = Santzyh Jing

| myr = Sāndz̀ Jīng

| bpmf = ㄙㄢㄗˋ ㄐㄧㄥ

| showflag = p

| j = Saam1zi6 Ging1

| ci = {{IPAc-yue|s|aam|1|.|z|i|6|-|g|ing|1}}

| y = Sāamjih Gīng

| poj = Sam-jī-keng

| tl = Sam-jī-king

| wuu = se zy cin

| qn = Tam tự kinh

| chuhan = 三字經

| hanja = 三字經

| hangul = 삼자경

| rr = Samjagyeong

| kana = さんじきょう

| romaji = Sanjikyō

| kanji = 三字経

}}

The Three Character Classic ({{zh|c=三字经, 三字經}}), commonly known as San Zi Jing,{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2014514270/|title=San Zi Jing|work=Library of Congress|access-date=2010-08-15}} also translated as Trimetric Classic,{{cite book|author=Minjie Chen|title=The Sino-Japanese War and Youth Literature: Friends and Foes on the Battlefield|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4JwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15|date=22 January 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-50881-6|pages=15–}} is one of the Chinese classic texts. It was probably written in the 13th century and is mainly attributed to Wang Yinglin (王應麟, 1223–1296) during the Song dynasty. It is also attributed to Ou Shizi (1234–1324).

The work is not one of the traditional six Confucian classics, but rather the embodiment of Confucianism suitable for teaching young children.{{cite book|last=Scollon|first=Ron|author2=Suzanne Wong Scollon |author3=Rodney H. Jones |title=Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|date=3 January 2012|volume=35|pages=166–167|isbn=9780470656402}} Until the latter part of the 1800s, it served as a child's first formal education at home. The text is written in triplets of characters for easy memorization. With illiteracy common for most people at the time, the oral tradition of reciting the classic ensured its popularity and survival through the centuries.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} With the short and simple text arranged in three-character verses, children learned many common characters, grammar structures, elements of Chinese history and the basis of Confucian morality, especially filial piety and respect for elders (the Five Relationships in Chinese society).{{cite book|last=Kutcher|first=Norman|title=Mourning in Late Imperial China: Filial Piety and the State|url=https://archive.org/details/mourninglateimpe00kutc|url-access=limited|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mourninglateimpe00kutc/page/n40 27]|isbn=9780521030182}}

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Three Character Classic formed the basis of elementary education, along with Hundred Family Surnames and Thousand Character Classic.{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=David|author2=Andrew James Nathan|author2-link=Andrew James Nathan|title=Popular Culture in Late Imperial China|publisher=University of California Press|date=1987|pages=29|isbn=9780520061729}} The group came to be known as San Bai Qian (Three, Hundred, Thousand), from the first character in their titles. They were the almost universal introductory literacy texts for students, almost exclusively boys, from elite backgrounds and even for a number of ordinary villagers. Each was available in many versions, printed cheaply, and available to all since they did not become superseded. When a student had memorized all three, they could recognize and pronounce, though not necessarily write or understand the meaning of, roughly 2,000 characters (there was some duplication among the texts). Since Chinese did not use an alphabet, this was an effective, though time-consuming, way of giving a "crash course" in character recognition before going on to understanding texts and writing characters.{{sfnp|Rawski|1979|pp=46–48}}

The text fell into disuse during the Cultural Revolution given the state's opposition to non-socialist ideologies. The classic, however, continued to circulate in other parts of the Chinese-speaking world with its inclusion in the Chinese Almanac (通勝) along with several other classics such as the Thousand Character Classic.

The first four verses state the core credo of Confucianism, that is, that human nature is inherently good, as developed by Mencius, considered one of the most influential traditional Chinese philosophers after Confucius.

::::::人之初 (rén zhī chū) People at birth,

::::::性本善 (xìng běn shàn) Are naturally good (kind-hearted).

::::::性相近 (xìng xiāng jìn) Their natures are similar,

::::::習相遠 (xí xiāng yuǎn) (But) their habits make them different (from each other).

Even nowadays, the above two introductory quotes are very familiar to most youth in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, if not known by heart. Though the work is no longer taught at public schools (it is still taught in Beijing today if not in all schools), some parents still use this classic to teach their young children to pronounce Chinese characters. It is sometimes a game for elementary school children to show off who can recite the most sentences from this classic.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

Editions

The Three Character Classic was translated in 1796 into Manchu as {{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠨᡳᡴᠠᠨ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᡥᡝᡵᡤᡝᠨ}}{{MongolUnicode|ᡳ}}{{MongolUnicode|ᡴᠠᠮᠴᡳᠮᡝ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠰᡠᡥᡝ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠠᠨ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᡯ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᡤᡳᠩ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠪᡳᡨᡥᡝ}} (Wylie: Manchu nikan ghergen i kamtsime sughe San tsz' ging pitghe; Möllendorff: Manju nikan hergen-i kamcime suhe San ze ging ni bithe).

The most well-known English translation of the text was completed by Herbert Giles in 1900 and revised in 1910.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/elementarychines00wangrich|title = Elementary Chinese ... San tzu ching|year = 1900|publisher = Shanghai, Kelly & Walsh}} The translation was based on the original Song dynasty version.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} Giles had published an earlier translation (Shanghai 1873) but he rejected that and other early translations as inaccurate. Earlier translations into English include those by Robert Morrison, 1812; Solomon Caesar Malan and Hung Hsiu-chʻüan, 1856, and Stanislas Julien, 1864.

A Christian Three Character Classic (Chinese: 新增三字經; Pinyin: Xīnzēng Sānzì Jīng) by Walter Henry Medhurst was first published in 1823 as an aid to missionary education. The three-character rhyming format was retained but the content was completely different.{{Citation |last=Guo |first=Hong |title=From Children's Instructional Textbook to Missionary Tool: the Publication History of the Christian Three-Character Classic from 1823 to 1880 |date=2022-11-15 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004532120_010 |work=Beyond Indigenization: Christianity and Chinese History in a Global Context |pages=202–224 |access-date=2023-04-23 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004532120_010 |isbn=978-90-04-53212-0|url-access=subscription }}

= Vietnam =

File:Tam tự kinh thích nghiã 三字經釋義.png

File:Tam tự kinh giải âm diễn ca.jpg

File:Second page of Tam tự kinh lục bát diễn âm 三字經六八演音.jpg

The earliest recorded date that the Three Character Classic was introduced to Vietnam is around 1820-1830 according to primary sources at the time.{{Cite web |last=Nguyễn |first=Tuấn Cường |date=2015 |title=Giáo dục Hán văn bậc tiểu học tại Việt Nam thời xưa qua trường hợp sách Tam tự kinh |url=https://www.academia.edu/25993149 |page=5}} From there, it was circulated and modified. Different variants of the text began to emerge.{{Cite web |last=Nguyễn |first=Tuấn Cường |date=2015 |title=Giáo dục Hán văn bậc tiểu học tại Việt Nam thời xưa qua trường hợp sách Tam tự kinh |url=https://www.academia.edu/25993149 |page=24}} The texts would either have different characters used, new lines, or different ordering. The most common variant of the Three Character Classic in Vietnam has 30 lines that are different from the Chinese edition. There are also two lines in the Vietnamese version that do not exist in the Chinese version.

class="wikitable"

!Line

!Vietnamese

!Chinese

|不知理

|不知義

|所當識

|所當執

|悌於長

|弟於長

|首孝悌

|首孝弟

|識某名

|識某文

|一太極

|{{na}}

|二陰陽

|{{na}}

|曰哀樂

|曰哀懼

|乃七情

|七情具

|與絲竹

|絲與竹

|至曾玄

|至元曾

103

|君則敬

|長幼序

104

|臣則忠

|友與朋

105

|長幼序

|君則敬

106

|朋友公

|臣則忠

115

|由孝經

|小學終

126

|乃孔伋

|子思筆

139

|號五經

|號六經

149

|我姬公

|我周公

151

|著六典

|著六官

160

|當詠諷

|當諷詠

188

|稱盛治

|稱盛世

266

|心而推

|心而惟

292

|猶苦學

|猶苦卓

303

|對大庭

|對大廷

305

|彼晚成

|彼既成

322

|且聰明

|且聰敏

324

|當少成

|當自警

334

|亦如是

|亦若是

350

|垂於後

|裕於後

The two lines were added to form a full sequence of numbers (Chinese version begins from three to ten).{{Cite web |last=Nguyễn |first=Tuấn Cường |date=2015 |title=Giáo dục Hán văn bậc tiểu học tại Việt Nam thời xưa qua trường hợp sách Tam tự kinh |url=https://www.academia.edu/25993149 |page=25}}

One (nhất thái cực 一太極)
Two (nhị âm dương 二陰陽)
Three (tam tài 三才, tam quang 三光, tam cương 三綱)
Four (tứ thời 四時, tứ phương 四方)
Five (ngũ hành 五行, ngũ thường 五常)
Six (lục cốc 六穀, lục súc 六畜)
Seven (thất tình 七情)
Eight (bát âm 八音)
Nine (cửu tộc 九族)
Ten (thập nghĩa 十義)

The text was also translated into vernacular Vietnamese, with the books such as Tam tự giải âm 三字解音, Tam tự kinh diễn âm 三字經演音,{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=三字經演音 Tam tự kinh diễn âm |url=https://lib.nomfoundation.org/collection/1/volume/612/ |website=Nom Foundation}} Tam tự kinh giải âm diễn ca 三字經解音演歌,{{Cite web |date=1888 |title=三字經解音演歌 {{!}} Tam tự kinh giải âm diễn ca |url=https://lib.nomfoundation.org/collection/1/volume/613/ |website=Nom Foundation}} Tam tự kinh thích nghiã 三字經釋義,{{Cite web |date=1873 |title=Tam-tự- kinh thích-nghĩa. 三字經釋義 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b100932543.r=%E4%B8%89%E5%AD%97%E7%B6%93%E9%87%8B%E7%BE%A9?rk=42918;4 |website=Bibliothèque nationale de France}} and Tam tự kinh lục bát diễn âm 三字經六八演音{{Cite web |date=1905 |title=三字經六八演音 Tam tự kinh lục bát diễn âm |url=https://lib.nomfoundation.org/collection/1/volume/614/ |website=Nom Foundation}} having chữ Nôm characters annotating the original text.

= Differences in Chinese texts =

The following stanzas do not appear in the Giles translation and originally appeared in Simplified Chinese. They list the dynasties that followed the Song dynasty up to and including the founding of Republican China. These stanzas were probably added cumulatively sometime between late 13th century and after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Simplified Chinese\|\|Traditional Chinese !Pinyin\|\| Translation
class="wikitable"
辽与金　皆称帝	遼與金　皆稱帝 \|liáoyǔjīn jiēchēngdì	The Liao and Jin (dynasties), both claimed to be emperors.
太祖兴　国大明　号洪武　都金陵	太祖興　國大明　號洪武　都金陵 \|tàizǔxīng guódàmíng hàohóngwǔ dūjīnlíng	Taizu rises, his country is the Great Ming. His regnal name is Hongwu, his capital at Jinling.
迨成祖　迁燕京　十六世　至崇祯	迨成祖　遷燕京　十六世　至崇禎 \|dàichéngzǔ qiānyànjīng shíliùshì zhìchóngzhēn	By the time Chengzu started ruling, he moved (his capital) to Yanjing. (His dynasty) lasted for sixteen successions, until the Chongzhen Emperor.
阉乱後　寇内讧　闯逆变　神器终	閹亂後　寇內訌　闖逆變　神器終 \|yānluànhòu kòunèihòng chuǎngnìbiàn shénqìzhōng	Eunuchs stir up trouble in the palace, rebels cause internal conflict. The Dashing King starts a rebellion, the Divine Utensil comes to an end.
清顺治　据神京　至十传　宣统逊	清順治　據神京　至十傳　宣統遜 \|qīngshùnzhì jùshénjīng zhìshíchuán xuāntǒngxùn	The Shunzhi Emperor of Qing, seized the Imperial Capital. After ten generations, the Xuantong Emperor abdicated.
举总统　共和成　复汉土　民国兴	舉總統　共和成　復漢土　民國興 \|jǔzǒngtǒng gònghéchéng fùhàntǔ mínguóxìng	A President is elected, the Republic is formed. Chinese soil was recovered, the Republic of China flourishes.
廿二史　全在兹　载治乱　知兴衰¹	廿二史　全在茲　載治亂　知興衰¹ \|niànèrshǐ quánzàizī zàizhìluàn zhīxīngshuāi	The Twenty-two Dynastic Histories, are all embraced in the above. They contain examples of good and bad government, whence may be learnt the principles of prosperity and decay.

¹ this line replaces the original one in the Song version where it says "The Seventeen Dynastic Histories... 十七史...".

Reception

The first two lines were recited at the Academy Awards 2021 by Chloé Zhao, the award winner for best director.{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZUt1LMH-98&t=48s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/OZUt1LMH-98| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Chloé Zhao accepts Best Director Academy Award for 'Nomadland' | work=GMA |date=April 26, 2021 |access-date=April 27, 2021 |quote=It's called the Three Character Classics. And the first phrase goes: 人之初, 性本善 - - People at birth are inherently good}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/26/china/oscars-china-chloe-zhao-mic-intl-hnk/index.html |title=This year's Oscars could have been a moment of pride for China. Then politics got in the way |work=cnn.com |date=April 26, 2021 |access-date=April 27, 2021 |quote=Zhao said she used to recite classic Chinese poems and texts with her father, and one particular line from the Three Character Classic -- "People at birth are inherently good" -- had helped her keep going when things got hard.}}

Notes

References

{{cite book | author=Rutledge, Jayne (Translator) | title=Three Character Primer | year=2005 | isbn=7-80702-148-9 }} Original Chinese Text plus pinyin, modern Chinese translation, modern Chinese commentary and stories, plus complete translation of all material into English.
{{cite book |last = Rawski |first = Evelyn Sakakida|year = 1979 |title = Education and Popular Literacy in Ch'ing China |publisher = University of Michigan Press| location = Ann Arbor |isbn = 0472087533}}

External links

[https://ctext.org/three-character-classic Song dynasty Chinese edition with the Herbert Giles English translation]
[http://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/sanzijing.html On-line learner's edition at Yellowbridge site]
[http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/stories/sanzijing/index.html Read and hear the audio at this Chinese/English site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708223740/http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/stories/sanzijing/index.html |date=2008-07-08 }}
{{librivox book|dtitle=Three Character Classic|stitle=Three word verse}} (Mandarin Chinese)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070626055510/http://www.panming.com/szj/szj.htm Another site with audio of the San Zi Jing - Chinese only]
[http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=Sanzijing The Three Character Classic in Chinese with the Herbert Giles English Translation.]
[http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/88469.htm Its debated revival in mainland China], China.org.cn
{{cite book|title=(我教子惟一經) 新增三字經|author=尚德|year=1830|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ec1RAAAAcAAJ|access-date=24 April 2014}} (Christian version)
{{cite book|title=釋教三字經|year=1872|publisher=慧空經房|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fM1RAAAAcAAJ|access-date=24 April 2014}} (Christian version)
{{cite book|title=三字經|last=王(Wang)|first=應麟(Yinglin)|url=https://archive.org/details/pgcommunitytexts25160gut|access-date=24 April 2014}}

Category:Chinese classic texts

Category:Chinese children's books

Category:Chinese-language children's books

Category:Chinese character lists