Three Character Classic


The Three Character Classic, Trimetric Classic or Sanzi Jing is one of the Chinese classic texts. It was probably written in the 13th century and attributed to Wang Yinglin during the Song dynasty. It is also attributed to Ou Shizi.
The work is not one of the traditional six Confucian classics, but rather the embodiment of Confucianism suitable for teaching young children. 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. 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.
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. The group came to be known as San Bai Qian, 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 Each was available in many versions, printed cheaply, and available to all since they did not become superseded.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. 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.
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 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.
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, 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.

Editions

The Three Character Classic was translated in 1796 into Manchu as Wylie: Manchu nikan ghergen i kamtsime sughe San tsz' ging pitghe, Möllendorff: Manju nikan hergen-i kamcime suhe San ze ging ni bithe, Translation: The Three Character Classic, in Manchu and Chinese.
The most well-known English translation of the text was completed by Herbert Giles in 1900 and revised in 1910. The translation was based on the original Song dynasty version. Giles had completed an earlier translation in the late 19th century 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.
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 ChineseTraditional ChineseTranslation
辽与金　皆称帝遼與金　皆稱帝The Liao and Jin,
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By the time Chengzu started ruling,
he moved to Yanjing.
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¹The 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...".