The origin and background of the Thousand-Character Classic are as follows:
Literacy textbooks dedicated to enlightenment appeared very early in China. In the Qin Dynasty, there were "Cangjie Pian" and "Yuan". "Li Pian" in the Han Dynasty, there are "Fan Jiang Pian" by Sima Xiangru, "Peng Xi Pian" by Jia Li, "Encouragement to Learning" by Cai Yong, and "Jijiu Zhang" by Shi You. In the Three Kingdoms era, there are "Pi Cang", "Peng Xi Pian" "Guang Cang", "Shi Xue Pian", etc. Among these works, only "Ji Jiu Zhang" had an impact on later generations, and the rest had little impact.
Although "Jijiuzhang" is a more prominent primary school book after "Cangjie Pian", due to various problems in its circulation, its authority was not as good as before in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During this period, Some enlightenment readings, such as "Tinggao" and "Jieyou", have limited readability. It was against this background that "The Thousand Character Essay" came out.
During the Southern Dynasties, in order to teach calligraphy to the kings of Liang Dynasty, Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, asked Yin Tieshi to draw out a thousand different characters from Wang Xizhi's works, each character on a piece of paper, and then put these in no order. The rubbings were given to Zhou Xingsi, who compiled them into rhymes with content. This is the "Thousand-Character Classic" that has been passed down to the 21st century for more than 1,400 years.
Related extensions of The Thousand-Character Classic - Domestic influence:
The Thousand-Character Classic is an early elementary school textbook in China. It covers astronomy, geography, nature, society, history, etc. It is the best book to enlighten and educate children, and it is also a vivid and excellent encyclopedia. The Thousand Character Classic has been circulated for more than 1,400 years, which shows that it is not only a widely circulated children's book, but also an integral part of traditional Chinese culture.
Many people read it not only as an enlightenment textbook, but also as a model for learning calligraphy. Famous ones include Monk Zhiyong, Huai Su, Song Huizong, Zhao Mengfu, Wen Zhengming, etc. Their works are widely circulated, with different calligraphy styles and styles. They can be said to be thousands of words and thousands of postures, and they have a great influence. They promote the spread of "The Thousand-Character Classic" among the people and increase the popularity of "The Thousand-Character Classic".
After the Tang Dynasty, the form of "Thousand-Character Prose" was also widely adopted and studied by people, and a large number of works named "Thousand-Character Prose" appeared, such as "The Thousand-Character Prose" by the Tang Dynasty monk Yijing He compiled the "Thousand-Character Essay on Sanskrit", Hu Yin of the Song Dynasty wrote "The Thousand-Character Essay on Ancient History", and Xia Taihe of the Yuan Dynasty wrote "The Thousand-Character Essay on Xingli".
Zhuo Renyue of the Ming Dynasty has "Ode to a Thousand-Character Master", Lu Caizhi has "Lü Shi's Thousand-Character Essay", Wu Shenglan of the Qing Dynasty has "Gong Qing Emperor Seventy Years Longevity, a Thousand-Character Essay", and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has "The Thousand-Character Imperial Edict" and so on. The contents of these so-called "Thousand-Character Essays" are different, but they are all named after "Thousand-Character Essays", which shows the great influence of "Thousand-Character Essays".
During the Song Dynasty, Zhenzong compiled a 4359-volume "Tao Zang", which was divided into more than 400 letters. Each letter was numbered according to the order of "Thousand Character Classic", starting from "Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang" The word "tian" in "" ends with the word "gong", so people call this "Tao Zang" "Dao Zang of Tiangong of the Song Dynasty".