Since its first publication in 2014, 'A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese' has proven itself the essential resource for reading and translating historical, literary, and religious texts dating from approximately 500 BCE to 1000 CE.0This third edition has been extensively revised and expanded, with over a thousand additions and improvements to existing entries, plus numerous wholly new entries. Referencing more than 8,300 characters, it also includes an abundance of alliterative and echoic binomes (lianmianci), accurate identifications of hundreds of plants, animals, and assorted technical terms in various fields, as well as the Middle Chinese reconstructed pronunciation of every character, and various useful appendices.

A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese is the long-desired Chinese - English reference work for all those reading texts dating from the Warring States period through the Tang dynasty, and beyond. Comprising 8,000+ characters, arranged alphabetically by Pinyin, with an index by "radical" and stroke- count, and various appendices, including one with reign-eras and exact accession dates of emperors according to both Chinese and Western calendars.

Storehouse of Treasures unearths wise and beautiful elements of Chan and Zen still little known in the West, revealing unexpected aspects of the tradition and new implications for practice. Since the dawn of Chan and Zen in medieval China and Japan, members of these schools have enlivened their teaching by creatively adopting and adapting terms, images, principles, poetry, and lore native to their societies. Unfortunately, so much of that cultural wealth has been “lost in translation” that Western practitioners have barely begun to discover and appreciate this extraordinarily rich legacy. In Storehouse of Treasures, second-generation American Zen teacher Nelson Foster makes a series of adventuresome forays into the trove of material laid up by the Dharma ancestors, bringing to light: Masters’ delight in playing with words, stories, and inherited Buddhist concepts, bending them to express the Dharma in inspired ways The powerful influence that Taoist and Confucian thought exerted in the formation of Chan and Zen The emphasis the two schools have laid on excellence of character as well as on profound awakening The experiential meaning and enduring importance to the tradition of ideals little associated with it today, like integrity, shame, and contentment How “knowing the tune” of a fellow student, a mentor, or a teacher of old lies at the heart of transmitting the Dharma Lifting to attention a diverse set of ancient yet still luminous Dharma gems, Foster urges their relevance and value to us as students of the Buddha Way and as citizens of a world increasingly fractious and imperiled.

This textbook provides a comprehensive scholarly introduction to Classical Chinese and its texts. Classical Chinese is the language of Confucius and Mencius and their contemporaries, who wrote the seminal texts of Chinese philosophy more than 2,000 years ago. Although it was used as a living language for only a relatively short time, it was the foundation of Chinese education throughout the Imperial age, and formed the basis of a literary tradition that continues to the present day. This book offers students all the necessary tools to read, understand, and analyse Classical Chinese texts, including: step-by-step clearly illustrated descriptions of syntactic features; core vocabulary lists; introductions to relevant historical and cultural topics; selected readings from classical literature with original commentaries and in-depth explanations; introductions to dictionaries and other reference works on the study of ancient China; and a guide to philological methods used in the critical analysis of Classical Chinese texts. The extensive glossary provides phonological reconstructions, word classes, English translations, and citations to illustrate usage, while the up-to-date bibliography serves as a valuable starting point for further research.

In just thirteen brief, accessible chapters, this engaging little book takes "absolute beginners" from the most basic questions about the language (e.g., what does a classical Chinese character look like?) to reading and understanding selections from classical Chinese philosophical texts and Tang dynasty poetry. "An outstanding introduction to reading classical Chinese. Van Norden does a wonderful job of clearly explaining the basics of classical Chinese, and he carefully takes the reader through beautifully chosen examples from the textual tradition. An invaluable work." —Michael Puett, Harvard University