The Three Character Classic, Trimetric Classic or San Zi Jing (Traditional Chinese: 三字經, Simplified Chinese: 三字经) is one of the Chinese classic texts. It was probably written in the 13th century and attributed to Wang Yinglin (王應麟, 1223-1296) during the Song Dynasty. Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also Simplified Chinese: 简化字; Traditional Chinese: 簡化字; pinyin: jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Chinese classic texts or Chinese canonical texts are the classical literature in Chinese culture that are considered to be the best or the most valuable. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... // Events August 6 - Louis VIII is crowned King of France. ... Events March 30 - Edward I stormed Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then Scottish border town with much bloodshed. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: ) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ...

The work is not one of the traditional six Confucian classics, but rather the embodiment of Confucian thought suitable for teaching young children. Until the latter part of the 19th century, 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. Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: å„’å­¸, Simplified Chinese: å„’å­¦; pinyin: Rúxué [ ], literally The School of the Scholars; or, less accurately, 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Religion of Confucius) is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... World literacy rates by country The traditional definition of literacy is the ability to use language–to read, write, listen, and speak. ... China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ...

The text fell into disuse during the Cultural Revolution given the State's opposition to feudal 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 Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: WúchÇŽn JiÄ“jí Wénhuà Dà Gémìng; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, Cultural Revolution) in the People... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: Zhōnggu ngchǎndǎng) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... An almanac (also spelled almanack, especially in Commonwealth English) is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar. ... The Thousand Character Classic (千字文) is a Chinese poem used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children. ...

The first four verses state the core credo of Confucianism as developed by Confucius' follower Mencius. The idea was enshrined in the state orthodoxy for the most part of imperial Chinese period: Human nature is good and unique. Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: 儒學, Simplified Chinese: 儒学; pinyin: Rúxué [ ], literally The School of the Scholars; or, less accurately, 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Religion of Confucius) is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ... I hear and forget. ... Mencius (most accepted dates: 372 BC – 289 BC; other possible dates: 385 BC – 303 BC or 302 BC) was born in the State of Zou (鄒國), now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng (邹城市), Shandong province, only 30 km (18 miles) south of Qufu, the town of Confucius. ...

Even nowadays, the above two introductory quotes are very familiar to most youths in China and Taiwan, if not known by the heart. Though it is no longer taught at public schools, some parents still use this classic to teach their infants to pronounce words. It is an occasional elementary school game for children to and show off who can recite the most sentences from this classic. Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ...

Editions

The most well-known and perhaps the earliest English translation of the text was completed by Herbert Giles in 1910. The translation was based on the original Song version. Herbert Allen Giles (December 8, 1845 - February 13, 1935) was a British linguist who modified a Mandarin Chinese Romanization system established by Thomas Wade earlier, resulting in the Wade-Giles Chinese transliteration system. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

The following stanzas do not appear in the Giles translation and originally appeared in Simplified Chinese. They list the dynasties that followed Song 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. Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: ) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ...

¹ this line replaces the original one in the Song version where it says "The Seventeen Dynastic Histories...". Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ...

See also.

• The Complete Original Text of the Trimetric Classic on Chinese Wikipedia.

External links.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Three Character Classic

• The Three Character Classic in Chinese with the Herbert Giles English Translation.
• Another English translation.
• Its debated revival in mainland China.