Lessons for the Chinese People (Two Volumes)

This book is a representative work by renowned author Li Guowen, who has devoted more than twenty years to writing accessible works on history and culture. Taking the present as his starting point, he explores the gains and losses in the lives of individuals in ancient China.

Drawing on an extensive study of historical sources, including official histories, unofficial accounts, miscellanies, historical essays, and notes, the book examines history and its people, using the past to understand the present and learn from history. It offers practical lessons for the lives of people in China today. Arranged chronologically, it explores people from different eras through their circumstances, inner journeys, fates, conduct, talents and achievements, and influence on their times. It recounts their hard work, relationships, innovation, well-earned recognition, and lasting fame, as well as their twists and turns, rises and falls, painstaking efforts, and hard-won successes, together forming a sweeping account of the Chinese past. The book reminds readers to treat their personal journeys and past experiences as precious assets, learn from them, and live more easily, happily, and wisely in the present and future.

The book also keeps popular reading habits in mind. Its language is witty and humorous, making serious historical accounts as gripping and satisfying as a novel. It stands apart in the genre of “historical prose,” a masterful work in its own right. Ranging freely across the ages and surveying the times, it writes with spirited humor and scholarly depth. This bestselling book, rich in wisdom about life, appeals to readers both highbrow and popular. As readers discover the wisdom with which people in ancient China navigated life, they gain a clearer understanding of how people live today. Critic Ming Gao praised it highly: “This is one of the finest contemporary works at bringing knowledge, temperament, and insight together.”