A Complete Reading of the Record of Daily Knowledge

The Records of Daily Learning was written by Gu Yanwu, a great scholar of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and took more than thirty years of painstaking work. Its title comes from a saying in the Analects: "Learn something new every day, and don't forget what you have already learned." It means that we should acquire new knowledge every day without forgetting the skills we already have, and it also reflects Gu Yanwu's commitment to lifelong learning.

The book covers many subjects, including the interpretation of the classics, government, history and geography, and the arts and literature. Gu Yanwu gathered and organized his reflections on his reading and the materials he collected, presenting them as a series of short essays. Each one is based on evidence and includes his own analysis and conclusions, all set out with great rigor.

The Records of Daily Learning is no ordinary scholarly work. It embodies Gu Yanwu's belief in applying learning to practical affairs. Society was in turmoil at the end of the Ming dynasty, riddled with problems, and Gu Yanwu wrote down his ideas for reform. He put forward the principle that "everyone is responsible for the fate of the nation" and criticized rule by a single monarch, advocating instead for governance by many. He believed flawed social institutions should be reformed, emphasized that public morals and customs affect a nation's rise and fall, and stressed the importance of talent to the state.

The book had a profound influence on later generations. It helped establish the Qing dynasty's tradition of evidential scholarship and served as a model for subsequent academic research. Many Qing scholars were influenced by Gu Yanwu, contributing to the formation of the Qianlong-Jiaqing school. Reading The Records of Daily Learning today can still teach us about the proper attitude toward scholarship, as well as how to think about society and the nation.