Greater Books

*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Eliot* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Oriental* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Utne* *Campbell* *Norway* *Dirda* *Great* *Guardian* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Van Doren* *Harvard* *Reynolds* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Recommended* *Educated*

Wm. Theodore de Bary, Ainslie Embree, and Amy Vladeck Heinrich, eds., A Guide to Oriental Classics [1989]

121 entries: 102 monographical, 19 otherwise

Unranked—arranged chronologically within topical sections: Classics of the Islamic Tradition (no. 1-14); Classics of the Indian Tradition (The Vedas-no. 42); Classics of the Chinese Tradition (no. 43-Three Hundred Tang Poems); Classics of the Japanese Tradition (The Ten Thousand Leaves-102)

This, the third edition of A Guide to Oriental Classics, "prepared by the staff of the Committee on Oriental Studies, Columbia University," offers another Columbia-related list of classics, except in this case Eastern classics. Indeed, the book grew out of a counterpart to the "great books" classes: namely, the Oriental Humanities course; according to the book's Introduction, "the assumptions of this course, inherited from the parent Humanities course in the Western tradition, have been basically two: that there were certain great works of intellectual and artistic achievement in the Oriental world which any educated person, whatever his own field of specialization, ought to have read; and that these books could be understood and appreciated without prior initiation into the complexities of scholarly research in each field." That is, the same approach used in the "great books" courses and reading plans—scholars from different disciplines making literature accessible to a general public not devoted to those disciplines—applies here, except of course that the East does not diametrically correspond to the West. Ideally, over time, the Islamic Tradition ('Near East' perhaps) will be understood better as the link between the Orient and the Occident, while the Buddhist, Hindu, and Chinese realms can be given their proper, distinct place, interacting of course with other Indian as well as Korean and Japanese (and Indonesian, and other Asian/ Pacific) traditions.

The Guide provides lists of complete and partial translations of each work, and secondary readings on the work, as well as some Topics for Discussion. Each of the four traditions begins with a General Works section listing bibliographies and secondary works about the tradition generally. A few chapters deal with areas of literature so broad that they cannot even count as indeterminate selections for our project. They tend to list secondary works first, followed by the literary works, usually anthologies. Those chapters are: 'Supplementary Readings on Indian Buddhism'; 'Sanskrit Lyric Poetry'; 'Indian Devotional Poetry'; 'Indo-Islamic Poetry'; 'Supplementary Readings on Chinese Buddhism'; 'Chinese Drama'; 'Chinese Poets and Poetry' and 'Supplementary Readings on Japanese Buddhism'. 'Three Hundred Tang Poems' from the Chinese poetry chapter has been included; this is just one example of how this list could expand in the future. The 'Chinese Drama' chapter includes several anthologies that obviously consist of monographical works.

  1. Muallaqat

    2. The Seven Odes
    compiled Eighth Century—Arabic

    --
  2. Quran

    3. Koran
    Seventh Century—Arabic

  3. Ibn Hazm

    4. Tawq al-Hamamah
    The Ring of the Dove
    written ca. 1022—Arabic

  4. Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadani

    5. Maqamat Badi az-Zaman al-Hamadhani
    Ninth Century—Arabic

  5. Al-Hariri of Basra

    6. Maqamat al-Hariri
    Eleventh Century—Arabic

    --
  6. Kitab alf Laylah Wa-Laylah

    7. The Thousand and One Nights; The Arabian Nights
    Ninth-Fifteenth centuries—Arabic

  7. Al-Ghazali

    8. Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal
    Deliverance From Error
    Eleventh-early Twelfth centuries—Arabic

  8. Averroës (Ibn Rushd)

    9. Fasl al-Maqal
    On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy
    Twelfth Century—Arabic

  9. Farid ud-Din Attar (Attar of Nishapur)
    Mantiq-ut-Tayr
    The Conference of the Birds
    1177—Persian

    • Rumi

    10. Poems
    Thirteenth Century—Persian

  10. Ibn Khaldun

    11. Muqaddimah
    Fourteenth Century; originally written as the preface to Kitab al-Ibar—Arabic

  11. Ferdowsi

    12. Shahnameh
    The Book of Kings
    written ca. 977-1010—Persian

  12. Omar Khayyam

    13. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
    ca. Eleventh-Twelfth centuries; compiled by Edward FitzGerald in five editions, 1859, 1868, 1872, 1879, and 1889—Persian

    --
  13. Dede Korkut
    The Book of Dede Korkut
    Turkic

    • Yunus Emre

    14. Poems
    late Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuries—Turkish

  14. Fuzuli
    Dastan-i Leyli vu Mecnun
    The Epic of Layla and Majnun
    Sixteenth Century—Turkic

    --
    • Vedas

    15. ca. Eighteenth-Fifth centurie B C—Sanskrit

    --
  15. Rigveda
    Sanskrit

    --
    • Upanishads

    16. Seventh-Fourth centuries B C—Sanskrit

  16. Vyasa
    Mahabharata
    includes Bhagavad Gita; ca. Ninth Century B C-Fourth Century—Sanskrit

    • Bhagavad Gita

    17. part of the Mahabharata; ca. Ninth Century B C-Fourth Century—Sanskrit

  17. Valmiki

    18. Ramayana
    ca. Fifth-Second centuries B C—Sanskrit

  18. Patanjali

    19. Yoga Sutras
    ca. Second Century B C—Sanskrit

  19. Badarayana

    20. Brahma Sutra
    Vedanta Sutra
    ca. Fifth Century B C—Sanskrit

  20. Adi Shankara
    Brahmasutra Bhasya
    Commentary on the Brahma Sutra
    ca. early Ninth Century—Sanskrit

    --
    • Tripitaka

    21. ca. Sixth-Fifth centuries B C; Sanskrit translations—Pali

    --
  21. Dhammapada

    22. part of the Khuddaka Nikaya, fifth of five nikayas in the Sutta Pitaka; written ca. Third Century B C—Pali

    --
  22. Milinda Panha

    23. Questions of Milinda
    written ca. Second Century B C-Second Century—Pali

    --
  23. Mahasatipatthana Sutta
    —Pali

    --
    • Prajnaparamita

    24. ca. First Century B C—Sanskrit

    --
  24. Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra

    25. The Perfection of Wisdom
    ca. First Century B C—Sanskrit

    --
  25. Vajracchedika Prajñaparamita Sutra

    26. The Diamond Sutra
    ca. First Century B C—Sanskrit

    --
  26. Srimaladevi Simhanada Sutra

    27. The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala
    complete Sanskrit original not extant; Chinese translation

    --
  27. Lankavatara Sutra

    28. Sanskrit

    --
  28. Infinite Life Sutra

    29. Sanskrit

    --
  29. Amitabha Sutra

    30. Sanskrit

  30. Shantideva

    31. Bodhisattvacharyavatara
    written ca. 700—Sanskrit

  31. Kalidasa

    32. Abhijnanasakuntalam
    The Recognition of Sakuntala
    ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit

  32. Sudraka

    33. Mrcchakatika
    The Little Clay Cart
    ca. Second Century B C-Fifth Century—Sanskrit

    --
  33. Panchatantra

    34. Pancatranta
    Sanskrit

  34. Jayadeva

    35. Gita Govinda
    Song of Govinda
    ca. 1200—Sanskrit

  35. Kalidasa

    36. Meghaduta
    The Cloud Messenger
    ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit

  36. Bhartrihari
    Satakatraya
    The Three Satakas
    ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit

    Rabindranath Tagore
    • The Crescent Moon

    English translations of selections mostly from Sisu, 1903—Bengali

    • The Gardener

    37. English translations of selections from Kshanika, 1900; Kalpana, 1900; Sonar Tari, 1894; and others—Bengali

  37. Visarjan

    38. Sacrifice
    1890—Bengali

  38. Dakghar

    39. The Post Office
    1912—Bengali

  39. Chitrangada
    1892; English translation entitled Chitra—not the same as the author's poetry book entitled Chitra, 1896—Bengali

    • Fruit-Gathering

    40. 1916; English translations of selections from Gitimalya, Gitali, Balaka, and others—Bengali

  40. Stray Birds

    41. —Bengali

  41. Phalguni
    The Cycle of Spring
    1916—Bengali

    • The Fugitive

    42. 1921; English translations of selections from Manasi, 1890; Sonar Tari, 1894; Giti-Malya, 1914; Kahini, 1900; and others; also includes Viday-Abhisap [1894]—Bengali

  42. Mohandas K Gandhi

    43. The Story of My Experiments With the Truth
    originally published serially 1925-9 in Navijan—Gujarati

  43. Confucius (Kǒng Zǐ) (Kǒng Fūzǐ) (K'ung Fu-tzu)

    44. Analects
    Lún Yǔ
    written and compiled by the author's pupils; ca. Fifth Century B C-Second Century—Chinese

  44. Mòzǐ (Mo Tzu)

    45. Mòzǐ
    ca. Fifth Century B C—Chinese

  45. Lǎozǐ (Lao-tzu) (Laocius)

    46. Dàodéjǐng
    Tao te Ching
    ca. Sixth Century B C—Chinese

  46. Zhuāngzī (Zhuāng Zhōu) (Chuang-tzu)

    47. Zhuāngzī
    Nánhuá Zhēnjīng
    ca. Third Century B C—Chinese

  47. Mèng Zǐ (Mencius) (Meng Tzu)
    Mèng Zǐ
    Fourth Century B C—Chinese

    --
    • The Doctrine of the Mean

    part of the Book of Rites—Chinese

    --
    • The Great Learning

    48. part of the Book of Rites—Chinese

  48. Xúnzǐ (Hsün-tzu)

    49. Xúnzǐ
    Third Century B C—Chinese

  49. Hán Fēizi (Han Fei-tzu)

    50. Hán Fēizi
    Third Century B C—Chinese

  50. Simǎ Qiān

    51. Shǐjì
    The Records of the Grand Historian
    written 109-91 B C—Chinese

    --
  51. Saddharma Pundarika Sutra

    52. Lotus Sutra
    Sanskrit

    --
  52. Vimalakirti Sutra

    53. Sanskrit

    --
  53. Mahayana Sraddhotpada Sastra

    54. Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana
    original Sanskrit version attributed to Asvaghosa not exant—Chinese

  54. Huìnéng

    55. Liùzǔ Tánjīng
    The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
    ca. Eighth-Thirteenth centuries—Chinese

  55. Línjì Yìxuán (Lin-chi l-Hsüan)
    Línjì Yǔlù
    Record of Linj
    ca. Ninth-Twelfth centuries—Chinese

    • Zhū Xī (Chu Hsi)

    56. Selected works
    Twelfth Century—Chinese

    Wáng Yángmíng (Bo'an)
  56. Chuáxí Lù

    57. Instructions for Practical Living
    late Fifteenth-early Sixteenth centuries—Chinese

  57. Inquiry on the Great Learning

    58. late Fifteenth-early Sixteenth centuries—Chinese

  58. Shī Nài'ān

    59. Shuǐ Hŭ Zhuàn
    The Water Margin
    written Fourteenth Century—Chinese

  59. Wú Chéng-ēn (Ruzhong)

    60. Xi Yóu Jì
    Journey to the West; Monkey
    late Sixteenth Century—Chinese

  60. Lánlíng Xiàoxiào Shēng

    61. Jīn Píng Méi
    The Plum in the Golden Vase; The Golden Lotus
    1610; author's identity unknown, given name is a pseudonym—Chinese

  61. Cáo Xuěqín (Mengruan) (Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in)

    62. Hóng Lóu Mèng
    The Dream of the Red Chamber; The Story of the Stone
    1791—Chinese

    --
  62. Shījīng

    63. Shih-Ching; The Classic of Poetry; The Book of Poetry; The Book of Songs; The Book of Odes
    one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; Eleventh-Seventh centuries B C—Chinese

  63. Qū Yuán and Sòng Yù
    Cǔ Chí
    Verses of Chu; Songs of the South
    ca. Third Century B C-Third Century—Chinese

    --
    • Three Hundred Tang Poems

    compiled by Sun Zhu ca. 1763—Chinese

    --
    • Man'yoshu

    The Ten Thousand Leaves
    poetry anthology; probably completed by Otomo Yakamochi; ca. Seventh and Eighth centuries—Japanese

    --
    • Kokin Wakashu

    64. Kokinshu
    Japanese

  64. Sei Shonagon

    65. Makura no Soshi
    The Pillow Book
    written 1002—Japanese

    Murasaki Shikibu
  65. Genji Monogatari

    66. The Tale of Genji
    ca. early Eleventh Century—Japanese

  66. Murasaki Shikibu Nikki

    67. written ca. 1008-1010—Japanese

  67. Lady Nijo

    68. Towazugatari
    The Confessions of Lady Nijo
    early Fourteenth Century—Japanese

  68. Horikawa

    69. Sanuki no Suke nikki
    Emperor Horikawa Diary
    late Eleventh-early Twelfth centuries—Japanese

  69. Izumi Shikibu

    70. Izumi Shikibu Nikki
    The Izumi Shikibu Diary
    Eleventh Century—Japanese

  70. Ki no Tsurayuki

    71. Tosa Nikki
    originally anonymously published; written Tenth Century—Japanese

  71. Sugawara no Takasue no Musume (Takasue's Daughter) (Lady Sarashina)

    72. Sarashina Nikki
    Japanese

  72. Mother of Michitsuna

    73. Kagero Nikki
    The Gossamer Years
    written ca. 974—Japanese

    --
  73. Ise Monogatari

    74. The Tales of Ise
    probably written in part by Ariwara no Narihira; Ninth-Tenth centuries—Japanese

    --
  74. Yamato Monogatari

    75. Tales of Yamato
    written Tenth Century—Japanese

  75. Lady Daibu
    Kenreimon-in Ukyo no Daibu
    The Poetic Memoirs of Lady Daibu
    late Twelfth-early Thirteenth centuries—Japanese

    • Kukai

    76. Selected works
    early Ninth Century—Japanese

  76. Shinran

    77. Tannisho
    transcribed by Yuen, late Thirteenth Century—Japanese

  77. Genshin

    78. Ojoyoshu
    written 985—Japanese

  78. Dogen

    79. Shobogenzo Zuimonki
    Thirteenth Century—Japanese

    Hakuin Ekaku
  79. Orategama

    80. Eighteenth Century—Japanese

  80. Itsumadegusa

    81. Wild Ivy
    Eighteenth Century—Japanese

  81. Chomei Kamo

    82. Hojoki
    An Account of My Hut
    written 1212—Japanese

  82. Yoshida Kenko

    83. Tsurezuregusa
    Essays in Idleness
    written 1330-32—Japanese

    --
  83. Heike Monogatari
    Tale of the Heike
    ca. Thirteenth-Fourteenth centuries—Japanese

    --
    • Noh plays

    84. Japanese

    Ihara Saikaku
  84. Five Women Who Loved Love

    85. 1685—Japanese

  85. The Life of an Amorous Woman

    86. 1686—Japanese

  86. Some Final Words of Advice

    87. —Japanese

  87. The Japanese Family Storehouse

    88. 1688—Japanese

  88. This Scheming World

    89. 1692—Japanese

  89. Basho Matsuo

    90. Oku no Hosomichi
    The Narrow Road to the Deep North
    late Seventeenth Century—Japanese

    Chikamatsu Monzaemon
  90. Sonezaki no Shinju

    91. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
    1703—Japanese

  91. Shinju Mannenso

    92. The Love Suicides in the Women's Temple
    1710—Japanese

  92. Meido no Hikyaku

    93. The Courier for Hell
    1711—Japanese

  93. Kokusen'ya Kassen

    94. The Battles of Coxinga
    1715—Japanese

  94. Nebiki no Kadomatsu

    95. The Uprooted Pine
    1718—Japanese

  95. Onnagoroshi Abura no Jigoku

    96. The Woman-Killer and the Hell of Oil
    1721—Japanese

  96. Shinju Ten no Amijima

    97. The Love Suicides at Amijima
    1721—Japanese

  97. Horikawa Nami no Tsuzumi

    98. 1721—Japanese

  98. Tamba Yosaku Machiyo no Komurobushi

    99. 1721—Japanese

  99. Yari no Gonza

    100. 1721—Japanese

  100. Hakata Kojoro Namimakura

    101. 1721—Japanese

  101. Izumo Takeda, Shoraku Miyoshi, and Senryu Namiki

    102. Kanadehon Chushingura
    The Treasure of Loyal Retainers
    1748—Japanese

  102. Natsume Soseki

    103. Kokoro
    originally entitled Kokoro: Sensei no Isho, published serially Apr.-Aug. 1914 in Asahi Shinbun—Japanese