Anonymous, World Canonical Texts [2007]
215 entries: 201 monographical, 14 otherwise
Ranked
The web site World Canonical Texts originally presented a list of 36 works, plus lists of 16 and four derived from those 36; then presented a list of 150, from which lists of 100, 50, 25, and 12 were derived. However, not all of the works on those shorter lists are in the 150 and 36 tallies; each list is meant to stand on its own as representative of the world's major religious and philosophical movements, thus making substitutions necessary at times. Also, the entries in the list of 36 do not always take the same form in the list of 150; for example, the list of 150 has Plato's complete works, while the 36 only has The Republic.
Despite this complex set-up, this site makes an extraordinary contribution to the literature of book lists/ canons/ reading plans. Far more so than the Norwegian Book Club's World Library, these lists, especially when combined into a single list as I have done here, offer the only "great books" list not dominated by the West. By focusing on religious and philosophical texts, the anonymous author (who tells us little about himself, most important perhaps that he is Chinese) effectively offers a path to understanding the Christian, Islamic, Classical Chinese, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions in their literary manifestations. Perhaps only a list emphasizing poetry could be as truly global. In contrast, most of the lists emphasize fiction, namely the novel (the major exception being Seymour-Smiths's and to a lesser extent the academics who collectively, over time, created the "great books" concept: Eliot, Adler, and Van Doren, all of which nonetheless are Western-dominated).
This anonymous listmaker only ranks the works in the sense that those works in the shorter lists are presumably more representative and perhaps more significant (the creator of the site is not always clear on this point). I got the order in which they're presenting here by starting with the shortest list, so that the first-fourth here constitute the list of 4 at the site; they are followed by the works in the list of 12 not already included in the list of 4, the works in the list of 16 not already included in the lists of 4 or 12, and so on.
- Plato
Dialogues
early Fourth Century B C—Greek
- Vyasa
Mahabharata
includes Bhagavad Gita; ca. Ninth Century B C-Fourth Century—Sanskrit
- Simǎ Qiān
Shǐjì
The Records of the Grand Historian
written 109-91 B C—Chinese
--
- Quran
Koran
Seventh Century—Arabic
- Herodotus
Historiē
History
Fifth Century B C—Greek
--
- Samyutta Nikaya
third of five nikayas in the Sutta Pitaka—Pali
--
- The Bible
—Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
--
Selections of Refined Literature
Chinese
- Adi Shankara
Brahmasutra Bhasya
Commentary on the Brahma Sutra
ca. early Ninth Century—Sanskrit
- Al-Ghazali
Ihya Ulum al-Din
The Revival of Religious Sciences
Eleventh-early Twelfth centuries—Arabic
- Zhū Xī (Chu Hsi)
Sìshū Zhāngju Jízhù
Commentaries on the Four Books
Twelfth Century—Chinese
- Confucius (Kǒng Zǐ) (Kǒng Fūzǐ) (K'ung Fu-tzu)
Analects
Lún Yǔ
written and compiled by the author's pupils; ca. Fifth Century B C-Second Century—Chinese
- Mèng Zǐ (Mencius) (Meng Tzu)
Mèng Zǐ
Mencius; Meng Tzu
Fourth Century B C—Chinese
--
- Liǐjì
The Classic of Rites; The Book of Rites
one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; includes The Doctrine of the Mean and the Great Learning; ca. Eleventh-Third centuries B C—Chinese
William Shakespeare
- Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies
The First Folio
1623; includes 36 of the author's plays—English
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ca. 1590-94—English
- Romeo and Juliet
ca. 1591-97—English
- The First Part of Henry VI
ca. 1592—English
- The Second Part of Henry VI
ca. 1592—English
- The Third Part of Henry VI
ca. 1592—English
- The Taming of the Shrew
ca. 1592-94—English
- Richard III
ca. 1592-7—English
- Titus Andronicus
1594—English
- The Comedy of Errors
1594—English
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
ca. 1595-1600—English
- The Merchant of Venice
ca. 1596-98—English
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
ca. 1597-1602—English
- The First Part of Henry IV
1597—English
- Richard II
1597—English
- Love's Labour Lost
1598—English
- King John
ca. 1598—English
- Much Ado About Nothing
ca. 1598-99—English
- Julius Caesar
1599—English
- Henry V
1599—English
- The Second Part of Henry IV
1600—English
- Twelfth Night; or, What You Will
1602—English
- Hamlet
1602—English
- Troilus and Cressida
ca. 1602-09—English
- As You Like It
1603—English
- Measure for Measure
1604—English
- Othello
ca. 1604—English
- Coriolanus
written ca. 1605-08—English
- King Lear
1606—English
- All's Well That Ends Well
ca. 1606-08—English
- Macbeth
ca. 1607—English
- Timon of Athens
written ca. 1607—English
- The Tempest
1611—English
- The Winter's Tale
ca. 1611—English
- Henry VIII
ca. 1613—English
- Antony and Cleopatra
ca. 1606-08—English
- Cymbeline
written ca. 1609—English
- Immanuel Kant
Kritik der Reinen Vernunft
Critique of Pure Reason
1781; revised 1787—German
- Nagarjuna
Mulamadhyamakakarika
Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way
ca. 150-250—Sanskrit
- Plato
Politeia
The Republic
early Fourth Century B C—Greek
- Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)
Aeneid
First Century B C—Latin
--
- Yì Jīng
I Ching; Zhouyi; The Classic of Changes; The Book of Changes
one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; Eleventh-Third centuries B C—Chinese
- Lǎozǐ (Lao-tzu) (Laocius)
Dàodéjīng
Tao te Ching
ca. Sixth Century B C—Chinese
- Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Tarikh al-Tabari
The History of the Prophets and Kings
early Tenth Century—Arabic
- Avicenna
Kitab al-Shifa
The Book of Healing
1027—Arabic
- Rumi
Masnavi-l Ma'navi
Mathnavi
written ca. 1258-73—Persian
Kalidasa
- Abhijnanasakuntalam
The Recognition of Sakuntala
ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit
- Meghaduta
The Cloud Messenger
ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit
- Kumarasambhava
The Birth of Kumara
ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit
- Augustine of Hippo
De Trinitate
On the Trinity
early Fourth Century—Latin
- Zhì Yǐ (Chih-I)
Fáhuá Xuányì
Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra
Sixth Century—Chinese
- Ferdowsi
Shahnameh
The Book of Kings
written ca. 977-1010—Persian
- Ramanuja
Gita Bhashya
Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
ca. Eleventh Century—Sanskrit
- Dante
La Divina Commedia
The Divine Comedy
originally entitled La Commedia; written ca. 1308-21—Italian
Amir Khusrow
- Ghurratul-Kamaal
The Prime of Perfection
Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuries—Persian
- Noh Sepehr
Mathnavi of the Nine Skies
Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuries—Persian
- Ishqia
Ashiqe; Mathnavi Duval Rani-Khizr Khan; Romance of Duval Rani and Khizr Khan
Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuries—Persian
- René Descartes
Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, in Qua Dei Existentia et Animae Immortalitas Demonstratur
Meditations on First Philosophy
1641; French version, Meéeditations Metaphysiques, 1647—Latin
- Edward Gibbon
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
originally published in six volumes: first, 1776; second-third, 1781; fourth-sixth, 1788—English
--
- Rigveda
Sanskrit
- Homer
Iliad
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B C—Greek
- Aristotle
Metaphysics
Fourth Century B C—Greek
--
- Manusmrti
Laws of Manu; Manava Dharmasastra
ca. Fifth Century B C—Sanskrit
- Eusebius
Historia Ecclesiae
Fourth Century—Latin
- Zhì Yǐ (Chih-I)
Commentaries on the Vimalakirti Sutra
Sixth Century—Chinese
- Koǒng Yǐngdá
Wujīng Zhèngyì
Correct Meanings of the Five Classics
653—Chinese
--
- Shījīng
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
- Xuánzàng (Hsuan-tang)
Dà Táng Xiyù Jì
Ta T'ang Hsiyü Chi; The Great Tang Records of the Western Religions
written 626-46; compiled by Biànjī—Chinese
- Chéng Xuányīng
Zhuāngzī Zhúshū
Commentary on Zhuāngzī
Seventh Century—Chinese
--
compiled by Sun Zhu ca. 1763—Chinese
- Shì Dàoyuán
Jǐngdé Chuándēnglù
The Transmission of the Lamp
ca. 1004-07—Chinese
- Simǎ Guāng
Zīzhì Tōngjiàn
The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government
1084—Chinese
- Cáo Xuěqín (Mengruan) (Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in)
Hóng Lóu Mèng
The Dream of the Red Chamber; The Story of the Stone
1791—Chinese
Rexroth Ward Magill Oriental Fadiman Great World
- Karl Marx
Das Kapital, Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie
originally published in three volumes: 1867, 1885, and 1894—German
Complete works
early Fourth Centur B C—Greek
- Xúnzǐ (Hsün-tzu)
Xúnzǐ
Hsün-tzu
Third Century B C—Chinese
- Valmiki
Ramayana
ca. Fifth-Second centuries B C—Sanskrit
- Umaswati
Tattvartha Sutra
Moksh-Shastra
ca. Second Century B C—Sanskrit
--
- Muallaqat
The Seven Odes
compiled Eighth Century—Arabic
- Manikkavacakar
Tiruvacakam
Ninth Century—Tamil
- Murasaki Shikibu
Genji Monogatari
The Tale of Genji
ca. early Eleventh Century—Japanese
- Ibn Arabi
Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya
The Meccan Illuminations
ca. 636—Arabic
- John Calvin
Christianae Religionis Institutio
Institutes of the Christian Religion
1536; French translation, Institution de la Religion Chrestienne, 1541—Latin
- Abul Fazl
Akbarnama
The Book of Akbar
written 1590-96—Persian
- Miguel de Cervantes
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha
Don Quixote
originally published in two volumes, 1605 and 1615—Spanish
- René Descartes
Discours de la Méthode Pour Bien Conduire sa Raison, et Chercher la Vérité dans les Sciences
Discourse on the Method
1637—French
- John Locke
Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, the False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government
originally anonymously published 1689—English
- Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice
originally anonymously published 1813—English
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Brat'â Karamazovy
The Brothers Karamazov
originally published serially 1880 in Rússkij Véstnik—Russian
- Guō Xiàng (Kuo Hsiang)
Zhuāngzī Zhù
Commentary on Zhuāngzī
Third Century—Chinese
- Zhuāngzī (Zhuāng Zhōu) (Chuang-tzu)
Zhuāngzī
Nánhuá Zhēnjīng
ca. Third Century B C—Chinese
Sophocles
- Antigone
ca. 441 B C—Greek
- Oidipous epi Kolōnō
Oedipus at Colonus
401 B C—Greek
- Oidipous Tyrannos
Oedipus Rex; Oedipus the King
ca. 429 B C#151;Greek
- Thucydides
History of the Peloponnesian War
early Fifth Century B C—Greek
- Mòzǐ (Mo Tzu)
Mòzǐ
Mo Tzu
ca. Fifth Century B C—Chinese
- Dǒng Zhòngshū
Chūnqiū Fánlù
The Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals
Second Century—Chinese
- Kautilya (Chanakya) (Vishnu Gupta)
Arthshastra
Fourth-Third centuries B C—Sanskrit
- Ovid
Metamorphoseon
Metamorphoses
8—Latin
- Livy (Titus Livius)
Ab Urbe Condita Libri
History of Rome
First Century B C—Latin
- Asvaghosa
Buddhacarita
Acts of the Buddha
early Second Century—Sanskrit
--
- Vimalakirti Sutra
Sanskrit
- Origen
De Principiis
On First Principles
Third Century—Greek
- Patanjali
Yoga Sutras
ca. Second Century B C—Sanskrit
--
- Panchatantra
Pancatranta
attributed to Vishnu Sharma; ca. Third Century B C—Sanskrit
- Gě Hóng
Bàopǔzǐ
Bàopòzǐ; The Master Embracing Simplicity
ca. 317-18—Chinese
- Liú Yìqìng (Liu I-ching)
Shìshuì Xīnyǔ
Shih-shuo Hsin-yu; A New Account of the Tales of the World
Fifth Century—Chinese
- Hala
Gaha Sattasai
early First Century—Sanskrit
--
- Mahavamsa
The Great Chronicle
written ca. Third Century B C-Fifth Century—Pali
- Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Complete works
late Fifth-early Sixth centuries—Greek
- Wonhyo
Dacheng Qixinlun Shuji
Commentary on Awakening of Faith
Seventh Century—Korean
--
- Mahayana Sraddhotpada Sastra
Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana
Sanskrit original attributed to Asvaghosa not exant—Chinese
- Dù Yòu
Tōngdiǎn
late Eighth-early Ninth centuries—Chinese
Poems
late Eighth-early Ninth centuries—Arabic
- Muhammad al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari
Ninth Century—Arabic
- Udayana (Udyanacharya)
Nyaya-kusumanjali
Tenth Century—Sanskrit
- Ali Hujwiri
Kashf Al Mahjub
Revelation of the Veiled
Eleventh Century—Persian
- Al-Hariri of Basra
Maqamat al-Hariri
Eleventh Century—Arabic
- Wáng Chóngyáng (Wang Zhe)
Wáng Chóngyáng Quánzhēn Jí
Anthology of Complete Perfection
Twelfth Century—Chinese
- Maimonides (Moshe ben Maimon)
Dalalatul al-Hairin
Moreh Nevukhim; The Guide for the Perplexed
written Twelfth Century; Hebrew version published 1204—Arabic
- Jayadeva
Gita Govinda
Song of Govinda
ca. 1200—Sanskrit
- Shinran
Kyogyoshinsho
written ca. 1224—Japanese
Hua'an Cixuan
poetry anthology; Thirteenth Century—Chinese
- Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologiae
Summa Theologica
written 1265-74—Latin
- Rashid-al-Din Hamadani
Jami al-Tawarikh
The Compendium of Chronicles
Universal History
early Fourteenth Century—Persian
- Gregory Palamas
Triads for the Defense of Those Who Practice Sacred Quietude
Fourteenth Century—Greek
Divan
Fourteenth Century—Persian
- Geoffrey Chaucer
Canterbury Tales
1478—English
- Tsongkhapa
An Ocean of Reasoning
late Fourteenth-early Fifteenth centuries—Tibetan
- Niccolò Machiavelli
Il Principe
The Prince
1532—Italian
Martin Luther
- An den Christlichen Adel Deutscher Nation
Address to the Christian Nobility
1520—German
- De Captivitate Babylonica Ecclesiae, Praeludium
Von der Babylonischen Gefangenschaft der Kirche; On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church
1520; German version published the same year—Latin
- Von der Freiheit Eines Christenmenschen
The Freedom of a Christian; A Treatise on Christian Liberty
1520—German
- Yi Hwang
Seonghak Sipdo
The Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning
1681—Korean
- Luís Vaz de Camões
Os Lusíadas
1572—Portuguese
- Michel de Montaigne
Les Essais
Essays
originally published in three volumes: 1580, 1588, and 1595—French
--
- Guru Granth Sahib
Adi Granth
written ca. Fifteenth-Sixteenth centuries—Punjabi
- Mulla Sadra
Al-Asfar
The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect
early Seventh Century—Arabic
- John Milton
Paradise Lost
1667; revised 1674—English
- Huáng Zōngxī
Míngrú Xué Àn
The Scholarly Annals of Ming Confucians
Seventeenth Century—Chinese
- Mustafa Naima
Ravdatu 'l-Huseyn fi Hulasat-i Ahbari 'l-Hafiqayn
Tarikh i-Naima; Annals of the Turkish Empire From 1591 to 1659 of the Christian Era
1704—Turkish
- Voltaire
Essay sur l'Histoire Générale et sur les Moeurs et l'Esprit des Nations, Depuis Charlemagne Jusqu'à nos Jours
1756—French
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust
originally published in two volumes: first, Faust. Der Tragödie Erster Teil, published in part, 1790; in its entirey, 1808; revised 1829; second, Faust. Der Tragödie Zweiter Teil, 1832—German
- Adam Mickiewicz
Pan Tadeusz, Czyli Ostatni Zajazd na Litwie. Historia Szlachecka z Roku 1811 i 1812 we Dwunastu Ksiegach Wierszem
Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Lithuanian Foray: A Nobleman's Tale From the Years of 1811 and 1812 in Twelve Books of Verse
1834—Polish
- John Stuart Mill
On Liberty
1859—English
Divan
Nineteenth Century—Hindustani; Persian
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
De Officiis
written 44 B C—Latin
Poems
late Seventh-early Sixth centuries B C—Greek
--
Seventh-Fourth centuries B C—Sanskrit
- Hán Fēizi (Han Fei-tzu)
Hán Fēizi
Third Century B C—Chinese
- Diogenes Laërtius
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
Third Century—Greek
- Plotinus
Enneads
Third Century—Greek
--
- Avesta
ca. Fourth Century B C; primary collection of Zoroastrian sacred texts—Avestan
- Bhartrihari
Satakatraya
The Three Satakas
ca. Fifth Century—Sanskrit
--
- Yogacarabhumi-sastra
Discourse on the Stages of Yoga Practice
Fourth Century B C; attributed to Asanga—Sanskrit
- Buddhaghosa
Visuddhimagga
The Path of Purification; The Path of Purity; written ca. 430—Pali
- Táo Hóngjǐng
Zhēngào
The Declarations of the Perfected
written ca. 516—Chinese
- Bede
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
written ca. 731—Latin
- John of Damascus
The Foundation of Knowledge
Eighth Century—Greek
- Al-Shafii
Kitab al-Risala
late Eighth-early Ninth centuries—Arabic
- Banabhatta
Kadambari
early Seventh Century; completed by the author's son, Bhusanabhatta—Sanskrit
--
- Bhagavata Purana
Sanskrit
- Kukai
Jujushinron
Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Development of the Mind
830—Japanese
- Al-Masudi
Muruj adh-Dhahab wa Ma'adin al-Jawahir
Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems
Tenth Century—Arabic
- Nizam al-Mulk
Siyasatnama
Book of Government
Eleventh Century—Persian
- Abhinavagupta
Tantraloka
late Tenth-early Eleventh centuries—Sanskrit
- Somadeva
Katha-sarit-sagara
Eleventh Century—Sanskrit
- Shào Yōng
Huángjí Jīngshì
Book of Supreme World Ordering Principles
Eleventh Century—Chinese
Chrétien de Troyes
- Érec et Énide
written ca. 1170—French
- Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette
written ca. 1170—French Newman
- Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion
written ca. 1170—French
- Cligès
written ca. 1176—French
- Perceval, le Conte du Graal
written 1181-91—French Newman
- Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca)
Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta
Il Canzoniere
1374—Italian Newman
- Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (Sohrevardi)
Hikmat al-Ishraq
Oriental Theosophy; The Philosophy of Illumination
Twelfth Century—Arabic
- Ibn Khaldun
Kitab al-Ibar
Fourteenth Century—Arabic
- Saadi Shirazi
Gullistan
written 1258—Persian
- Acharya Hemachandra
Tri-shashthi-shalaka-purusha-charitra
The Lives of Sixty-Three Great Men
includes appendix, Parishista-parvan (The Lives of the Jain Elders); Twelfth Century—Sanskrit
- Kaviraja Suri
Raghavapandaviya
Twelfth Century—Sanskrit
- Wáng Chóngyáng (Wang Zhe)
Wáng Chóngyáng Quánzhēn Jí
Anthology of Complete Perfection
Twelfth Century—Chinese
--
- Cantong Qi
Kinship of the Three
traditionally attributed to Wei Boyang; ca. Second Century B C—Chinese
- Yú Yǎn
Zhōuyì Cāntóng Qì Fāhuī
Elucidation of the Cantong Qi
1284—Chinese
- Wáng Shifǔ
Xīxiāngji
The Story of the Western Wing
late Thirteenth Century—Chinese
- Shī Nài'ān
Shuǐ Hŭ Zhuàn
The Water Margin
written Fourteenth Century—Chinese
- José de Acosta
Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias
1590—Spanish
- Fuzuli
Dastan-i Leyli vu Mecnun
The Epic of Layla and Majnun
Sixteenth Century—Turkish
- Gù Yánwǔ
Rìzhīlù
Seventeenth Century—Chinese
Selected works
Seventeenth Century—Japanese
- Oku no Hosomichi
The Narrow Road to the Deep North; late Seventeenth Century—Japanese
- Victor Hugo
Les Misérables
1862—French
- David Hume
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
1748—English
- William Wordsworth; Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems
1798; expanded 1800 and 1802—English
- Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass
1855; expanded and revised through ninth edition, 1892—English
- William James
Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking
1907—English
- Friedrich Schleiermacher
Der Christliche Glaube Nach den Grundsätzen der Evangelischen Kirche
The Christian Faith
1821-22; revised 1830-31—German
- Jacob Burckhardt
Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy; 1860—German
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen
Thus Spake Zarathustra
originally published in four volumes, 1883-85—German
- Leo Tolstoy
Voyna i Mir"
War and Peace
originally entitled 1805, published in part, 1865 and 1867; retitled and published in its entirety, 1869—Russian
- Vladimir Solovyov
Lectures on Godmanhood
edited 1878-81 lectures—Russian
- Shah Waliullah
Hujjat Allah al-Baligha
The Conclusive Argument From God
Eighteenth Century—Arabic
- Bì Yuán
Xù Zīzhì Tōngjiàn
Continuation to Zizhì Tongjiàn
late Eighteenth Century; completed by Féng Jíwú in 1801—Chinese