Book of Documents

The Book of Documents (Chinese: 書經; Pinyin: Shūjīng; Wade–Giles: Shu King) or the Classic of History, is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorical prose attributed to figures of ancient China, and served as the foundation of Chinese political philosophy for over two millennia. Quotes 天作孽，猶可違；自作孽，不可活。 Calamities sent by Heaven may be avoided, but from calamities brought on by one's-self there is no escape. "The Books of Shang". Bk. V. Pt. ii, 3. Quoting Tai Jia in conversation with Yi Yin. Translated by James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Vol. III. Pt. i (1865) p. 207. Quoted slightly differently in the Mencius, Pt. I. Sec. 4: 天作孽，猶可違；自作孽，不可逭。Lionel Giles (1942) p. 48: "Heaven-sent calamities you may stand up against, but you cannot survive those brought on by yourself." About It would be better to be without the Shu-King than to believe every word of it. Attributed to Mencius in Charles D. B. Mills (ed.) Pebbles, Pearls and Gems of the Orient (1882) nos. 131 and 587 External links 尚書·太甲中 at Chinese Wikisource 自作孽，不可活 at Wiktionary Category:Histories Category:History of China