The linked pages have been prepared for use in classes relating to China and may be assigned for direct use on-line if desired. Some are reference materials — maps, charts, &c. or brief essays. Some are translations, ranging from a few lines to a whole book. All translations have introductions by me. Since Chinese is a common school subject in Anglophone schools today, most of the translations include the Chinese text. Some may be toggled between bilingual and English-only formats.
Unless otherwise indicated, these materials were all written by me and may be freely used by teachers and students without additional permission. Those by others are out of copyright, so far as I know.
Click here for a technical note about displaying tone-marked letters and Chinese characters and test page to check your browser's present capabilities.
Selections From the Penal Laws of China Relating to Marriage and Divorce
(Revision of G. T. Staunton's 1810 Translation of the Qīng 清 Dynasty Marriage Code, with introduction and notes. English only.)
Origin and Migrations of the Hakkas by Hsieh T'ing-yü (1929) (A summary of theories and evidence bearing on Hakka migrations, re-edited to include Pinyin Romanization and Chinese Characters.)
The Rites Controversy by John Barrow (1804) (A remarkably concise, clear, and sober overview of missionary activity in Imperial China, very slightly re-edited for modern class use. The author was a member of Lord Macartney's party visiting China on behalf of the English king.)
General Diacritic Screen Convert Mandarin or Cantonese tone numbers into tone marks. (The same utility converts Esperanto in "X" format into standard othography.)
Two Essays by Xúnzǐ 荀子
Human Nature Is Evil (page from chapter 23) (Tr. by DKJ. Bilingual)
Debate on Military Affairs (chapter 15) (Tr. modified from Dubs. Bilingual)
C. E. Couling: A Short Overview of Daoism (1917) (Substantially re-edited reprint of an obsolescent article from Encyclopedia Sinica in the interest of having a very short overview.
Dàodé Jīng 道德经:The Scripture of the Way & Its Virtue A brief essay about the text with a translation of the first chapters and puzzles to solve for several additional chapters. Linked to it is
Ten Translations of the Dàodé Jīng 道德经 showing the variation in interpretations of Chapter 1.
Daoist Tales From Zhuāngzǐ All of chapter 18 and parts of other chapters, including several famous brief Daoist anecdotes —the fish, the cow, the butterfly— arranged for class use. (Tr. by DKJ or modified from James Legge. Bilingual)
The Thief of Chǔ (Huáinán Zǐ 淮南子) A very Daoist story about how to conduct warfare. (Tr. by DKJ. Bilingual.)
The Life of the Buddha (Indian Version, Chinese Version)
(Heavily illustrated biography using Chinese or Indian names. The Chinese version uses frames, awkward in some browsers. The updated indian version avoids them.)
A Jataka Tale: Prince Vessantara
(Retold, with an introduction) Equivalent to about 5 printed pages. These tales are commonly told across southeast Asia, but are less common in China. The retelling focuses on versions in Burma and Thailand.)
visits to this page since 160901.