What is the Thousand Character Classic?

The Thousand Character Classic is a four-character classical poem written by Zhou Xingshi (周興嗣) in the Southern Liang Dynasty (梁, early 6th century) of China. It is a four-character classical poem composed of 1,000 different Chinese characters. Each phrase consists of four characters, and there are 250 verses in total.

 

Key Features

• It consists of 1,000 different Chinese characters, with no repetitions.

 

• Each verse is 4 characters wide, and it is a classical poem format with 250 verses (1,000 characters in total) in a continuous format.

 

• It covers various topics such as Chinese nature, philosophy, moral values, history and civilization, and natural phenomena.

 

• It has been used as an introductory Chinese character textbook in East Asia (Korea, China, and Japan) for a long time.

 

• It is also often used as a Chinese calligraphy practice and basic liberal arts book.

 

Origin and legend

 

• Origin: It is said that Zhu Xingshi composed a poem using 1,000 characters collected from Wang Xizhi's calligraphy at the order of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty.

 

• It is also nicknamed 'Baek Su-mun (白首文)' because he completed the sentence in one night and his hair turned white.

 

• There are various theories about when the Thousand Character Classic actually became widely used for educational purposes, and its spread accelerated after the Tang Dynasty.

 

Structure and Content

 

• Four-character phrases (四字句): A phrase begins with four characters (e.g., 天地玄黃, 宇宙洪荒).

 

• Content classification: The beginning contains the universe and nature, the middle contains humanity and morality, and the latter contains life, history, and the ways of the world.

 

• Rhyme and antithesis: Each phrase rhymes with another or is composed of antithesis.

 

• No duplication: Each 1,000 character appears only once without repetition.

 

 Korea and the Thousand-Character Classic

 

• Introductory Chinese Characters: Since the Joseon Dynasty, several editions, including the ‘Seokbong Thousand-Character Classic’ (Seokbong Hanho font), have been published as educational Chinese character textbooks and widely read.

 

• Interpretation and annotation: There were also editions with Hangul annotations to make it easier to read, with the sound and meaning of each letter attached. Representative examples include the Seokbongcheonjamun published in 1583 and the Annotated Cheonjamun written by Hong Seong-won in 1752.

 

• Cultural properties: Some of these woodblock editions are currently designated as cultural properties such as national treasures.

 

• Research materials on Chinese character shapes and phonetics: Various editions and annotated versions remain, providing valuable resources for the study of Chinese character sounds and classical Hangul.

 

• Literary and philosophical value: In addition to the artistry of antithesis, rhyme, and four-word poetry, it is noted for its sentences that sing of social morality and the order of nature and the universe.

 

Even today, the Thousand Character Classic is a basic and introductory text for learning Chinese characters, and is deeply meaningful as a representative text symbolizing the classical culture of China and Korea.