Of all the banes under heaven none is worse than this: to see only the profit before one’s eyes, and not perceive the disaster that is crouching behind.

Discipline begins with one’s own wife, extends to one’s brothers, and thus is carried on to the governance of the state.”

— 《Book of Songs (Mao Edition)》, Scroll 3

【註1】《吴越春秋》是东汉时期的著作，东汉赵晔撰，唐皇甫遵删定。为稗官杂记体之别史，共有十卷。叙述春秋时期吴、越二国之间的战事。文辞丰蔚富饶，颇似小说家言。在四库全书中为史部记载类。

【註2】毛诗，指战国末年时，鲁国毛亨和赵国毛苌所辑和注的古文《诗》，也就是流行于世的《诗经》。 《诗经》作为中国文学史的第一部诗歌总集，共305篇，毛诗每一篇下都有小序，以介绍本篇内容、意旨等。而全书第一篇《关雎》下，除有小序外，另有一篇总序，称为《诗大序》，是古代中国诗论的第一篇专著。 东汉经学家郑玄曾为《毛传》作“笺”，至唐代孔颖达作《毛诗正义》。

【註3】 春秋战国时期郑国曾以其优美的诗乐文化闻名于世，其乐曲中也有使人心神迷乱的奢靡淫乐之音，史称“亡国之音”。

【註4】《魏志》是《三国志》的一部分。《三國志》由三部史书构成，分别是：《魏书》、《蜀书》、《吴书》。这个名称，是宋代以来形成的，在此之前，又一般称作 《魏志》、《蜀志》、《吴志》。

Note 1: 《Wu Yue Chunqiu》 (Annals of Wu and Yue) is a work from the Eastern Han period, written by Zhao Ye and later edited by Huangfu Zun of the Tang dynasty. It belongs to the genre of unofficial miscellaneous histories (稗官杂记体), consisting of ten volumes. It narrates the wars between the states of Wu and Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. Its language is rich and ornate, resembling the style of storytellers and novelists. In the 《Siku Quanshu》 (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), it is classified under “History – Records.”

Note 2： 《Mao Shi》 refers to the version of the 《Book of Songs》 (詩經) edited and annotated during the late Warring States period by Mao Heng of the State of Lu and Mao Chang of the State of Zhao. This is the version that circulated widely thereafter. As the earliest anthology of poetry in Chinese literary history, the 《Book of Songs》 contains 305 poems. Each poem in the 《Mao Shi》 has a “minor preface” (小序), explaining its content and intent. The very first poem, “Guan Ju”, besides having a minor preface, also has a “general preface” (大序), considered the earliest Chinese treatise on poetics. In the Eastern Han, the scholar Zheng Xuan wrote explanatory notes (“annotations”) on the Mao tradition, and in the Tang dynasty, Kong Yingda compiled the Correct Meaning of the Mao Shi.

Note 3： During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the state of Zheng was renowned for its refined culture of poetry and music. Yet among its melodies were also decadent and sensual strains that could bewilder the mind, which history calls “the sounds of a doomed state.”

Note 4： 《Wei Zhi》 (Records of Wei) is part of the 《Records of the Three Kingdoms》 , which itself is composed of three historical works: 《Book of Wei》, 《Book of Shu》, and 《Book of Wu》. The collective title 《Records of the Three Kingdoms》 came into common use from the Song dynasty onward; before that, the works were generally referred to separately as 《Wei Zhi》, 《Shu Zhi》, and 《Wu Zhi》.