Introduction/介绍
The Three Character Classic, or San Zi Jing 《三字经》is a Chinese classical text for young children and is often attributed to Wang Yinglin (王应麟, 1223–1296), an official who lived during the Southern Song era. Since it first appeared, there had been numerous versions as later writers analyzed or expounded on the original work. The version chosen in this book is based on the more popular Qing Dynasty edition with 1,134 characters. This is one of the easiest to read and understand.
The Three Character Classic formed the basis of elementary education for children, along with Hundred Family Surnames (《百家姓》, Bai Jia Xing) and Thousand Character Classic (《千字文》, Qian Zi Wen). Together these three books are known as the San Bai Qian (”三百千”，literally “Three, Hundred, Thousand”), from the first character in the titles. In the past, these books were the almost universal introductory literacy texts for students, almost exclusively boys, from elite families and even for a number of ordinary villagers. A learner who has studied all three books should be able to recognize and pronounce about 2,000 different Chinese characters.
In the past, this classic had served as a child’s first formal education at home. Written in concise verses of three characters each, with every four verses arranged in a group, the contents were designed for easy recitation by young children and the rhythm help them to memorize and assimilate the contents. Other than Chinese characters, children were also taught some basic geographical facts, basic Confucian values such as filial piety and respect, aspects of the Chinese culture including information about other key classical texts as well as being introduced to Chinese history. It is no small feat for this classic which, in about 300 characters, described nearly 5,000 years of Chinese ancient history.
For the classic to outlive its supposed writer by more than 700 years, printed and reprinted with numerous versions and supplements (especially to the history portion) that continued to be in circulation today, it is testimony to its popularity and the relevance of its contents to the society today. Its relevance as a key classical text was further cemented when it was included in UNESCO’s list of books on moral education for children.
《三字经》是中国幼儿的古典文本。一般学者认为《三字经》的作者是王应麟（1223–1296），一位生活在南宋时期的官员。自经书出版至今，后来经不同学者分析、阐述， 现已有许多不同的版本。这里选择的是较为流行的清代版， 共有1134个字。在这许多版本之中，这清代版是其中最浅显易懂的。
《三字经》是古代儿童基础教育的课文之一，与《百家姓》和《千字文》一起被称为“三百千”。在过去，这些书籍是普遍用来教入门识字的教材。完成这三本教材的学生，一般能够识别和念2000个汉字左右。
在过去，这本经典在家里是孩子的首个正规教材。三字一行，四行一组，写在简明的经文中，方便年幼的孩子背诵和字句的节奏也能帮助他们记住和学习当中的内容。除了汉字之外，《三字经》还传授一些基本的地理知识、儒家价值观比如孝道和尊重、中国文化如关于其他主要经典以及简单的介绍中国历史。对这一经典而言，是个壮举，能在约300个字内描述了近5000年的中国古代史。
要比它应该的作家超过700年的经典，印刷和印刷版本众多和补充（尤其是对历史的部分），继续是今天的循环，它见证了它的普及和其内容对今天社会的关联。其关联性作为一个重要的经典文本，进一步巩固了它被列入联合国教科文组织关于儿童道德教育的书籍清单。