'China in the Classics' returns to explore China's monumental chronicle masterpiece
A new season of "China in the Classics," a cultural program produced by China Media Group (CMG), will premiere at 20:00 on October 4 on CCTV‑1.
A poster for the new season of "China in the Classics," a cultural program produced by China Media Group (CMG). (Photo: CMG)
The series invites global audiences to engage with 11 great ancient Chinese classical works such as "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government," "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and "Dream of the Red Chamber," reviving the timeless words of ancient texts for modern viewers.
A screenshot of the facsimile of the sole surviving manuscript of "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government." (Photo: CMG)
Kicking off with "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" (or "Zizhi Tongjian" in Chinese) – China's pioneering chronological universal history – the first episode tells the story of Northern Song (960-1127) historian Sima Guang.
Sima spent 19 years completing this landmark chronicle covering 1,362 years of Chinese history. Most of Sima Guang's original drafts have been lost over time, and only one fragmented scroll remains.
A poster for the new season of "China in the Classics," a cultural program produced by China Media Group (CMG). (Photo: CMG)
The show presents a facsimile copy of this prized treasure from the collection of the National Library of China in Beijing.
This fragment runs to just 29 lines and 465 characters, recording events of 322 AD in the Eastern Jin era. A total of 119 collector seals from different centuries mark its thousand‑year-long transmission.
It offers a glimpse into Sima's meticulous scholarly spirit.