CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED SERIAL
COURAGE
AND WISDOM
PUBLISHING PLAN
The Chinese are probably one of
the most unique people in the world. They have
over five thousand years of written history.
During that long period, there have been
numerous wars and a lot of internal or external
chaos. Several of those nearly eliminated the
nation from the earth. However, they have not
only miraculously survived, but have grown and
strengthened. Back 300 years ago, China was one
of the major powers in the world. It was a
leading nation both in economic productivity and
in science and technology. The reason why
Chinese people could survive and prosper through
numerous crises lies in their unique ethnics,
history and culture. These form a complicated
system that includes elements such as astronomy,
geography, military, medicine, literature and
arts, etc. The Chinese people have made glorious
achievements in all respects. What is most
characteristic is their way of thinking and
reasoning which is philosophical and full of
wisdom. Such a way of thinking is deeply built
in their mind and has become their instinct.
To understand the Chinese people,
one must first understand their history. One of
the purposes of publishing this serial is to
introduce some true historical figures and their
interesting stories to the western world, so
that they will be able to understand the Chinese
people, the Chinese culture, and the Chinese way
of thinking. Above all, to help the western
people to appreciate the unique wisdom that
Chinese people apply in dealing with complicated
problems and dangerous issues. In today＊s world,
the excellent culture with one nation has become
the common wealth of all human beings, if only
people are willing to communicate with and to
understand each other. By doing so, any
difference in history, culture, language and way
of thinking between the western and the eastern
people can be overcome and friendship will be
built and enhanced. It is noticeable that
numerous conflicts result from lack of
understanding of each other.
To begin with, this serial will
comprise 11 books with full colour
illustrations, each containing 32-48 pages in
American letter size. The common features of
these books include:
﹛
1.These are true stories that are
recorded in historical documents. Some of them
occurred over 2000 years ago.
﹛
2.The stories in these books are
re-told in plain modern English for easy
understanding. The stories are told from a
new perspective so that the main theme is
expressed clearly and easy to grasp by the
western readers. The English translation is
edited by an American editor who is specialized
in children＊s literature, which ensures the text
is contemporary American English.
﹛
3.The illustrations are
oil-paintings drawn by best artists in China.
These fine paintings combine western styles with
characteristics of traditional Chinese painting.
The series of pictures tell the story, portray
the characters and illustrate the historical
background in the best possible details. These
paintings on their own represent the rich
variety of Chinese arts.
﹛
Courage and Wisdom
Contents in brief
﹛
Book 1 (published)
The
Story of Mulan
每 the
Daughter and the Warrior
The story of Mulan is an ancient Chinese folk
song. It tells the story of a girl who joined
the army in place of her father 1500 years ago,
combating the enemy for over a decade before
returning home victoriously. Though the brutal
battles ended a long time ago, her beautiful
story goes on.
Book 2
The Story
of Cao Gui
每
How a Peasant
Saved the Country
A
Citizen＊s Courage in Protecting His Country 每
When his country was facing an imminent enemy
attack, a normal citizen volunteered to fight
for his country. He instantly discovered the
weakness of the enemy and proposed tactics to
assist the king winning the war.
Book 3
The Story
of Mo zi
每 Wisdom
in Seeking Peace
Negotiation Table Offence and Defense on the
每 Upon learning a powerful country had built a
fierce new weapon and was about to use to attack
other countries, a righteous, peace-loving
scholar ventured to prevent the use of this
weapon. On the negotiation table, he adopted a
variety of tactics to prove that using this
weapon would definitely lead to defeat. Finally
he persuaded the owner of the new weapon to give
up his initial plan.
Book 4
The Story
of Sun Bin
每 The
Weak Defeating the Strong
Wrestling Between Two Generals 每 Sun Bin is a
famous military leader in Chinese history.
During his youth years, he was persecuted by his
envious classmate and lost both legs. One day
they met on the battle field, each leading his
own country＊s army. Fighting was fierce and
could only be won by wisdom. After several
rounds of wrestling of wisdom, Sun Bin finally
defeated his classmate.
Book 5
The Story
of Kong Ming (1)
每 Wisdom
of Using the Enemy Resource
Taking Enemy＊s Weapons 每 Taking Enemy＊s Weapons
每 Kong Ming is the most famous political and
military leader in China＊s history. Once a
battle was about to begin but the most important
weapon, arrows, had not been made ready. There
was no chance to make the arrows in a couple of
days and the issue must be dealt with instantly.
In that critical moment, Kong Ming took the
order to solve the problem. With the cover of
darkness and heavy cloud, Kong Ming led his men
approaching the enemy＊s camp site and captured
their weapon.
Book 6
The Story
of Kong Ming (2)
每 Wisdom
of Using the Natural Energy
Suddenly Turned Wind 每 On the broad water
surface of the Yangtz River and faced with an
enemy that was ten times larger, any
miscalculation would lead to crashing defeat.
After thorough planning, a strategy was adopted.
Just before the offensive move was launched, the
commander noticed an adverse weather. Gosh!
However, a suddenly turned wind led to a
definite victory. None of the change was beyond
Kong Ming＊s estimate.
Book 7
The Story
of Kong Ming (3)
每 Wisdom
of Winning Enemy＊s Heart
They Will Never Rebel每 The tribal people in the
remote southern jungles often invaded the border
area and perplexed the normal life of the local
people. Several assault campaigns did not lead
to a lasting peace. A better approach was needed
to defeat them once and for all. This would be a
special war, depending much on thinking,
determination and wisdom. In the end, their
hearts were won over and they would never again
rebel.
Book 8
The Story
of Shan Daoji
每 The
Magical General and the Secret of the Grain
Sand as Grain 每 The enemy was chasing closely
but their store of grain had been set on fire.
Even worse, a traitor told the enemy about their
food shortage. If they continue to retreat
without their food supply, they might end up
losing everything＃ But the calm general made a
bold decision＃ He surprised the enemy. The enemy
hesitated and retreats. In the end, the young
general managed to take his army home safely.
Book 9
The Story
of Xuan Gao
每 How a
Merchant＊s Courage Saved His Country
Presenting Gifts to Enemy 每 One day, a
businessman was on his way to do business. He
encountered a foreign army that was about to
attack his country. Rather than escaping for his
own safety, he decided to use his own wisdom to
prevent the army from attacking. In the end, he
managed to protect his country with his wisdom.
Book 10
The Story
of Song Jiu
每 Making Peace
Among Watermelons
Treating Neighbour Well 每 Two neighbouring
kingdoms had watermelon fields that zigzagged
along the border joining them together. Because
the farmers in the two kingdoms planted their
watermelons in different ways, the watermelons
in one kingdom grew than the other. The jealous
farmer in the poorer land started plotting nasty
ways of destroying the watermelons in the better
land. Retaliation would lead to damage to both
sides. How to deal with this crisis? A
low-ranking official came up with a wise way to
handle it.
Book 11
The Story
of Zhao Kuo
每 False
Wisdom
A
Self-Branded General 每 The son of a general had
good education, outstanding knowledge and proud
character. Every one believed he would be a
great general. In a critical war, however, his
Achilles＊ heel led to the total defeat of his
country.
﹛
