Classic Books

@chenaisong

About Classic Books

Search and read classic books, world literature, and sacred religious texts across multiple sources. Supports Chinese classics (四书五经、四大名著、诸子百家) via Wikisource, Japanese literature via Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), Korean classics, daily Chinese poems, and free audiobooks from LibriVox. Mu

#books #literature #gutenberg #librivox #audiobook #reading #classic

Config

Add this server to your MCP-compatible client using the configuration below.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "classic-books": {
      "url": "https://classic-books-mcp.chensong8804.workers.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Tools

Search for classic books, religious texts, and literature across multiple sources (Gutenberg, Wikisource, OpenLibrary, Sacred Texts). Default language is English.

Get chapter content from a book. Supports Gutenberg (id: 'gutenberg:1342') and Wikisource (id: 'wikisource:en:12345'). Use search_books to find IDs.

Browse religious and philosophical classics catalog. Returns available texts by tradition.

Search for free audiobooks from LibriVox

Get curated recommendations of classic books by theme. Default language is English.

Search Chinese classical texts from Wikisource (zh.wikisource.org). Covers Four Books, Five Classics, histories, poetry, and the four great novels.

Get content of a Chinese classic from Wikisource. Use id from search results OR pass ws_title from browse_chinese_classics (e.g. '論語', '道德經', '孫子兵法').

Browse curated catalog of Chinese classical texts. Each entry has a ws_title field (traditional Chinese) to use with get_chinese_classic_chapter.

Get a random classic Chinese poem with title, author, and content.

Search Japanese classic literature from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫). Leave query empty to browse the built-in catalog.

Get text content from Aozora Bunko. Use search_japanese_classics to find book IDs.

Browse Korean classical literature catalog. Full text available via search_books with language='ko' on Wikisource.

Overview

What is Classic Books?

Classic Books is a free MCP server that lets AI assistants search and read classic literature, philosophy, and sacred texts from around the world. It aggregates content from Project Gutenberg, Wikisource, OpenLibrary, Aozora Bunko, LibriVox, and the jinrishici Chinese poetry API.

How to use Classic Books?

Connect any MCP client to the server and invoke one of its 12 built-in tools. For example, call search_chinese_classics("道德经") to find a Chinese classic, get_daily_poem() for a random poem, or search_audiobooks("Pride and Prejudice") to find audiobooks. No additional configuration is required beyond standard MCP integration.

Key features of Classic Books

Multi‑source search across six major libraries
12 tools: search, read, browse, recommend, and get poems/audiobooks
Covers Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Western classics
Includes sacred texts (Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, etc.)
Offers audiobook search via LibriVox
Provides curated recommendations by theme

Use cases of Classic Books

Search and read full chapters of classic literature from any source
Get a random classic Chinese poem each day
Explore Japanese literature by historical era (Heian, Meiji, etc.)
Find free public‑domain audiobooks for a title
Browse curated catalogs of religious texts or Korean classics

FAQ from Classic Books

What data sources does Classic Books use?

It uses Project Gutenberg (70,000+ books), Wikisource (multilingual), OpenLibrary, Aozora Bunko (17,000+ Japanese works), LibriVox (audiobooks), and jinrishici (Chinese poetry).

Which Chinese classics are covered?

The Four Books & Five Classics, Pre‑Qin philosophy, official histories (e.g., Records of the Grand Historian), and the Four Great Novels (Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West).

Can I get a random poem?

Yes, call the get_daily_poem() tool to receive a random classic Chinese poem.

How do I search for Japanese literature you have?

Use search_japanese_classics() and optionally filter by era (e.g., “明治” for Meiji). Works by Natsume Soseki, Akutagawa, Dazai, Kawabata, and many earlier classics are available.

Is there audiobook support?

Yes. The search_audiobooks() tool searches LibriVox’s collection of free public‑domain audiobooks.

Frequently asked questions

What data sources does Classic Books use?

It uses Project Gutenberg (70,000+ books), Wikisource (multilingual), OpenLibrary, Aozora Bunko (17,000+ Japanese works), LibriVox (audiobooks), and jinrishici (Chinese poetry).

Which Chinese classics are covered?

Can I get a random poem?

Yes, call the `get_daily_poem()` tool to receive a random classic Chinese poem.

How do I search for Japanese literature you have?

Use `search_japanese_classics()` and optionally filter by era (e.g., “明治” for Meiji). Works by Natsume Soseki, Akutagawa, Dazai, Kawabata, and many earlier classics are available.

Is there audiobook support?

Yes. The `search_audiobooks()` tool searches LibriVox’s collection of free public‑domain audiobooks.

Comments

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