The Lunar New Year is approaching, this issue of the book list, we once again invite the cat owners in the home of the shoveling officials to appear on camera, make book models for the books recommended by the shoveling officials, and sell cute. It should be noted that this book is only based on new books in the humanities and social sciences because of everyone's reading interest, as well as the limited time and energy. Finally, I wish you all the "big cats" a good year of the tiger.
24/7: Late Capitalism and the End of Sleep
Jonathan Clari / Many, Shen Hexi / Translation, Nanjing University Press, Sanhui Books, May 2021 edition
Recommended by: Gong Siliang
Testimonials:
After reading 24/7: Late Capitalism and the End of Sleep, I quickly thought of Martin Scorsese's film After Work, in which the conformist white-collar male protagonist spends a seemingly absurd night for various reasons. The film's in-depth story development and night are intertwined, people have become accustomed to daytime work and "rational" society, and know very little about the strangeness of the night, and the reason for all this is the 24/7 system.
The author mentions at the beginning of the book that in the late 1990s, a country planned to launch a large orbital reflector that reflected sunlight like a mirror, thus eliminating night. Eliminating the night also means that the meaning of sleep has been impacted, and many people worry that they will lose their right to sleep. For a time, many organizations objected to this. But in fact, the time system of late capitalism and its development have long been compressing people's sleep time. Excess services, images, programs, chemicals stimulate human desires, keep people excited, and disrupt people's sleep. Neoliberalism, on the other hand, advocates an uninterrupted way of working, using slogans such as "more work for the able" and "more work for more" to make people believe that sleep can be sacrificed. Behind all this is the control and distortion of the concept of time by late capitalism. People are forced to give up rest and sleep and continue to pay attention to the "public space" created by capital.
"New Motherhood"
Ann Oakley/ Wang Yingchen/Translation, Nanjing University Press, January 2022 edition
Recommended by: Zhu Fan
As a new mother, this word alone seems to contain novelty, joy, responsibility, exhaustion... The sociological report, first published in 1979, uses the words of 60 women who gave birth to their first child in London in the mid-1970s about pregnancy, childbirth, and care for their newborns, together with the author's empathetic and insightful questions and comments, to piece together a picture of fertility that is usually not known because it is whitewashed and obscured. Oakley conducted in-depth interviews with these women at four time nodes of 6 weeks, 26 weeks before childbirth, 5 weeks after childbirth, and accompanied by labor four times, and the vivid narrative of pregnancy and childbirth is happening and occurring soon after provides a lot of first-hand information that is different from the general impression, such as most women in the book use epidural anesthesia during childbirth, but some people find that anesthetics block emotions while blocking pain, and they are in a state of complete numbness when they first see the newborn. So he felt bitter that his reaction did not conform to the ideal mother image.
In the days after giving birth, 84 percent of the women in the sample had suffered from postpartum depression and fell into despair due to exhaustion and confusion, and Oakley used a gender substitution metaphor here: "If a man had just undergone a major operation and was told to take on a new job that had never been trained and had an equally harsh work environment, he would have shown negative emotions (at least so)." While many women also refer to the satisfaction and joy of being a mother, and most mothers have gone through the most difficult "internship period" when their children are 5 months old, these are not justifications for romanticizing the chore of childbearing.
The Great Equilibrium: Historical Judgments and Institutional Considerations on Entering the City and Returning home
He Xuefeng/Author, Guangxi Normal University Press, Xinmin Said, January 2022 edition
Recommended by: Zang Jixian
Personally, I think what is more interesting in this book is the geographical comparison of farmers' mentalities. When discussing the issue of peasants going to the city and returning to their hometowns, macroscopic analysis and summarization are necessary, but after specific interviews and investigations, it will be found that farmers and farmers are also very different due to different customs and values. The author provides a lot of specific cases in the book, and it makes people feel that some discussions cannot be large. For example, "Farmers in Yunguichuan go to the city to work, more willing to enjoy life in the city, whether they can make money may not be the most important thing, can see the world, fun, have money to catch up with the fashion, this is also very important." This is probably because "the social ties in the rural areas of Yunguichuan are weak, and farmers who go to the city to work can enjoy the life of the city relatively freely, do not have to be too frugal to bring cash back to their hometown villages at the end of the year, and they may even not go home during the Spring Festival and stay in the city for the Spring Festival." In contrast, "there is often a fairly fierce competitive relationship in the rural areas of Luyuwan, and making money to go home to build a house or buy a house in the county town is the first priority for people to go out to work", so they "will find ways to work more overtime to make money, very frugal." Therefore, for the question of "the second generation of migrant workers (born after 1980) are more willing to integrate into the city than to earn enough money to return to their hometown", it can only be said that this is the case in general, and the regional differences are also very obvious.
"AMorous Travels"
Lawrence Stern/ By Shi Yongli/Translation, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, March 2012 edition
Recommended by: Han Shaohua
“...... The Marquis F came out of the hall and walked a little hastily—she almost bumped into me before I saw her; I jumped to the side and let her pass—and she jumped and jumped to the same side; so the heads of both of us collided; so we both flashed to the other side, trying to dodge; I was just as unlucky as she was; I jumped to the other side and blocked her way—we jumped to the other side together, and jumped back again—and jumped back and forth like this—it was ridiculous; we were so embarrassed that our faces were red; so I finally did what I should have done in the first place— I stood motionless, and the Marquise was no longer hindered. I had to wait there and watch her walk to the end of the aisle, so that she could make a tribute before entering the hall—she looked back twice, and then pulled over, as if ready to go upstairs to give way to anyone beside her—no, I said—this is a despicable translation: the Marquise has the right to demand the best apology I can give her; the space she gives up is left for me to apologize—and I rushed over to ask her to forgive me for embarrassing her, saying that I had wanted to make way for her. She replied that she wanted to make way for me too—that we would thank each other for the exchange of courtesies. She went to the top of the stairs; and I saw that there were no courteous knights near her, and I begged to help her and send her into the carriage--so we went downstairs together, and every three steps we stopped to talk about the concert and the encounter—and believe me, madame, when I helped her into the car, I said, I made six different efforts to get you out—I made six efforts, and she replied, wanting you to go in—I really want you to do it a seventh time, and I said—very willingly, and she said that life is too short, and the time for the ceremony cannot be too long—- So I got in the car immediately, and she took me back with her..."
This is a passage from Lawrence Stern's Amorous Travels that combines absurdity and humor throughout the book. The New Year is coming, and it is very joyful to read. The author also has a representative work "Xiang Di Biography".
Perception, Knowledge, And Self-Awareness
Chen Jiaying/Author, Beijing Daily Publishing House, Republic, January 2022 edition
Recommended by: Zheng Shiliang
After reading Chen Jiaying's books for many years, the topics concerned by "Perception, Rational Knowledge, and Self-Awareness" are not new--not only can they not be considered "new", but simply "old" can be. The so-called "perception", which we are more familiar with, is "sensibility". And "rational knowledge"? Nature is "reason". However, this book still gave me a lot of new things.
On the one hand, formally speaking, its "sense of presence" is stronger. In fact, the previously published works of Teacher Chen have included a lot of his essays, interviews and even lecture records, and this book is a record of the nine academic reports he made in colleges and universities, although he has made a lot of revisions and added the content of other lectures, but "try to retain the tone of the lecture", Teacher Chen said, he asked students to "listen to this course more as a chat, that is, an old teacher told some students about his thoughts and experiences." Of course, this is a humble word, and it is also the feature of this book, if you can't get to the scene, you can also listen to Teacher Chen chat on paper.
On the other hand, The keenness of Teacher Chen's observation and the depth of his thoughts are very clearly reflected in the book. His own statement is also very interesting, first of all, the topic of "reasoning", how many books can not be finished, he only talked about a little bit in the book, and then the words turned sharply, "what he said thought was a little new, or others did not often talk about it." God knows how hard it is to bring out the subject of "reasoning" to something new. Let's take a look at the question raised by Teacher Chen: "Can foxes reason?" The answer to this question can involve a long list of questions behind it. Regardless of how Teacher Chen answered, just being able to ask such a question was enough for readers to appreciate and admire.
The Law of Stories
Shi Aidong / Author, Life, Reading, and Xinzhi Triptych Bookstore, October 2021 edition
Recommended by: Huang Xiaofeng
The author's research direction is storytelling, and this book uses the research method of synchronicity to "conduct a study of the specific functions of each element in the structure of the object, such as the structure, category, shape, elements, components, arrangement, distribution, and other observable, descriptive, and recognizable formal characteristics." Morphological research is an epistemological research method based on morphological description, with functional research as the foothold, and the revelation of laws and the establishment of order as the point of reference." (p. 8) In other words, it's a routine of revealing the story. In the author's view, all kinds of folktales, epics, and traditional dramas are nothing more than "conjures up from a few 'meta-stories'" and "meta-stories.". (p. 15) It's like a tangram, it's nothing more than playing tricks on these boards. After comprehending the story routines summarized by the author, and then looking at the popular "Shuangwen" and "Shuangju" in recent years, you will feel that you have instantly seen the bottom card of those works. The following is to try to list the routines described by the author directly in order to achieve speed:
The never-changing routine in the story, we call it "meta-plot". The meta-plot of folk tales basically revolves around the positive protagonist: 1. The protagonist is challenged; 2. The protagonist goes through a difficult journey; 3. The protagonist defeats the opponent; 4. The protagonist receives the reward. On the basis of the meta-plot, the second-level plot and the third-level plot can be continuously inserted. (39 pages)
The key step in the production of a story is not ideology, but structural form. The structural framework is designed, and the so-called ethical legitimacy, ideological significance, and religious feelings can all be solved through mediocre background explanations. (28 pages)
The story as a game has the following five closed characteristics: (1) The relationship between the story characters is closed. (2) The functional items and props of the story are closed. (3) The logic of the story is self-consistent, and the plot is self-closing. (iv) The story is a "self-organizing system." (5) The story must be complete and there must be no absences. (pages 30-34)
We call pre-set folktale endings "meta-endings"... Meta-endings are pre-selected and unchangeable. In order to achieve a meta-ending, the characters in the story can even violate the ethics of life and the logic of life. (35 pages)
In folktales, similar behaviors can be repeated over and over again, usually three times. After three or more repetitions, there must be a twist. If the development of normal life cannot achieve a turning point, it needs to be achieved by breaking the routine. There are four main ways to break the mold. (1) Chance encounters and coincidences. (2) Misunderstandings and mistakes. (3) Spoilers appear. (4) The rules are invalid. (pages 49-51)
A self-contained closed system must ensure that no functional remnants are left behind after the internal circulation of the system is completed. Specific to our discussion, after the superposition unit has completed the cycle of conflict, it must also be produced and sold, and cannot leave unsolved legacy problems, otherwise, the equilibrium relationship in the plot trunk will be broken, and the structure of the entire story system will be disrupted. (142 pages)
Of course, these routines, the author has a meticulous argument, in addition to folk tales, but also cited the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West" and Jin Yong martial arts novels as examples, it can be seen that those winners in the long-distance competition of storytelling, are the use of routines better or even very clever works.
Wish the storytellers health forever!
Justice Across Ages – Young and Old
Juliana Bidanur/ Oxford University Press, August 2021 edition
Recommended by: Ding Xiongfei
Age builds structures the fabric of our society. Institutions, relationships, responsibilities and rights are closely related to age, and almost all countries have established the age of election, the working age and the age of retirement (expected or necessary) for nationals. Each stage of our lives also corresponds to specific social risks and vulnerabilities: young people are often prone to unemployment or work that is precarious, while older people are more likely to be trapped in physical defects or social isolation. Between people of different ages, there are obviously all kinds of inequalities in many dimensions, which has aroused many questions. For example, should there be more young people in Western parliaments or deliberative bodies to serve as delegates? Why do we pay social security all be spent on the elderly over the age of sixty-five? In the past, when political philosophers discussed intergenerational justice, most of them focused on our debt to the unborn and future people, but Julianne Bidanur, assistant professor of philosophy and political science at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Basic Income Laboratory, last year's new book, "Justice Across Ages: Young and Old," attempts to propose a theory of justice between different generations living together, in short, young and old.
One of the keys to Bidanur's discussion in this book is the temporality of the egalitarian concept of justice, that is, is equality a diachronic value or a synchronic value? For example, Zhang San and Li Si's life trajectories are exactly the same, and they are completely equal in terms of their entire lives, or in terms of the corresponding stages in their lives. But Li Si was born twenty years later than Zhang San, and at an absolute point in time, Li Si's income, wealth, status, opportunities, and welfare were far inferior to Zhang San's, and Li Si and Zhang San were unequal. Doesn't this pose a problem? This is one of the main points of this book's intention to discuss. On intergenerational justice, Bidanur concludes that young and old should be treated as equals, but not necessarily always equally, and often not the same. The entire book "Justice Across Ages" is the interpretation of this sentence.
"The Cat, The Man, the City"
Zhu Tianxin/Author, Henan Literature and Art Publishing House, Republic, August 2021 edition
Recommender: Gu Ming
More than ten years ago, I watched Zhu Tianxin's "Hunters" and was struck by a sentence in the book about how Zhu Tianxin could be used to pet - all living beings are equal, and the word "pet" is too classy, so that human beings naturally stand in a higher position than other creatures, which is really inappropriate. In the new work "That Cat, That Man, That City", Tianxin implements this concept more thoroughly.
"That Cat, That Man, That City" is divided into three parts, the first two parts are written about the cat clan - Tianxin and his family and the stray cats fed by volunteers, and the human race - the family who love cats, the friends who feed stray cats, and the volunteers who are guarding the animal. As in the biography, Tianxin wrote cat/life stories for them one by one, accompanied by multiple "cat films" taken by Tianxin's photographer friends. As a shoveler, seeing these words and pictures, especially when you open the book, you see Tianxin holding a big orange, it is simply too happy to suck. As a person who carries cat food and feeds stray cats every day, he can empathize with the many states of mind written by Tianxin in the book. For example, "afraid to take a new road", because of the fear of finding new stray cats, "I am afraid that the net that worries about the endless road that grows into an infinite stretch of endless road is hopeless in this life"; for example, lamenting that "loving mother" (short for "loving mother", referring to those who feed stray cats) needs a strong heart, because the kittens you fed tonight may disappear tomorrow, "take good care" and "try to live" Such words must be said to the cats (also to themselves) every day; such as the stray cats who meet their relatives, While you think it is cute, you will also worry that it is too close to the Terrans, losing its basic sense of danger, precautionary psychology and encountering misfortune...
The third part of the book is about the city in which we, people and cats, live together, the social observation of the urban anthropology of Tianxin. The transformation of old areas and the replacement of shops are affecting the living environment of stray animals living in symbiosis, and even a regulation of Mayor Hao Longbin punishing air conditioning dripping will suddenly aggravate the situation of stray cats with kidney disease and urinary problems. The Terrans have exhausted their resources in the city, but the small animals can only survive. How to make cities livable is not only referred to as human beings, but also includes them.
Why write the story of these street cats in great detail? Zhu Tianxin said: "I don't want to, I don't believe, their coming to this city is meaningless, like grass and garbage..." She wanted to witness with a pen, she had witnessed their serious survival in this city. "They're not garbage, they're all as serious about life, life as we are."
"Peaceful Piggy"
J.K. Rowling/ by Jim Field/E.M. Wang Mengda/Translation, Nova Press, Love Tree, January 2022 edition
Recommender: Fang Xiaoyan
Reading Rowling's children's novel again after many years is somewhat nostalgic — although the first reading tip that must be given for this book is: don't read Harry Potter with anticipation. "The Christmas Pig" is a more pure children's story, a Christmas story, not as "salty" as the Harry Potter series, so killed, and even just reading the title and content synopsis is quite discouraged. But you can always believe that Rowling, in the extremely old-fashioned adventure structure, has moved an old terrier that gives life to the toy.
Rowling revealed that the story was inspired by one of her son David's favorite toy pigs when he was a child, and as early as 2012, she had already thought of a synopsis of the story. She wanted to think through this story: How would a toy feel like as a substitute? And what does "loss" really mean?
Well, a Christmas story about "losing", about "substitution", begins with the inner torment of children in the face of parental divorce and the reorganization of their stepfather families, and in this festive context of the flood of gifts, in the imitation of the "lost and found" discarded in large numbers, never needed, never received real love" - is it not as peaceful as it seems? "The pain of change and loss" is tinged with a soft light in the context of Christmas Eve, and you'd like to believe what Toot said to Jack that "loss is part of life, you lost us, but we are still alive in another place, and that's the power of love," or "The night of miracles and hopes will always end." At that time, whoever finds it will belong to whom"?
Rowling jokes at the end of the book: "Finally, I would like to say that the things written in the book are similar to what everyone has lost or found, and it is purely intentional." For adult readers, it is precisely those "intentional" that may look good.
The Iron Robe: Rebirth and Destruction in Art History
Zheng Yan /Author, Life, Reading, and Xinzhi Triptych Bookstore, January 2022 edition
It is a work of art history, but the author is very beautifully written, and the layman can see the hilarity in it.
The author begins to introduce the basic appearance of the iron robe and related Buddhist legends, but immediately said: "The so-called 'iron robes', originally belonged to a Tang Dynasty vajra statue at the Changqing Lingyan Temple in Shandong, and was a fragment created by the late Tang Dynasty's anti-Buddhist movement. "(p. 7) The patchwork on this fragment indicates the pattern of the paddy field pattern of the robe, but it is actually a batch seam caused by the limitations of casting technology." It is neither iron or iron cast", but "a huge statue of Vajrapani from the waist to the knees". To discover this, the author sets out again, using this ancient remnant of iron to deduce its more complete image and reconstruct the events related to it. After research, the author confirmed, "Lingyan Temple is located between Beijing and Dengzhou, and in the boom of 'breaking the copper and iron Buddha', the impact should also be 'the same as the common capital'." The iron statue 'cast as a farm tool by the state' is undoubtedly an unexpected windfall for the Qi prefecture government, and this regulation has stimulated their enthusiasm for destroying the statue. It can be concluded that the iron cast Vajra Lux who assumed the responsibility of protecting the Fa at the Lingyan Temple lost all his might in this catastrophe and was crushed to pieces. (pp. 72-73)
From the iron robe with supernatural colors, a grand extermination of the Buddha was restored, which cannot but be lamented. The author specifically cites the fragments of Buddha statues in the archaeological excavations of Longxing Temple in Qingzhou, Shandong:
There are thousands of statue fragments. The perfect body, the delicate carving process, the bright and gorgeous colored pasting gold, and the ruthless fracture, the hard breaking, the confusing chaos, form a strong conflict, shocking... Ninety percent of the statues are relics of the late Northern Dynasty... The latest chronology is the fourth year of the Northern Song Dynasty... Many of the Northern Dynasty statues were damaged to varying degrees in the early days, repaired afterwards, and then destroyed again... These statues may have experienced the onslaught of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Emperor Wuzong of Tang's campaign to destroy Buddhism... At Longxing Temple, after the frenzy of destroying the Buddha, people chiseled holes into both ends of the fracture of the statue, poured lead and tin alloys or inserted iron parts to connect and fix. However, due to the many statues that have been damaged many times, it is ultimately difficult to clean up. After Chongning (Northern Song Dynasty), these fragments of statues that had gone through a lot of trouble were collected and buried in an orderly manner. (pp. 151-153)
The destruction and hatred of successive campaigns to exterminate Buddhism contrast sharply with the monks' attachment to faith and Buddha statues. So, what is the belief?
This is the first story, and the author goes on to tell the second story, the process of deifying the fragments into "iron robes". From the Yuan Gong Zen master of the Yunmen Sect in the sixth year of Xi Ning (1073) to the Renqin Zen master of the Fayan Sect during the Reign of Emperor Huizong, Nanzong Zen completely occupied the Lingyan Temple. By reinterpreting this fragment of iron, Rinchen established the connection between Nanchan and himself with the new territory. Associate the remnant iron with the legend of Zen Gate. In this way, Rinchen stimulates, guides and manipulates people's curiosity with a relaxed manner... The robe that has long haunted Rinchen's mind quietly perched at the foot of Fang Mountain, and the sacred image passed down from generation to generation within Zen Buddhism is transformed into a calm and sturdy monument that emits a strange aura in the deep valley. (p. 109) Although secular officials know it is a fragment of a Buddha statue, it is interpreted as a "iron robe" full of supernatural colors, which clearly belongs to a more worthy story. The person who destroyed the Buddha statue suddenly disappeared, and the spectators cheered for the appearance of the magic power. This applause continued until the Qing Dynasty, and even the Qianlong Emperor gave him eight poems. However, it is interesting that Qianlong's poems were originally lamenting the sacredness of the robes and the Zen tradition, "Whoever stops with five flowers and leaves, try to see the ancient legend of Jia Li", personally characterizing the iron robes. But every time he looked at it, his doubts increased by one point, and by the eighth poem, he personally negated his own judgment thirty years earlier in the commentary: "Here the iron robe cover is named in shape, and the iron mold looks like it, and if it wants to tie the bell, it will not be completed, so it is false as a victory ear." (p. 194)
The author mentions in the book that in addition to Qianlong, in fact, many people in the Qing Dynasty had doubted that this was not a robe, but everyone intentionally or unintentionally did not say it, after all, no one could stop the strong desire of the ancient people to create gods.
The Age of Sinking
George Parker / By Liu Ran / Translation, Wenhui Publishing House, New Classic Culture, January 2021 edition
Recommender: Zhong Yuan
Born in 1960, george parker interviews politicians, workers, entrepreneurs, etc. of his age, turning hundreds of hours of interviews into vivid and detailed, flesh-and-blood nonfiction, reviewing the growth experience of this generation and the era they have traveled, trying to answer how the entire country and society have changed secretly after "crossing the boundaries of history at a certain moment", and can also be regarded as a prequel to the current torn status quo of American society. The book won the National Book Award in 2013 for "Tearing Apart America's Broken Rift."