The situation in Russia and Ukraine is tense, the epidemic is coming again, and this March is a bit of a mess. This month's book list recommends these Chinese original works, giving you a little reading tips that may be in isolation. Calm down and read well, you can temporarily forget the disturbances of the outside world. I wish the epidemic an early pass!
White Notebook 2: The War At the Bedside
Chen Humble/Author, Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, February 2022 edition
Recommended by: Zang Jixian
Testimonials:
There are twelve stories in total, each worth reading because it is too real and too cruel. Of the eight authors, seven are health care workers from across the country and one is an investigative journalist. The protagonists of the story are difficult, critically ill patients and their families, but the focus of the narrative is not on complex medical problems, but on the human truth behind them. In the story of the "microbial detective", Wang Shu, the chief technician of the hospital's laboratory department, has a new life for a young man who was swallowed up by the rare fungus, Malnifi blue bacteria, and weighs only 60 pounds. But the patient may not really understand in the end, and it is the science-loving technician who saves his life, as the author puts it: "The names of the doctors who only appear on the test reports, no one will pay attention." In the story of the "5-year-old husband", because the patient has a grudge with his brother, he hides the existence of his brother from his wife and doctor, and instead chooses an old mother who does not meet the medical standards as a bone marrow donor, which greatly reduces the possibility of cure. As a result, a postoperative infection damaged the neurons involved, and his IQ became the level of a 5-year-old child. Despite the doctor's best efforts, the able wife tried her best to save the patient's life. In this story, the "contempt" for science is impressive. Loving science and truth makes it possible to save more lives, and ignoring them is tantamount to self-abandonment, and sometimes even endangering innocent people who don't know how many innocents.
"Pen Awakening Mountains and Rivers: Yan Fu, The Enlightened Man of Modern China"
Huang Kewu/Author, Guangxi Normal University Press, University Question, March 2022
Recommended by: Shanshan Peng
In the Chinese academic circles, historians who are willing to write popular works are always invaluable. "Pen Awakening Mountains and Rivers" is a popular biography written by historian Huang Kewu for the public on the basis of thirty years of research, and outlines the life of "enlightened man" Yan Fu with concise and bright writing. Previously, the author has published yan fu's academic works on the theme of "The Security of Perfection: Yan Fu and the Cultural Transformation of Modern China", "The So-So of Freedom: Yan Fu's Understanding and Criticism of John Mill's Free Thought", and the English book The Meaning of Freedom: Yan Fu and the Origins of Chinese Liberalism, and this book is " Try to do a communication work" - Yan Fu is famous for his translations such as "The Theory of Heavenly Speech", but the "Tongcheng School Ancient Text" he uses to translate is elegant and profound, and there is a deep gap between him and contemporary readers, and the author hopes to "bring Yan Fu's life and thoughts to contemporary readers" with this book.
Yan Fu's lifelong study of Both Chinese and Western, gaining fame and controversy, and finally ending up lonely; his historical role is contradictory. Yan Fu was not only the founder of the May Fourth Enlightenment discourse, but also a critic of this discourse and a supporter of traditional values. There is no doubt that his thinking has the "enlightenment" aspects of freedom, democracy, rule of law, and science, but it is also mixed with many "anti-enlightenment" factors: opium smoking, concubinage, temple repair, support for Yuan Shikai's restoration, affirmation of Zunkong's reading of the Scriptures, and writing articles echoing the "Shanghai Spiritual Society's" concept of ghosts and gods that "the soul does not die"... In addition, despite the far-reaching influence of his ideas (especially with regard to the content of the Heavenly Speech), the words he used and the words he created were completely defeated by the vernacular language and the "Japanese Chinese" introduced by a large number of Japanese students after the early 20th century. In the book, the author writes the results of research on related issues into easy-to-understand chapters, from which the reader can see the complex side of this "master of enlightenment".
Good character research often carries the care of "knowing people and discussing the world", and the concise length does not prevent the author from observing the complexity of the entire era of transformation in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. The book examines Yan Fu's relationship with Liang Qichao, Zhang Xiao and others, analyzes his political and cultural choices, and inspires readers to think about the transformation of modern Chinese culture from a broader perspective. In the last section of the book, the author extends his brushstrokes to the contemporary era, writing about the fate of three generations of the Yan family on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, lamenting the historical plot of creating and manipulating people, and pointing out the re-evaluation and praise of Yan Fu by the ideological circles in recent years, suggesting that China's cultural transformation may still be in progress.
The Art of Empire: Ruling the Unruly Lands
Zheng Fei/Author, Guangxi Normal University Press, Folio, November 2021 edition
Recommended by: Huang Xiaofeng
Men mostly like to talk about the general situation of the world, like to talk about war, expansion, conquest and empire. The computer game "Age of Empires", which was launched in the last century, is still talked about today. In the game, you can (or must) attack the city with impunity, but what happens after winning, I don't know. Because the game only considers how to expand the territory to build an empire, governance is offline. But some people tend to bring the game complex to the line, thinking that war is as simple as moving the gamepad, so that as soon as they hear "give you a strong..." they are full of blood, and for a while they forget that "I really have a cow at home."
Zheng Fei's new book, The Art of Empire: Ruling the Inalienable Lands, discusses how empires were governed after they were built: "How did modern empires rule over their multi-ethnic subjects? What internal difficulties were encountered during the reign? What is their response? (Preface, p. 8) Why should we discuss modern empires, for it is in the author's view that it is only in modern times that the conflict between imperial narratives and nation-state narratives becomes apparent. In the days of classical empires, there were two key words— "class division" and "indirect rule," which meant that most ancient states were private property controlled by the ancient upper class. The intervention of class factors has formed a certain cross-division, diluting the differentiating effect of ethnic factors on society. (p. 33) The latter refers to the fact that "in the heart of the (empire) the state is still under direct control, and in the periphery, the state can only find agents to cooperate with it in governing the place ... One is to pay taxes, and the other is not to add to the chaos. (p. 34) In modern times, as nations entered the age of mass politics, almost all empires were "ruling the insurmountable lands," and there were many social factors that led to this situation, but the author argues that nationalism is not the only or decisive factor, and that the relationship between empires and nations is a simple relationship of compatibility and incompatibility.
In the first chapter, the author discusses the central/marginal relationship of empires and the different approaches to this problem in ancient empires, and proposes two dimensions of his own classification of empires: the level of institutionalization of the political structure of empires, the way of dealing with the community relations of empires, and the ideas of empires moving on these two dimensions (formal/informal, absorption/isolation) to avoid or weaken imperial pressure. In this way, empires can be divided into four types: formal/assimilated, formal/isolated, informal/assimilated, and informal/isolated. The author's next four chapters deal with empires close to these four "ideal types": the British Empire, the French Empire, the Austrian-Habsburg Empire, and the Russian Empire.
Out of personal preference, I mainly read chapter five. The author makes some interesting observations in this chapter, which are excerpted as follows: "There is no 'imperial nation' in the Russian Empire, and this is where the Russian Empire differs from other modern empires. (pp. 352-353) "A feature of the Tsarist bureaucracy is not its enormity or pathology, but its weakness. (p. 359) "After 1831, Russia's policy toward the minorities of the Russian Empire showed a tendency to become increasingly increasingly standardized, beginning to turn its backs on its traditional model (respect for the status quo, cooperation with loyal elites, and tolerance of multiculturalism). (p. 369) "The official ideologies of the Empire—Orthodoxy, absolutism, and nationality—are completely unattractive. (p. 405) At the end of this chapter, the author also points out in particular that some Western scholars, due to their lack of experience in living in an authoritarian state, often fail to understand that there is such a thing as "segregation of reverse discrimination" and "assimilation of alienation" in this world. In some countries, where rulers are above the nations and are not dominated by any one nation, they can perfectly balance inter-ethnic relations by means of reverse discrimination, in order to stabilize the situation and to place the burden of the empire on the one with the larger number of peoples. (416 pages)
In the concluding paragraph, the author points out the historical successes and failures of the various imperial choice models, and disappointingly, an empire "may be mostly negative lessons." This empire is both authoritarian and weak, and has taken a path of deprivation and assimilation, and it is impossible not to overturn." (443 pages)
Although empires have collapsed in recent times and the nation-state narrative has prevailed, the problems facing empires – the central-marginal relationship – are still there, and in reality they are still "assimilation and oppression coexist, segregation and discrimination fly together." (437 pages)
Women, the Family, and the Practice of Law: A Social History of Law since the Qing Dynasty
Zhao Liuyang/Author, Guangxi Normal University Press, October 2021 edition
Recommended by: Gong Siliang
Starting from the two specific issues of suicide and divorce, Zhao Liuyang, the author of this book, sorts out the relevant legal provisions and practices from the Qing Dynasty to the contemporary era, as well as the continuous complex entanglement between law, society and morality. For example, in the first chapter, the author combines his own fieldwork experience to analyze the impact of two types of "moral legal practice", namely "lagging morality" and "advanced morality" on women's suicide. The former incorporates into law the requirement of women's chastity and morality; the latter is the pursuit of women's advanced gender morality in the law, and both types of events have many conflicts with specific social realities. At the end of the second chapter, the author points out that the old rituals led women to become "voiceless and obedient women", with obedience to their husbands' arrangements as a "virtue". Women are excluded from economic and public affairs and their primary responsibilities are confined to the family space. When the family is struggling to survive because of poverty, the husband sells the woman as an "object" and ends the marriage (i.e., the act of selling). This book is not content to observe purely the workings of the legal system itself, but rather attempts to place law, especially judicial practice, in society, and to observe the complex interaction between law and various factors in society. In this way, legal provisions that focus on substantive justice can truly play a role in protecting the rights of vulnerable groups of women in practice.
"What to Talk About Elegance: Essays on the History and Culture of Chen Xingeng"
Chen Xingeng/Author, Writers Press, January 2020 edition
Open this collection of historical and cultural essays, read one or two articles, you can feel the author's profound literary literacy, and you can guess the author's background. Although it is about history, the writing is very elaborate, and the writing even has a hint of literary atmosphere, which is not much different from the works of the history class. It is not an easy task to string together dry historical facts into interesting stories, and also to come up with your own unique insights, and the secret lies in the "self-prologue" and "epilogue" of the book. Reading is the foundation of writing, without tireless reading and exploration, how dare to say it in the pen. From the author's reading experience, we can well understand why he switched from the literary field to the historical field of writing, and can be more moved by his love of reading. The author graduated from elementary school in 1966 — "The old books in the original library were disposed of as scrap," so like all people who loved to read in that era, there was always a hunger for reading and knowledge. In the 1970s, during his naval years, using a library with limited resources, he read all the works created and translated in The Complete Works of Lu Xun. But I didn't think that as soon as this matter was mentioned by the introducer, it impressed a female military doctor who loved literature and art. After that, she tied a happy knot with the author, "a set of "Lu Xun's Complete Works" will 'flicker' the wife in hand." After the author retires, he can finally spend most of his time reading freely instead of going from nine to five. The first direction chosen by the author is Lao Tzu, which is not unrelated to his emphasis on classical reading. But I didn't think that later, because I accidentally involved in art history, I gradually opened up the reading and writing related to Song history. Most of the articles in this book are the results of the author's two years of reading. The joy of reading is like this, like following a vine to find a melon, constantly discovering new areas; reading deeply, naturally having its own ideas, and then turning them into words; in the process of writing, because of the emergence of new problems, it promotes further reading. But when you neglect to read, you will forget this pleasure, and you will never experience this pleasure without reading in a certain field. The author's experience is as meaningful as his achievements, he has gained a collection of essays, and his love and dedication to reading has infected the reader.
"Vulgar Land"
【Malaysia】Li Zishu/Author, Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House, October Culture, April 2021 edition
Recommender: Gu Ming
More than a decade ago, I met two Malaysians, one is the director Chen Cuimei, and the other is the author of this book, Lai Zi Shu. This "Liu Xiandi" is probably one of the most concerned Chinese literature in 2021, and the reason why I only bought it to read now is that I want to be able to calm down and read the new long story after ten years after the boom.
The plot of the novel is not a spoiler, let's talk about the general feelings. The process of reading "Liu Mu Di" reminds me of Taiwanese writer Wu Mingyi's "The Magician on the Flyover", both works also focus on one place - "The Magician on the Flyover" is set in taipei's famous China Shopping Mall, while the story of "Liu Xiandi" takes place in Xidu (that is, Li Zishu's hometown of Ipoh) in a neighborhood known as the "upstairs" - spreading out the stories of the characters living here, which also contains the history of local culture and social development in the community. As Wang Dewei explained, the local terroir and the life of the city are "customs". In the novel, the alternate appearances and become the protagonists of the narrative are ordinary people, they are all fighting for survival, life, bitterness and laughter, just like the story of the disappearance of many years of Dahui, after the sudden death of his father when he just turned seventeen, he had to mature quickly and become the "head of the family", the big boy who used to like to read martial arts novels and liked to play football with his friends, "After his father died, he seemed to no longer like these, began to smoke, the books and periodicals hidden under the pillow, the cover no longer saw the muscled Shi Heilong and Wang Xiaohu, They all became beautiful women with huge breasts and lips and half squinted eyes, and the title of the book was changed from "Dragon Tiger Gate" to "Dragon Tiger Leopard". The change in the title of the book can't help but be funny and a little sad. The stories of small people bring out the social changes of an era, which reminds people of the Singapore film "Our Story" series, from the growth of a family to reflect the history of Singapore's founding to the present, laughing with tears. Malaysia and Singapore have many similarities, such as the integration of different ethnic groups. Of course, there is also the tropical style of Southeast Asia, and reading "Flowing Land" reminds me of the days when I used to wear shorts T-shirts, flip flops, and lazily walk around the hot city streets.
"The Return of the Fierce General: A History of the New Jiangnan of Dongting Dongshan"
Zhao Shiyu/Author, Social Sciences Academic Press, February 2022 edition
Recommended by: Yu Shujuan
Whether it is the belief of the fierce generals and the sacrifice activities of "raising the fierce generals", or the natural formation of the "land of fish and rice", or the urban economy and gentry society, these are the topics that are constantly being explored and studied in the academic history of Jiangnan studies, so how can the history of Jiangnan be "new"? After reading this book, I thought that the answer might be as the prologue title says— "History from the Field."
As a reader who has never set foot in this field, the eyes follow the text, from "entering Dongshan" to "the fierce general is born", you can follow what the author's field sees; "from the water people to the shore people", "dongting merchants and Dongshan clans", "she temple and polder temple", a little familiar with the author's words, you know that these can be described as Zhao Shiyu's academic world, both his walking and his ordinary accumulation of thinking. Therefore, "The Return of the Fierce General" is a "new History of Jiangnan" that is achieved by the eyes and the heart, mobilizing and integrating the author's field vision, the literature and the academic thoughts.
The so-called new history of Jiangnan, teacher Zhao Shiyu has his statement as an author and a scholar in the "Afterword". As a reader, I think it is very clever to pay attention to the landing of people on the water in Jiangnan. Speaking of Jiangnan, it is easy to think of Jiangnan Water Town, which has a prosperous municipal economy, a prosperous science and education culture, and a romantic smoke and rain boat, but it seems to ignore the merchants here, rich families or coming from the water. Further, the last two chapters of the book, "The History of the New Jiangnan: From a Discrete Society to an Integrated Society" and "From Dongshan to Shanghai: Rethinking the Modernization of Traditional Societies," are just as Zhao Shiyu and Liu Zhiwei and other scholars have said in the past, and the charm of regional history is outside the region.
Taiwan and Taiwanese: The Quest for Self-Identity
Dai Guoxuan/Author, CITIC Publishing Group, June 2021 edition
"Dialogue with the Japanese"
Dai Guoxuan/Author, CITIC Publishing Group, September 2021 edition
Recommender: Zhong Yuan
Historian Dai Guoxuan traveled for 40 years to observe and record the development of Taiwan's history as a "Taiwan-born Hakka Chinese" and "the wisdom of isolation". "Taiwan and Taiwanese : The Pursuit of Self-Identity" "Dialogue with the Japanese" is the two books I am currently reading in the "Dai Guoxuan Talks About Taiwan" series. In the book, Mr. Dai Guoxuan proceeded from his own experience, examined the colonial system in the Taiwan region, the psychology of Taiwan's intellectuals and other issues, had a unique angle and viewpoint, and the words were stretched and fluent, truly restoring the psychological course and psychological changes of the Taiwanese people in the context of a century-old history, so that we could listen to the stories of the Taiwanese people with empathy, understand the suffering of the Taiwanese, and "make true healing and integration possible"; at the same time, it is also very beneficial to understanding Sino-Japanese relations and the Asian world.
"Shine Like a Diamond"
Chen Xiaowei/Author, Chinese Publishing House, February 2022 edition
Recommended by: Zheng Shiliang
Chen Xiaowei's books, whether he himself wrote "The Disciple of Good Books", "Booksellers Laugh and Forget", or compiled "Buy The Calendar", I am a must-read every time, and this book is loved. His words are always said to be written in "Wenqing", but I prefer to call them "Sexual Spiritual Sect". The so-called good book needs "a little fact, a little applause, a little point of view, a little lyrical atmosphere" (Tang Tao), in his nature is not less, more exciting to me, is the words between the lines based on personal value judgment "can't help but care", as well as delicate and in-depth narrative of emotional experience. The former I would like to take "On Chen Mengjia's "Comparative Record"" as an example, not to avoid the suspicion of the princess selling melons, as the editor who invited this manuscript, I think this is the best book I have read in recent years, and the latter is this "Shining Like a Diamond". This time, he simply wrote a novel.
The content of the novel is naturally wonderful. I also believe that this novel about the bookwright career and love experience of college graduate Gao Ling must have many shadows of the author himself. However, I don't want to have a gossip heart and rush into solitude, which should be a lot of trouble. On the day I read this novel, I happened to finish watching the Japanese movie "Bouquet of Love", and vaguely, I always felt that the book and the movie were a bit like. This is not because the male protagonists of the novel, like the movie, have suffered emotional setbacks, but because both the book and the movie make me feel that it is too difficult for people to establish a connection between people compared to the connection between people and things. In the movie, the male and female protagonists seem to report the name of the dish, informing each other of their favorite books, movies, and music, and gladly on the airwaves, but they don't know that this is only an extremely superficial connection, and the two may never really enter each other's hearts and explore each other's most essential existence. As for novels, for Gao Ling, there are always books in this world that make you obsessed, miss this one, and the next one, so what about people? A shallow kiss one night before graduation can leave a deep mark on Gao Ling's heart, so that it affects his entire life after graduation. How many such people can there be in their lifetime? Such a question is not to be contemplated.
After reading the novel, I found that Chen Xiaowei sent a circle of friends, saying that "Bouquet-like Love" compared with "A Rainy Day in New York" made every effort and filmed it was still stupid. This is, of course, a discussion that smart people will make. And "Shine Like a Diamond" is a clever novel written by a smart person.
Journey to the West
Zhao Shuang/Author, Tianjin People's Publishing House, January 2022 edition
In recent years, there have been many interpretations of the four famous works, one of which is the political interpretation of palace fighting and power plots, and "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin" are very related to politics, history and society, and such interpretations are of course understandable. But the interpretation of the hidden political struggle in "Journey to the West" probably needs to open a big brain hole. For example, discuss the dissipation of the power of Rulai, the Jade Emperor, Taishang Laojun and Bodhi Zushi; discuss the ambiguous relationship between Taishang Laojun, Princess Tiefan and the Red Child; explore whether Guanyin and Sun Wukong have an affair... Although these speculations cannot be said to be clueless, there are too many facts and evidence that need to be added to the logical chain. However, the prevalence of this kind of interpretation does show that the palace struggle is one of the favorite topics of everyone.
The interpretation of "Journey to the West" seems to me to return to the theme of the novel itself. The strange goblins, magical powers, and treasures on the way to the scriptures are the most attractive to readers. But in addition to professional researchers, the general reader is not familiar with the origin, lineage, and background of the goblins that appear in the book, and the book explores all the goblins, and these statements are not justified, such as the relationship between the red child and the devil's mother, the predecessor of the Pig Eight Precepts is the general of the imperial car (coachman), etc., in fact, in the Buddhist literature, there is a relationship between the grass snake gray line, and the researcher's research also has such inferences. Some inferences are more interesting, such as the nine-headed insect is actually a feather insect, the tiger is not brilliant in the book, and the leopard essence appears purely to make up for eighty-one difficulties. Some goblin comparisons involve echoes or contrasts before and after the novel, such as the Lion King of the Wuji Kingdom and the Green Lion Monster of the Lion Hump Ridge, both of which are manjushri Bodhisattva's mounts, are they the same? Is the fan of taishang Laojun's acceptance of the Green Bull Monster the banana fan of the Iron Fan Princess? It's fun. At the same time, some relevant scientific knowledge will also be introduced to the actual animals in the real world, such as lions, tigers, pythons, spiders, etc. The whole book revolves purely around animal goblins, there is no conspiracy theory routine, and it is easier to read.
Perhaps because the author strictly adheres to the boundaries of only interpreting animals, he has not interpreted the white bone essence and the flower demon of Thorn Ridge, which is a bit regrettable. In fact, even the mortal monks who cultivated into immortals in the book have a chapter, and the famous white bone essence really should not give up. In addition, the book speculates that "the 'golden horn' and 'silver horn' are likely to be the sons of the nine-tailed fox, the nephew of the fox Aqi, and the original form is also a fox." This identity does not contradict their status as children who are Taishang Laojun Shoudan Furnace" (p. 141), the evidence is relatively weak, and the goblin filial piety and uncle are not too outrageous. What's more, the fox essence was originally the best at cultivating into immortals among animals, and Taishang Laojun recruited two fox essences to guard the Dan Furnace, and was not afraid of the elixir being stolen and eaten?
Acting and Youzeshi: Thirty-Six Counts
Dong Tiezhu/Author, Zhonghua Bookstore, December 2021 edition
Recommended by: Han Shaohua
"Shi Shu Xinyu" is a book that everyone loves to talk about, and "Yan and Youze shi" tries to "peek into Wei Jin's thoughts and lives" by interpreting the "Shi Shu Xinyu" in detail. The author asks "Why not use two or more books to describe specific individuals in a certain period with first-hand information, and then discuss the thought and life of this period on the basis of comparison and summary", and then explains that "in this book we want to correct some illusions and stereotypes about the Wei and Jin dynasties through the understanding of individuals." The author believes: "The thoughts and lives of the Wei and Jin celebrities shown in "The New Language of the World" are based on the public space as the background, the performance as the means, and the purpose of 'knowing' ... The metaphysics, which was heavily influenced by Lao Zhuang's thought, did not really make the lives of the celebrities idle or indulgent, and they were always keen to fight in the public space in a 'performance' way. ”
Specifically, "Acting and Youzeshi" will come one by one. And to quote a passage from the book's concluding remarks: "Liu Yiqing was not afraid of the turmoil of Wei and Jin. He neither believes that the world can achieve unity in an instant, nor does he deny that the world is hopeless. His celebrities, like him, do not think they can become saints, but they do not sink into villains. Therefore, to a certain extent, the distance between thought and life in the Wei and Jin dynasties was smaller than that of the Han Dynasty or the Song Dynasty—it was an era when they felt that they could be sanctified. ”
"Knowing molecules"
Wang Shuo/Author, Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House, October Culture, March 2015 edition
Recommended by: Ding Xiongfei
Wang Shuo's compositions are no less than his novels, although they have the imprint of the times, they are also tireless in reading, and they are often read and often new. For example, this passage: "When I was a child, fifty years was a big number, too far away to imagine. I used to think that life was endless, and the future was completely different. Now, I'm stuck in my own future, I haven't found myself with any real change, my dreams are as distant as when I was a kid, the only difference is that I don't intend to achieve it anymore. Fifty years have made me accustomed to a country... 'We don't want a country to mess up, do we?' As soon as I heard such a question, I was speechless. In fact, compared to Wang Shuo's hurtful words, such as Bai Yansong, who wrote "almost everything has a clear attitude and can quickly give a natural explanation", "This person is very proud, although the glasses cover his eyes, making his expression look ambiguous, still able to intuitively see his emotional fullness, if it is a character in the novel, it can be described as Gu Pan Zixiong", I prefer his praise, such as writing "Tie Ning Teacher", "You blindly tease her will also mean, you are bored she is also frank, Nor is it not humble or unassuming, nor is it like a pot of fire to meet you and say ten sentences, very stable to the appearance of God.". Wang Shuo once sneered at the "knowers" and his "representative publications: Reading"; masterpieces: "Pipe Cone Compilation", "copied the macro theories of others, there is also a problem: do not know which sentence is not their own", "in fact, this is easy to distinguish - which sentence is not yours", but now those who know Wang Shuo may only be the knowers.
Interview with Chinese Civilization
Zhang Quan/Author, Contemporary World Press, Folio, December 2021
Recommender: Fang Xiaoyan
This book is a collection of interviews with 24 outstanding scholars at home and abroad, including Ke Martin, Yuwen Soan, Eranno, Damu Kang, Gu Bin, Wu Hong, Qian Liqun, Wang Fansen, Rong Xinjiang, etc., over a period of nine years. The title of the book seems to be very large, but along the lines of these scholars' research fields, from the ancient civilization of China to the choices of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, until the current globalization, how China should live by itself is indeed an outline of the ups and downs in the evolution of Chinese civilization.
What echoes these ups and downs is the ups and downs of scholars' personal career history and the road of governance in the context of special times, learning and life, self-choice and fate, and mistakes are like mysteries. This is the place where this interview book is good outside of academic topics - it is Elonor who recites the "Three Hundred Poems of Tang Poems" sent by Bai Xianyong in the clamor of the Beatles' "You say you need a revolution"; it is Gu Bin who travels to Anduu china again and again as a German tour guide in order to cope with cumbersome visas and expensive air tickets; it is Wu Hongyin who read Michelangelo's portrait of the Pope, and the Pope does not like the color of the robe. Michelangelo had to recolor the story and turned his dream of being a painter; it was Qian Liqun who solemnly wrote "Notes on Lu Xun's Research" in a cold hut in Guizhou, just as many years later, he solemnly wrote "New Language Reader" for middle school students from early morning to late at night, practicing his "low-key idealism" of doing what he could according to his ideals and value standards.
The author said, "In these interviews, they correct many of the fallacies that have been passed down for millennia, and they will repeatedly consider the confusion and choices, glory and cost of the road to modernization." In the dialogue, we explore the development of scholarship, and also hope to re-understand the fate and responsibility of intellectuals, not only to sigh at the delicate moments of historical turning points, but also to alleviate each other's anxiety about some practical issues. And this may also explain the low-key spiritual power that such an interview book of "dialogue triggers dialogue, thoughts open thoughts" in this difficult spring.
"Middle Feed: Ancient French Cuisine: The Hidden Chef's Menu"
Pujiang Wu and Zeng Yi/Author, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, January 2021 edition
Recommended by: Zhu Fan
Ancient French cuisine can be said to be a fashion in today's gastronomic world, from the exquisite diet in Cao Xueqin's "Dream of the Red Chamber" to the various recipes in Yuan Ming's "Suiyuan Food List", which have become a reference for today's people to think about ancient cuisine. The difference in this "Middle Feed" is that the two menus recorded in the book are from the hands of ancient women. As the actual operator of the family diet, the recipes left by Wu Shi of Pujiang (now Jinhua, Zhejiang) in the Yuan Dynasty with unknown life and Zeng Yi of the Qing Dynasty Huayang (now Chengdu, Sichuan), who had excellent literary and medical skills, undoubtedly have special historical value. Subject to ancient food preservation techniques, most of the recipes are convenient to preserve dishes, some of which are now unnecessary, and some are still very common, such as wind fish, bad brine, meat sauce, ham, etc. Zeng Yi's "Tibetan oyster meat method" is the same as the "bald butter" that has been sought after in recent years.
Zeng Yi wrote in the "General Treatise on Feeding in the Middle" before the food list, "There are all the virtuous ladies of ancient and modern times, and there are no ones who are not skilled in the middle feeder", pointing out that the purpose of her writing this small book is for women to practice before leaving the cabinet, so as to perform the duties of middle feed after marriage. This argument is naturally out of place in the pursuit of gender equality today, but for many people, the food carefully prepared by the mother or other female elders is probably still an important memory of childhood love.