Reading the Twelve Hours, you understand the life of Chinese

The Twelve Hours of China by Chen Fan, Peking University Press

The working people in ancient China divided a day and night into twelve periods, each of which was called an hour. This is our own unique and time-honored time system. Twelve hours, twelve kinds of beauty, the passage of time, full of poetry.

Recently, Peking University Press published the book "Twelve Hours of China" to excavate the aesthetics of life hidden in the hours. The twelve hours are decomposed layer by layer, and each hour is equipped with a corresponding cultural essay to interpret the ancients' perception of the time, place, and personnel. It can be said that if you understand the twelve hours, you will understand the life of Chinese.

Text: Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Sun Jun

Twelve o'clock

The unique time culture of Chinese tradition

"Twelve Hours of China" takes the twelve hours as the main line, uses exquisite and warm lens pictures to make text annotations, interpret the breadth and beauty of Chinese geography, and taste the wisdom and affection contained in traditional culture in the time and space transformation of natural winds and objects.

The author, Chen Fan, graduated from the Department of Philosophy of Lanzhou University, is a well-known columnist and human geography photographer, and has authored books such as "Human Seasons", "Time and Travel", "Shadow as a Companion", "The Charm of Light and Color" and so on.

When it comes to why he thought of making this book, Yang Shuang, the responsible editor of the book and the editor of Peking University Press, said: "The Twelve Hours is a traditional time culture unique to China, and so far, there are no books in the book market that discuss the ancient time culture with the theme of the Twelve Hours. It just so happens that when Chen Fan sorted out the photographic works accumulated over the years, he found that the pictures taken when he walked the mountains and rivers of the motherland for so many years could well fit with the rotation of the twelve hours, and a cultural photography book of the twelve hours became a natural theme. ”

In terms of feeling about time, the ancient Chinese people had a beautiful experience of matching nature and man, nature and human hearts, and the ancestors sensed the changes in time and shadow, used time to reflect themselves, reflect on the heart, and produced poetic emotions in the resonance of time and "me".

How to pick

The material that best fits the twelve hours

In Yang Shuang's view, at the moment of fast-paced and high-speed development, modern people seem to have been unconsciously isolated in a transparent box, on the one hand, we enjoy the fruits of material prosperity of social development, on the other hand, we have to admit that modern people have gradually isolated from heaven and earth, and the traces of traditional culture left by traditional culture on everyone are fading. "Modern people, especially young people, are inevitably dazed while busy, wavering in a variety of complex cultural inputs, which is one of the reasons why the country should vigorously promote traditional culture."

She made this book to take the twelve hours as an introduction, to guide readers to understand and value the wisdom of their ancestors, feel the heavy and beautiful charm of traditional culture, go back to the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, pay attention to pure nature, and perceive the changes in time. Respect the traction of time, use time to reflect on yourself, reflect on your heart, find the authenticity of life, and re-meet and dialogue with mountains and rivers, wind and moon, trees, flowers and birds. "From this point of view, the twelve hours are not just a cycle of reincarnation, but more like the peace of time in this land for thousands of years, interpreting the endless hope of life."

The beauty of China, beautiful and varied, how to choose the most suitable scenery to match a certain hour? Naturally, it is difficult to choose between thousands of materials. Before writing the book, Chen Fan spent a lot of time combing and summarizing the most representative natural and cultural landscapes across the country, and selecting the materials that were most suitable for the twelve hours. For example, in Suzhou, he chose the Hanshan Temple in "Fengqiao Night Berth". The poem "Fengqiao Night Berth" depicts the scene in the middle of the night, and the abundant emotions contained in this popular ancient poem are very touching.

Feel the mountains and rivers of the motherland under the change of time

It's amazing and open-minded

Chen Fan used his very profound knowledge to introduce the information, poetry and legends and allusions recorded in the ancient books related to the twelve hours, which can arouse people's interest in reading ancient books, try to touch the ancient culture in ancient books and paintings, and feel the sunrise and sunrise of thousands of years ago and the living conditions of the ancients. Editing this book is also a very rare opportunity for Yang Shuang to re-appreciate the beauty of traditional culture.

The book contains a large number of photographic works by Teacher Chen Fan, while appreciating the photographic works, readers will also feel as if they are also with Teacher Chen Fan, from Jiangnan to Mobei, from the coast to the mountains of Tibet, without moving, they will step all over the mountains and rivers, and feel the mountains and rivers of the motherland under the transformation of time, "This is a very mysterious feeling, it can make the whole person's state of mind become sudden and open. ”