A Question Opens a World

Name: A Question Opens a World
ISBN: 9787214068828

Yang Lan / 朱冰Jiangsu People's Publishing House2011

3.5

Chapters: 8
ISBN: 9787214068828

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Summary

A Question Opens a World is a biographical work co-authored by Yang Lan and scholar Zhu Bing. First published in 2011 by Jiangsu People's Publishing House, it was written to mark Yang Lan's twentieth year in the industry and the tenth anniversary of Yang Lan One on One. Blending first-person memoir with Zhu Bing's third-person commentary, the book traces Yang Lan's career from 1990 to 2010: her accidental entry into television, hosting Zhengda Variety Show, leaving CCTV at the height of her career to study in the United States, founding Sun TV after returning home, creating Yang Lan One on One, and taking part in public affairs such as Beijing's Olympic bid. The book is more than a chronicle of achievements; it is a professional retrospective by someone who lives by asking questions. Yang Lan recalls her conversations with Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, George H. W. Bush, Lee Kuan Yew, Jack Welch, Jin Yong, Li Ao, and other figures from politics, business, and culture, discussing how she prepares her questions, how far to press, and how to find the real question with different interviewees. She also revisits much-debated themes such as winning, vision, and career versus family, responding to stereotyped expectations of successful women. Composed of eight question-titled chapters plus a preface and an afterword, the book speaks with candor, conveying both the exhaustion and self-doubt behind the spotlight and observations on the media industry's transformation. For readers curious about how Chinese television talk shows operate, or interested in career choices and women's circumstances, it offers both personal experience and an industry portrait.

Editor's review

很多人认识杨澜，是从电视屏幕开始的；这本书提供的则是镜头背面的视角。它并非一本“成功学”读物，反而多次质疑“成功”这个词：采访了数百位各界精英之后，杨澜发现所谓秘诀往往互相矛盾，真正可贵的是每个人处理自己处境的方式。书中最有价值的部分，是那些关于提问的细节：为什么这个问题必须问、什么时候该沉默、如何在对方准备好的答案之外再追一层。对做采访、做内容、做沟通的人来说，这些经验比任何方法论都具体。朱冰的旁述加入外部视角，让自述不至于变成单方面陈述。八个章节标题都是疑问句，读起来像一个职业女性向自己发出的连续追问。它不承诺答案，但把问题摆得足够诚实，这对正在职业转折点上的读者尤其有参考价值。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对中国电视访谈节目与传媒行业运作感兴趣的读者
处在职业转型期、需要梳理个人选择的人
关注女性职业发展与事业家庭议题的读者
喜欢人物自述与口述实录类非虚构作品的读者

Not a good fit for

希望读到系统新闻采访学教材的读者
期待完整名人访谈原文实录的读者

Reading tips

可先读第一章与第三章，了解杨澜的职业起点与关键转折，再回看其余章节。
把书中关于“如何提问”的段落单独标记，结合自己的沟通场景做笔记。
若读过2019年或2023年的升级版，可对照初版，观察作者对同一段经历的不同叙述。
不必按顺序通读，按章节标题中的疑问挑自己当下最关心的那一个先读。

About the publisher

Jiangsu People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Jiangsu People's Publishing House is known for works in history, literature and the social sciences. Judging from its catalog, it focuses on modern Chinese history, classical literary appreciation and scholarly research. Representative titles include historical works such as Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation and the National Revolution, 1924–1927 and A Record of Combat on the Front Lines of China's War of Resistance Against Japan, literary and visual documents such as Sun Wen's Illustrated Complete Dream of the Red Chamber, and scholarly collections such as Chen Yinke's Collected Works of Hanliu Hall. Translations such as The Dust Bowl and Anti-Intellectualism in American Life reflect an interest in overseas social and cultural studies. Its authors include historians Wang Qisheng, Huang Yuzhang and Guo Rugui, as well as figures associated with classical literature such as Cao Xueqin and Sun Wen. Common categories include history, literary appreciation, essays and miscellaneous writings, and social-science and cultural titles, showing a balance between historical scholarship and literature and between academic and popular publishing. Because public information is limited, this overview is based only on the books in the catalog.

Preface
01 Are You Really That Visionary?
02 Don't You Want to Win?
03 Who Can Sleep Easily on a Rock?
04 Why Is This Question Always Asked of Women?
05 Can the Olympics Be Something Romantic?
06 Have You Ever Stood on an Empty Stage?
Afterword: My Curiosity Is Incurable

FAQ

这本书是杨澜的自传吗？

可以视为传记性作品而非完整自传。它聚焦杨澜1990至2010年的媒体生涯，由杨澜自述与朱冰旁述结合而成，重点在职业经历与访谈幕后，并非覆盖全部人生的自传。

书里有完整的访谈原文吗？

没有。书中引用的是与基辛格、克林顿、李光耀、金庸、李敖等人对话的片段与幕后故事，用来支撑作者对提问和职业的思考，不是访谈实录合集。

这本书有几个版本，该选哪个？

初版为2011年江苏人民出版社版（ISBN 9787214068828）；2019年上海文艺出版社推出升级版，新增约四万字；2023年浙江文艺出版社又出新版。若想读最完整的版本，可选较晚的版本。

没看过《杨澜访谈录》能读懂吗？

可以。书中对节目背景和受访者有交代，重点是作者的职业反思与提问经验，不依赖对节目的熟悉程度，新读者也能顺畅进入。

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About the author

Yang Lan Author · China · 1968

Yang Lan, born in Beijing in 1968, is a Chinese television host, media figure and media entrepreneur, and co-founder and chairwoman of Sun Media Group. From 1990 to 1994 she hosted CCTV's Zhengda Variety Show and received the first Golden Microphone Award; she later earned a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University. In 1998 she founded Yang Lan One on One, which has long documented people and their times through in-depth conversation. Her writing centers on women's growth, well-being and self-fulfillment. The library holds two of her books, The Power of Happiness and Big Girls, whose plain, warm style turns personal experience into practical reflection and has influenced readers in the inspirational growth category.

朱冰 Author

Zhu Bing's public information is limited, and her identity and career details remain to be verified; the available information centers on six works published under her name. In terms of subject matter, Zhu Bing's writing spans several fields. These include a technical work on intelligent optical networks covering key technologies, applications, and future evolution, as well as an oral history of the "Class of 1977" film photography program at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, which records memories of film education. She has also written biographies of Bao Deming, president of Ming Chuan University in Taiwan, and of Chinese university women presidents, and has contributed to works on disruptive communication and case studies of women's political leadership in Europe. Overall, her works combine technical, documentary, and humanistic concerns, with attention to women's leadership and changes in communication, reflecting interdisciplinary research and writing interests across computing, language, biography, and social sciences.