Eternal Culture and Letters
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Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers who want a systematic understanding of the historical arc of Chinese culture and a framework for reading through
- University students in the humanities and social sciences, as supplementary reading for introductory Chinese culture courses
- Primary and secondary school teachers seeking to enrich their cultural background for teaching
- Readers interested in the topic of cultural confidence who want to understand cultural characteristics through historical conditions
Not a good fit for
- Scholars seeking in-depth research on a specific topic; this book is a survey with limited depth on individual topics
- Readers who prefer light stories and entertaining anecdotes; this book is more discursive
- Professional researchers seeking a review of the latest cultural research findings
Reading tips
- First read the table of contents to map the threads of geography, economy, society, and characteristics, then read selectively along those lines
- After each section, summarize in your own words how that condition shaped the cultural landscape
- Read in conjunction with specific historical periods or cultural phenomena rather than memorizing conclusions alone
- After reading, choose a direction of interest and seek out dedicated works for deeper study
About the publisher
Peking University Press is a comprehensive university press whose publishing areas cover classical literature, popular science, social culture, world history, Western philosophy, and culture. Its catalogue contains 6,031 titles, with representative books including A Dream of Red Mansions, Relativity: The Special and General Theory (15th Edition) (with Einstein's classic papers on unified field theory and other topics), Elements, Conics, The Aristocratic Families of the Eastern Jin, The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume I), The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume II), and The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Representative authors include Cao Xueqin, Zhou Ruchang, Albert Einstein, Euclid, Apollonius, Tian Yuqing, Schelling, and Xian Gang. The press has developed distinctive strengths in classical Chinese literature and in the translation of Western philosophical classics, while also covering scientific classics and social and cultural studies. As public information is limited, this description is based only on the books in the catalogue and offers no further extrapolation.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序
- 第一章 中华民族与疆域
- 第一节 “中华民族”释义
- 第二节 中国人起源
- 第三节 混血的龙
- 第四节 民族大家庭
- 第五节 中国疆域的历史演变
- 第六节 文化地理学分析
- 第二章 农耕与游牧
- 第一节 两大经济类型
- 第二节 对垒与冲突
- 第三节 互补与融会
- 第四节 中国农业文明的特征
- 第三章 家国天下
- 第一节 从母系氏族到父系家庭
- 第二节 私有制与国家起源
- 第三节 宗法社会
- 第四节 家国同构
- 第五节 专制政体
- 第六节 伦理—政治型特点
- 第四章 文字与典籍
- 第一节 汉字起源
- 第二节 甲骨文与“六书”
- 第三节 字体流变
- 第四节 汉字的优长
- 第五节 形形色色的“书”
- 第六节 煌煌中华，“有典有册”
- 第五章 学而优则仕
- 第一节 学校的萌生
- 第二节 官学与私学
- 第三节 书院讲习
- 第四节 科举与选举
- 第五节 八股取士及科举制的衰败
- 第六章 士林风采
- 第一节 士的崛起
- 第二节 众星璀璨
- 第三节 群体品格
- 第四节 文人雅趣
- 第七章 儒、释、道
- 第一节 孔儒与老、庄
- 第二节 “独尊儒术”
- 第三节 佛陀东来与道教创立
- 第四节 “玄之又玄，众妙之门”
- 第五节 佛教的流行及其中国化
- 第六节 “三教归一”的理学
- 第八章 艺文神韵
- 第一节 代有高峰的文学
- 第二节 翰墨丹青并蒂莲：书法与绘画
- 第三节 情动于心的音乐、歌舞、戏曲
- 第四节 凝固的诗：雕塑、建筑、园林
- 第五节 中国艺术精神
- 第九章 民俗大观
- 第一节 岁时节日
- 第二节 人生庆典
- 第三节 祖先祭祀
- 第四节 衣、食、住、行
- 第五节 民族风情
- 第十章 天工开物
- 第一节 农业科技
- 第二节 “四大发明”
- 第三节 科技智慧
- 第四节 中国科技为何在近代落伍
- 第十一章 汲纳吞吐
- 第一节 东亚文化圈
- 第二节 “丝绸之路”与秦、汉、隋、唐全方位交通
- 第三节 技术发明与宋、元中西交流
- 第四节 “中学西渐”与明、清的西学输入
- 第十二章 凤凰涅槃
- 第一节 “开眼看世界”
- 第二节 “洋务”事业“种豆得瓜”
- 第三节 中国文化的新质细胞
- 第四节 从“维新”到“革命”
- 第五节 “民主”与“科学”
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About the author
Feng Tianyu (1942–2023) was a native of Hong'an, Hubei, and a senior professor of humanities and social sciences at Wuhan University. A renowned historian of culture, he was a leading figure in the study of Chinese cultural history. He graduated from Wuhan Normal College in 1964, taught at Hubei University from 1979, and moved to Wuhan University after 1994, where he founded the Center for Traditional Chinese Culture Studies. He proposed the theories of "cultural ecology," "cultural classics," and "historical-cultural semantics," and wrote such works as A History of Chinese Culture, The Formation History of Chinese Culture, A Critical Study of "Feudalism," and The Collected Works of Feng Tianyu. His writings, mostly in the categories of culture and history, explore the formation, evolution, and core concepts of Chinese civilization, combining scholarly depth with readability and exerting a profound influence on the field of cultural history.
He Xiaoming, about whom limited public information is available, is known to be engaged in writing on history. Two of his works are held in the collection: Wangu Siwen (The Enduring Splendor of Culture) and A History of Chinese Culture (two volumes). Judging from the subjects of these two works, He Xiaoming's writing focuses on the historical development and spiritual traditions of Chinese culture, and also involves the organization and interpretation of cultural phenomena. The title Wangu Siwen suggests a remembrance of cultural refinement and a continuation of the literary tradition, while A History of Chinese Culture presents the course of Chinese culture in a general-history format. This indicates that the author leans toward cultural popularization and historical narrative for general readers, with writing that stresses clear organization and distinct lines of development. Since information such as dates of birth and death, nationality, education, and official positions has not been clearly recorded, details of his life cannot be confirmed and are not speculated upon here. On the basis of the existing works, He Xiaoming's writing may be classified as historical reading, suitable for readers interested in the history of Chinese culture.
Zhou Jiming is an author known for writing history books for general readers. Public information about him is limited; the works confirmed in the library are two titles, Wangu Siwen and A History of Chinese Culture (two volumes). Judging by their subjects, his writing focuses on the historical development and spiritual traditions of Chinese culture and belongs to the category of historical and cultural reading aimed at ordinary readers. The title Wangu Siwen itself suggests a concern with the continuity of cultural tradition, while A History of Chinese Culture, presented in two volumes, indicates a fairly systematic narrative structure. Works of this kind usually take time as the thread and cultural phenomena and figures as the fabric, combining factual historical account with readability, and are suitable for readers who wish to gain an overall understanding of Chinese cultural history. Because little is recorded about his life in the library or in publicly available sources, this introduction does not touch on his education, positions, or personal experience, and confines itself to the subject matter and writing characteristics of his extant works.
