Old Tales of the Southern Taihang
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
From a professional standpoint, the book's value lies first in its rescue effort. Under the combined impact of the spread of Standard Mandarin and population mobility, many dialect words with strong regional character are vanishing at an alarming rate. This book preserves a valuable "sound specimen" of the speech system of this particular cultural unit in the southern Taihang Mountains. Second, the arrangement is ingenious: words are grouped by theme (heaven and earth, seasons, farming and crafts, human relations, and so on), with brief definitions and vivid example sentences; some entries even trace their origins in classical Chinese, making the reading both informative and enjoyable, accessible even to non-specialist readers.
The value of this book extends well beyond linguistics. It is more like a key that, through speech—the most everyday medium—opens the door to the traditional way of life, folk beliefs, ethical concepts, and collective memory of the southern Taihang Mountains. As readers leaf through these unfamiliar yet ancient words, they are in effect viewing a fading scroll of folk customs. For readers interested in traditional culture, local gazetteers, intangible cultural heritage, or simply the beauty of language itself, this book offers an immersive reading experience that moves from the minute to the grand. It reminds us that the disappearance of every dialect means the permanent closing of a unique perspective for observing and expressing the world.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers with a strong interest in dialectology, folklore, or regional cultural studies
- Enthusiasts who wish to understand traditional Chinese rural social structures and ways of life through language
- Readers from the southern Taihang Mountains or with a special emotional connection to the region's customs
- Slow readers who enjoy gathering unusual knowledge and savoring the historical depth behind words
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light entertainment or a continuous narrative novel
- Readers indifferent to dialect and regional culture, and impatient with unfamiliar vocabulary
Reading tips
- It is best not to read straight through; begin with thematic chapters that interest you (such as food, forms of address, or proverbs) and browse as you would a dictionary—surprises often await.
- Try reading the phonetic transcriptions aloud to feel the rhythm and texture of the sounds; this is an important part of appreciating the beauty of dialect.
- Compare the words in the book with Standard Mandarin or your own hometown dialect, and reflect on the hidden connections between language change and social transformation.
About the publisher
Founded in 1996, Henan Literature and Art Publishing House mainly publishes books on literature and art, social sciences and broadly cultural subjects, and also edits and publishes the journal Celebrity Biography, gradually forming a publishing style characterized by full-length historical novels and biographical literature. Judging from the 269 titles in the database, its publishing scope also covers mystery and detective fiction, foreign literature, classic works and world classics. Representative books include Ellery Queen's four tragedies, Slaughterhouse-Five, Blindness, The Siege of Lisbon, The History of the Siege of Lisbon, the ten-volume Collected Works of Wang Zengqi, Old Tales Retold and the two-volume Classic Short Stories of Stanisław Lem, the God of Science Fiction. In terms of authors, it includes foreign masters such as Kurt Vonnegut, José Saramago and Ellery Queen, as well as translators such as Yang Xi, Yu Jianhua and Fan Weixin.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 代序
- 自序
- 楔子 老子传经金牛寺 神魂永驻轿顶山
- 第一章 山旮旯神童降世 瞌睡爷隐示天机
- 第二章 山子神悟学说书 爷爷教读汤头歌
- 第三章 四小儿入读私塾 小神童初露锋芒
- 第四章 见杏子两小无猜 聊家史童心起怨
- 第五章 探官制共和闻世 释科举从小立志
- 第六章 金牛洞前寻真意 轿顶山上悟官梯
- 第七章 有心人会做有心事 有心事不负有心人
- 第八章 清者自清浊自浊 邪不压正邪自破
- 第九章 轿顶山黄帝降华盖 佑万民华盖显祥瑞
- 第十章 先生诠释山川意 三生万物天外天
- 第十一章 山子挥毫轿顶山 文辞悠悠化山魂
- 第十二章 轿顶山乾隆赏神童 侯兆川老子化文明
- 第十三章 讲科举先生指路 八股文阐述贤正
- 第十四章 走山外学宫读书 遇李贽感悟圣谕
- 第十五章 世事轮回因生果 进士及第中科举
- 第十六章 入仕途风风雨雨 风水转否极泰来
- 第十七章 风波四起宦海深 重遭坎坷文字狱
- 第十八章 粗缯大布裹生涯 腹有诗书气自华
- 第十九章 双双对对杯犹在 孤孤单单不见君
- 第二十章 轿顶山上喜事闹 坐收天下梅花春
- 尾声
- 附录一 《轿顶山记》注解与译文
- 附录二 八股文《欲为官者 先至贤正》注释与译文
- 附录三 山子《轿顶山客》注译
- 附录四 杏子《侯兆川内》注译
- 附录五 《圣谕碑》碑文
- 后记
FAQ
How is this book different from an ordinary dialect dictionary?
Can I understand this book without a linguistics background?
How specifically does this book help in understanding the southern Taihang region?
Comments
Find this book
This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Zhang Youxin: publicly available information about this author is limited. Details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded and await further verification. What is known is that the author has one work to their name, Old Tales of the Southern Taihang, classified as a social novel. Judging from the title, the work draws on the regional setting of the southern Taihang area and may center on local folk speech, rural memory, and social change, giving it a distinct local flavor. Social novels typically focus on the living conditions and interpersonal relationships of ordinary people; if this book follows that vein, it may present the social world of mountain villages in a realistic style. Since only this one work is held in the database, it is difficult to assess the author's overall style and influence; readers may learn more about the narrative orientation and literary value of the work by consulting the book itself.
