On What May Be Said

Name: On What May Be Said
ISBN: 9787508652535

叶匡政CITIC Press2015

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Chapters: 8
Series: On What May Be Said
ISBN: 9787508652535

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Summary

On What May Be Said is an essay collection by the scholar and poet Ye Kuangzheng, gathering eighty cultural observations and critical pieces written over seven years beginning in 2008. The book ranges widely, touching on poetry, literature, scholars, history, current affairs, and entertainment fields such as film and television. The author keeps a close eye on the "illusions" and "false appearances" of the age, exposing many phenomena and social maladies overlooked by the public. The book broadly unfolds along three threads: first, it uses traditional culture to illuminate real life, discussing truth, justice, the study of life and nature, and public life through classical ideas such as "the unity of heaven and humanity," "the rectification of names," and "benevolence comes from oneself"; second, starting from human ethics and everyday social relations, it discusses maternal love, clan ties, communication, reverence, and "harmony without uniformity"; third, it criticizes contemporary cultural phenomena, covering the meaning of Chinese characters, urban ecology, copyright, physical bookstores, the annual Chinese character, and other topics, with considerable space also devoted to reviews of films, TV dramas, and stage plays, discussing censorship, copyright awareness, and genre narrative. The author's critical writing is sharp and incisive, yet not merely fault-finding; grounded in traditional culture, he strives to open a channel between China's history and its present, and after analysis points toward the possibility of "cultural self-rescue." The language is precise and the imagery condensed, benefiting from long poetic training; it reads with ease, carrying both a poet's warmth and an intellectual's sense of responsibility.

Editor's review

这是“醉醒客”丛书中的一本。这套丛书源于一个持续八年的京城文人酒局，六位作者各出一册，取“醉能同其乐，醒能著以文”之意。叶匡政在其中显得有些特别：他以诗名起家，却放下诗歌，踏进公共知识领域，用七年时间写下八十篇观察与批评。本书的好，在于它不靠情绪取胜。作者熟读典籍，谈“正名”、谈“为仁由己”、谈“民无信不立”，都不是为了掉书袋，而是拿这些观念去照当下的新闻与社会现场，于是历史与现实之间被拧开一条通道，许多习以为常的事物忽然显出另一副面孔。评论电影、电视剧与舞台剧的部分同样如此：谈审查、谈著作权、谈类型叙事，落点都在文化生态。书名“可以论”三字带着分寸感——不必定论，可以一论。作者的剑锋利，却不取人性命，更像一把带有人文温度的手术刀。它不是那种能一口气读完的书，适合一段一段地读，读完一段，停下来想一想。

Who it's for

A good fit for

关心社会现实与公共议题、愿意慢读思考的读者
对传统文化当代价值有兴趣的文史爱好者
喜欢杂文式文化批评、诗性文字的读者
关注国产电影电视与文艺生态的影迷剧迷

Not a good fit for

希望阅读轻松故事或强情节小说的读者
偏好系统理论著作、要求严密论证体系的读者
只想看时效性新闻短评、不愿读长文的读者

Reading tips

可按四辑“思想—人情—文化—影视”的顺序读，也可挑感兴趣的主题跳读。
每读一篇不妨对照它所评论的现象想一想，作者的用意更多在提出问题。
涉及四书五经与古典典故处，可顺手查阅原文，理解会更充分。
不必追求速度，适合作为睡前或通勤时每次一两篇的慢读物。

About the publisher

CITIC Press China · Founded in 1988

Founded in 1988 and affiliated with China CITIC Group, CITIC Press focuses on business and economics, social sciences, literature and children's books, with common categories covering social sciences, finance, literature, Eastern philosophy and literary appreciation. Its library holds 91 titles, including Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens trilogy, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Wu Xiaobo's Thirty Years of Strife: Chinese Enterprises 1978–2008, Nelly Sachs's The Weight of Butterflies: Selected Poems of Nelly Sachs, as well as New Interpretations of the Analects and Chiang Hsun's lectures on Dream of the Red Chamber. Its authors and translators include Lin Junhong, Ba Shusong, Chen Li and Chang Fen-ling. Overall, the press introduces influential works in finance and social sciences while balancing classic translation and local appreciation in literature and Eastern philosophy, combining academic depth with accessible reading.

Chapter One: Thought Can Bring the Spirit Home
Truth Is the Way of Heaven; "The Rectification of Names" Is the Source of Just Actions; What Is the Study of Life and Nature; The Collapse of a Famous Trickster Art; The Unsummoned Minister; The Starting Point of Benevolence Is Opposition to All Violence; The Ruler's "Way of Self-Cultivation"; Also on "The People Cannot Stand Without Trust"; Confucius's Economics of Happiness; Beyond Conscience There Is No Knowledge; "Benevolence Comes from Oneself" and the Independent Spirit; Starting from "Accumulated Resentment Brews Disaster"; "A Hundred-Year Lifespan" and "A Thousand-Year Law"; How Mencius Viewed Mass Incidents; "The Way" and Legitimacy; When the Way Permeates Governance, the People Are Nourished; All Under Heaven Is Shared, the Worthy and Capable Are Chosen; The Monkey Keeper's Trick of Three in the Morning, Four in the Evening; Music Can Be One with Heaven and Earth
Chapter Two: No One Can Isolate Themselves
My Hometown and the Ye Clan; The Gentle Wind of Maternal Love; Humanity Is the Heart of Heaven and Earth; "Business" Must Respect All Life; Public Opinion and "All Under Heaven Turning to Him"; Father, or the Law; The Eccentric Benevolent Man; On Social Communication from "Zichan Did Not Destroy the Village School"; Following One's Nature Is Reverence for the Way of Heaven; Behind Equality; "Leaning Toward Good" and "Good by Nature"; Confucius's Secret Meeting; What Kind of "Doctrine of the Mean"; The Hermit's Scolding and White Eyes; Why We Should Have Reverence; The Village Hypocrite, the Concubine, the Great Man; Do Not Impose on Others What You Do Not Want for Yourself; "Harmony Without Uniformity" Means Acknowledging Heresy
Chapter Three: Culture Can Awaken the Mind
Restoring the Meaning and Dignity of Chinese Characters; The Ritual and Musical Landscape of "Pottery Art Bestowed by Heaven"; Only Slowness Is Living; The Artist's Seclusion and Discovery; Let Art Carry You Beyond Illness; Cultural Reflections on Urban Ecology; The City Is a Dialogue with Its Dwellers; Diaries and Mutation; The Public Opinion Behind the Annual Chinese Character; Why Cao Xueqin Did Not Become Shakespeare; Horror Fiction Seeks to Awaken the Void of Death; Without Copyright, Where Is Originality; Is the Return of the Zodiac Heads Worthy of Cheers; The Book World Really Does Love These Leftovers; The Writers' Rich List Should Be Called the Writers' Decline List; Do Not Let Physical Bookstores Die Out; Cultural Charity Is Needed in Disaster Too; "Weaving Wool
Chapter Four: Who Says Angels Cannot Act
Death Is the Greatest Unknown; An Apology to the Victims of the Great Famine; The Confusion of Farmers in an Absurd Era; A Lesson in the Art of Love; A History of a Man's Growth; Ethical Reflections on Wiretapping and Surveillance; The Core of Marriage and Family Is Singularity; "Collecting" Objects for Play, "Storing" the Bloodline of History; Making Historical Dramas Requires Reverence; The "Rashomon" of War and Censorship; Redemption Gives the Soul a Way Home; Ticket Prices Soar, Cinema Declines; The Awakening Copyright Awareness of Film Directors; The Battle of "Micro Films"; Do Not Think Breaking Television Ethics Will Raise Ratings; Cannes Is Not Just a Marketplace and a Show; On Screen

FAQ

《可以论》是一本什么类型的书？

它是叶匡政的文化随笔与文化批评集，收录2008年起七年间约八十篇文章，涉及传统文化、社会伦理、文化现象以及电影电视评论，属于“醉醒客”丛书之一。

“醉醒客系列”是一套什么书？

“醉醒客”丛书由六位京城文人各出一册，2015年由中信出版社推出，缘起于他们持续多年的文人酒局，取“醉能同其乐，醒能著以文”之意，《可以论》为其中叶匡政的一本。

读这本书需要古典文学基础吗？

不必须。作者与古典有关的文章多用现代语言与当下事例加以阐释，没有基础也能读懂；若有兴趣，读到相关篇章时回看原文出处，收获会更多。

书里讨论电影电视的内容多吗？

有相当篇幅。第四辑集中评点电影、电视剧与舞台剧，涉及审查、著作权、类型叙事与国产电影生态等话题，另有第三辑部分篇章谈艺术与文化现象。

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About the author

叶匡政 Author

Ye Kuangzheng is a Chinese writer whose work is mainly in the field of prose and miscellaneous writings. Public information about him is currently limited, and details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background remain unclear. The library holds only one work by him, titled Bu Bi Shuo (Not Necessarily to Say). Judging from the title and its common classification, the book tends toward essayistic commentary and reflection, marked by personal observation and expression. The genre of prose and miscellaneous writings usually emphasizes natural, fluent language and a sense of immediate thought, with authors often using everyday topics as a starting point for commentary and conveying attitudes and judgments through plain narration. As his representative work, Bu Bi Shuo offers readers an entry point for understanding Ye Kuangzheng's writing and suggests a style that may combine the ease of the essay with the argumentative quality of miscellaneous writing. Given the limited number of works available, it is still difficult to sketch the full range of his writing, and readers may turn to this book to better grasp the topics he addresses and the features of his prose.