About to Drink Tea

Name: About to Drink Tea
ISBN: 9787108051707

Yang JiangSDX Joint Publishing Company · ChinaJun 2025

4.3

Word count: 84K words
Chapters: 28
ISBN: 9787108051707

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Summary

Carrying Tea recounts the ways of the world and human nature, which are more savory than the bright moon and clear breeze; it can be read as a book or watched as a play. Depictions in books and performances on stage, however lifelike, are ultimately works of art; the ways of the world and human nature are innocent, natural outpourings that often defy reason, startling with their novelty, astonishing, and offering deeper benefit and more wondrous amusement. Only those in humble circumstances have the best chance to see the truth of the world and human nature, rather than the artistic performance staged before an audience.

Editor's review

Carrying Tea is a collection of essays from Yang Jiang's later years, including celebrated reminiscences such as "Remembering My Father" and "Remembering My Aunt," as well as pieces like "Chronicle of the Bingwu and Dingwei Years" and "The Cloak of Invisibility" that reveal the integrity and practical wisdom of intellectuals in a particular era. Written in a calm, understated style, the book sets individual fates against a grand historical backdrop, offering both tender recollections of close kin and a cool-eyed look at absurd times. Yang Jiang's prose is refined and restrained, imbued with profound reflection and quiet strength, embodying the dignity and spiritual independence of traditional Chinese literati in adversity. The metaphor of the "cloak of invisibility" illuminates a philosophy of survival and integrity amid constraints and holds significant value for understanding the spiritual world of twentieth-century Chinese intellectuals. A representative work from the maturity of Yang Jiang's essay writing, the book is not only a literary pleasure but also an important text for the study of the modern Chinese intellectual's inner life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who admire Yang Jiang's work and wish to understand her life and thought in depth
Readers interested in the fate and spiritual history of twentieth-century Chinese intellectuals
Lovers of literature who appreciate calm, understated essays rich in reflection
Readers seeking practical wisdom and spiritual strength for facing adversity

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for strong plotlines and fast-paced narrative
Readers seeking systematic historical research or scholarly analysis

Reading tips

Reading in order is recommended—begin with the reminiscences, then the chronicles and reflections—to follow the arc of the author's feeling and thought
Reading alongside Yang Jiang's We Three and related works by Qian Zhongshu can give a fuller understanding
Pieces such as "The Cloak of Invisibility" are best read slowly, pondering the relation between personal choice and the context of the times

About the publisher

SDX Joint Publishing Company China · Founded in 1932

SDX Joint Publishing Company is a publisher known for its humanities and social science titles, covering classics, culture, history, social fiction and politics. Its catalogue of 826 books includes Chinese and foreign literary classics such as The Scholars, Camel Xiangzi and Selected Short Stories of Chekhov, scholarly works such as Studies of Chinese Cave Temples, A Study of the Tuoba History (Revised Edition) and The Nine-Rank System: A Prehistory of the Imperial Examination, and translations such as Red Star Over China and Notes from the House of the Dead. Its authors include renowned Chinese and foreign writers such as Wu Jingzi, Lao She, Su Bai and Chekhov, as well as scholars and translators such as Chen Xiaoming, Wang Benhua, Guo Changbao and Zhu Xiansheng. Its publishing character lies in balancing the popularisation of classics with academic depth, with attention to textual quality and the transmission of knowledge.

版权信息
孟婆茶（胡思乱想，代序）
回忆我的父亲
前言
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
附录一补塘兄挽词五首
附录二申辩中之高检长惩戒案
回忆我的姑母
记钱锺书与《围城》
一钱锺书写《围城》
二写《围城》的钱锺书
收藏了十五年的附识
丙午丁未年纪事（乌云与金边）
一风狂雨骤
二颠倒过来
三一位骑士和四个妖精
四精彩的表演
五帘子和炉子
六披着狼皮的羊
七乌云的金边
隐身衣（废话，代后记）
出版说明

FAQ

What does Carrying Tea mainly include?

It mainly includes Yang Jiang's essays recalling her father, aunt, and other relatives, as well as pieces recounting her experiences during the Cultural Revolution ("Chronicle of the Bingwu and Dingwei Years") and exploring a philosophy of living (such as "The Cloak of Invisibility"), combining reminiscence, chronicle, and reflection.

What does Yang Jiang's metaphor of the "cloak of invisibility" mean in the book?

The "cloak of invisibility" is Yang Jiang's metaphor for an attitude intellectuals adopted in a particular era: keeping a low profile and not showing one's brilliance, in order to preserve spiritual independence and inner peace—a resilient and wise philosophy of survival.

How does this book differ from We Three?

We Three centers on remembering her husband Qian Zhongshu and daughter Qian Yuan, with intense emotional concentration; Carrying Tea ranges more widely, covering family memory, experiences of the times, and personal reflection, in a cooler and more open-minded style.

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About the author

Yang Jiang Author · Chinese · 1911–2016

Yang Jiang, whose original name was Yang Jikang, was a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu, and was born in Beijing in 1911. A renowned Chinese writer, playwright and translator, she knew English, French and Spanish, and translated works such as Don Quixote and Gil Blas, her translations being noted for their faithfulness and fluency. Her own writings include the novel Baptism, the essay collections Six Chapters from My Life "Downunder", We Three, Drinking Tea and Walking to the Edge of Life, as well as the two-volume Miscellaneous Memories and Writings and the reading essays A "Self-Effacing" Visit. Drawing on personal experience and reading, these works are written in a restrained, unhurried style that reveals a close observation of life and human nature. She was a research fellow at the Institute of Foreign Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and died in Beijing on 25 May 2016 at the age of 105.