Common Sense

Name: Common Sense
ISBN: 9787563379637

Leung Man-taoGuangxi Normal University Press · ChinaFeb 2014

4.0

Word count: 186K words
Chapters: 117
ISBN: 9787563379637

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Summary

A collection of social commentary Leung Man-tao wrote over the past two years, touching on politics, democracy, ethnicity, education, press freedom, civic morality and many other aspects of society. The style is sharp, the themes are clear, and the argument is concise and forceful, often striking straight at the heart of the matter. Beyond the pleasure of reading, the writing prompts reflection and gives insight. The book is titled Common Sense because, as Leung himself says: 'What is gathered here is nothing lofty—mostly common sense. If it seems strange, it is because this is an age short of common sense.'

Editor's review

Common Sense is a collection of short opinion pieces. They are brief and clearly argued, well suited to observing how a commentator starts from a news peg, teases apart concepts, lays out facts, and reaches a judgment. Its readability comes from the crispness of the prose: little preamble, much direct statement, often with a turn completed within a single sentence, so that readers quickly see the crux of the issue. For writers, it is a model for learning how to compress complex issues into short commentaries; for general readers, it is more like a set of thinking exercises, reminding us to ask, beyond emotion and position, what the facts are, whether concepts have been swapped, and whether the argument holds. One caveat: opinion pieces are tied to specific news contexts, and the background of some pieces is now distant from today. Read it as material for understanding modes of public expression, not as ready-made conclusions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers concerned with public issues who want to sharpen their judgment
Students and media professionals who want to learn opinion and argumentative writing
Readers who like short pieces and are used to finishing one on a commute
Writers who want to train concise expression and logical argumentation

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic theoretical monograph or a complete system of thought
Readers who only want light stories and prefer not to engage with public issues
Readers prone to taking opinion pieces as news fact without secondary verification

Reading tips

Read two or three pieces at a time, then summarize the author's core judgment in one sentence
Guess the position from the title first, then read the text and check whether your prediction holds
When you encounter unfamiliar background, fill in the news context first, then judge whether the argument holds
Copy favorite passages onto cards and imitate their opening, development, and conclusion to practice short commentaries

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
自序
上编
国耻
抗战
自虐
“爱”
反华传媒
反法
汉奸
移民
运动
日本（一）
日本（二）
多元
世界
大国
口音
形象
文化入侵
正面形象
争光
中国威胁（一）
中国威胁（二）
“人格魅力”
角色
接班
好官
问责
喜事
政府
合法性
特供
民主
民意
投票（一）
投票（二）
历史
大局
创世神话
城管（一）
城管（二）
公共空间
血汗工厂
企业责任
富豪
老师
大学
大学校长
大学生
大学教授
作协
潜规则
“真”
足球
刘翔
浮躁
套话
空话
信任
极少数
苦难
天灾
哀悼
抗灾
民间（一）
民间（二）
大同
万众一心
第三空间
网友
幽默
恶搞
低俗
负面报道
炒作
诽谤
信息不对称
下编
政治激进派的豪赌
|温和派如何被迫走上了激进路线|
|激进政治的自我繁殖 |
|战争不能取代建设|
|民族分裂的巴尔干示范|
|民族分裂的伊拉克示范 |
|朝鲜也是一个正常国家 |
|种族问题往往只是阶级问题的伪装|
|缅甸比丘为什么要上街 |
|反对吸烟的纳粹党|
一个国家的梦想与现实
|右翼版本的美国人 |
|美国的右翼与上帝 |
|为什么美国就是不肯放过古巴 |
|“自由”的朋友，民主的敌人 |
|第一世界里的第三世界|
|爱国怎么毁了传媒|
|奥巴马的修辞学 |
|奥巴马与美国梦的实现 |
|建立在一本书上的国家 |
|萨科齐如何背叛了法国的共和遗产|
|泰王总是政变的赢家 |
|国王与我 |
|索尔仁尼琴的最后悲剧|
世界到底有多平
|政治游戏的规则|
|气候的分配正义|
|美国的“世界银行”|
|买军火好比买玩具 |
|有钱不一定有权|
|富豪治国 |
|贝卢斯科尼 |
|个人慈善取代不了社会公正 |
|传媒帝国的阴影 |
|超级财团垄断传媒的年代|
|足球太圆了，政治抓不牢 |
|四年一度的四海一家|
鸣谢

FAQ

Can I understand it without a background in commentary writing?

Yes. The pieces are mostly short commentaries in direct language and do not rely on specialized terminology; but some pieces have specific news backgrounds, and understanding will suffer if you do not know the events. It is advisable to read the title and first paragraph first to grasp the issue, then decide whether to fill in the background.

Can the views in this book be quoted directly?

Before quoting, check the original text and context, and distinguish the author's judgments from statements of fact. Opinion pieces carry personal positions and are suitable as a starting point for discussion, not as definitive conclusions; when specific events are involved, it is best to check later reports and different sources.

Why is the book called Common Sense?

In his own account, the author explains that the book consists mostly of commonsense discussions, and that they seem jarring because common sense is scarce in certain contexts. The title also reminds readers to return to basic facts and logic before talking about position.

Is it suitable as a writing model?

Yes. The pieces are short with clear structure, often starting from a concrete phenomenon and then generalizing to a judgment, which makes it easy to break down arguments, evidence, and conclusions. When practicing, you can first make an outline, then compare it with the original to see what irrelevant content the author cut.

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About the author

Leung Man-tao Author · Chinese (Hong Kong) · 1970

Leung Man-tao, born in Hong Kong in 1970 with ancestral roots in Shunde, Guangdong, is a Hong Kong cultural figure and media personality. He graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has long worked as a writer, book reviewer and commentator on current affairs, and has hosted programmes such as *Open Book in Eight Minutes* and *One Thousand and One Nights*. His writing spans essays, cultural criticism, film and foreign literature. Eight of his works are held here, including *Common Sense*, *Wo Zhi*, the three-volume *Taste* and *Noise*, as well as talk-based writing on cinema and reading. His prose often approaches public issues and reflections on reading through everyday experience, combining an intellectual temper with plainness, and has reached a wide Chinese-language readership.