The Book of Emotions
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Summary
This book introduces the idea of emotional culture. To grasp emotion, we must look beyond biology and psychological mechanisms and capture the feelings embedded in our own time and place, shaped by distinct cultural contexts. Through the archaeology of emotion, it excavates emotional cultures that no longer exist today.
Drawing on neuropsychology, archaeological literature, public opinion, literary and artistic works, and popular culture, it gathers 156 emotion words, describes and defines them, traces their historical evolution, and reveals the essence and unique vitality of each emotion. Emotional culture pervades the era and realm we inhabit, marked by distinct contexts. Through the archaeology of emotion, it guides you into the world of human feeling.
Humans are emotional creatures. Break free from the framework of reason and view the emotional self through an unprecedented lens; you will discover how fascinating, rich, and enchanting the thoughts and desires beneath the surface of feeling can be.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers with a strong interest in psychology, cultural history, or sociology who wish to understand the social construction of emotion
- Readers who appreciate nuanced prose and intellectual exploration and enjoy wandering among words and concepts
- Writers, artists, and creative professionals seeking inspiration and a richer emotional vocabulary for their work
- People who find their own emotions complex and hard to understand and wish to step outside a personal perspective and understand feeling on a broader scale
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking immediate emotion-regulation techniques or psychological self-help solutions
- Readers expecting a systematic, rigorous psychology textbook or academic monograph
Reading tips
- There is no need to read from beginning to end; dip in at random like a dictionary, according to your current mood or curiosity, and browse whichever emotion entries interest you
- Keep sticky notes or a notebook at hand while reading to record ideas that resonate or are new to you, and compare and reflect on them against your own experience
- Use the historical background in the book to consider whether today's social media age has given rise to new, unlisted, distinctive emotions
About the publisher
Beijing Daily Press takes world history, historical reading and foreign literary translations as important publishing directions, alongside science fiction and prose. Its catalogue includes Edward Gibbon's unabridged The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gu Cheng's Southern Ming History and his works on Ming history, reflecting a balance between general and dynastic history; in literature there are Fu Lei's translations of Balzac and of world classics, as well as science fiction and prose such as The Universe Omnipotent Detective Agency, A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Peregrine, with authors ranging from Gibbon, Gu Cheng and Balzac to Fu Lei, Romain Rolland and Douglas Adams. Building on current affairs, history and culture, Beijing-flavoured culture and children's books, the press combines classic translation with original historical writing, emphasising complete editions and translation quality. Public information is limited, so other details are omitted.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 引言
- A
- 因爱生恨：Abhiman
- 倦怠：Acedia
- 撒娇：Amae
- 非解释清楚不可：Ambiguphobia
- 愤怒 ：Anger
- 期盼：Anticipation
- 焦虑：Anxiety
- 冷漠：Apathy
- 虚空呼唤：L'appel Du Vide
- 别离空虚：Awumbuk
- B
- 困惑：Bafflement
- 亲吻渴望：Basorexia
- 茫然：Befuddlement
- 迷惑：Bewilderment
- 无聊：Boredom
- 不留余地：Brabant
- 求子心切：Broodiness
- C
- 镇定：Calm
- 无忧无虑：Carefree
- 和颜悦色：Cheerfulness
- 厌烦：Cheesed (off)
- 幽闭恐惧：Claustrophobia
- 肠胃焦虑：Collywobbles, The
- 慰藉：Comfort
- 同情：Compassion
- 多元爱情：Compersion
- 自信：Confidence
- 蔑视：Contempt
- 满足：Contentment
- 勇气：Courage
- 好奇：Curiosity
- 网络疑病症：Cyberchondria
- D
- 愉悦：Delight
- 异乡感：Dépaysement
- 欲望：Desire
- 绝望：Despair
- 失踪欲：Disappear, The Desire to
- 失望：Disappointment
- 不满：Disgruntlement
- 厌恶：Disgust
- 惊慌：Dismay
- 无所事事的快乐：Dolce far niente
- 畏惧：Dread
- E
- 狂喜：Ecstasy
- 难堪：Embarrassment
- 同理心：Empathy
- 羡慕：Envy
- 欣快：Euphoria
- 恼怒：Exasperation
- 兴奋：Excitement
- F
- 爱的悲悯：Fago
- 恐惧：Fear
- 自我感觉良好：Feeling good(About Yourself)
- 肃穆之感：Formal feeling, A
- 感觉像骗子：Fraud, Feeling Like a
- 挫败：Frustration
- G
- 舒适惬意：Gezelligheid
- 高兴：Gladsomeness
- 欢欣：Glee
- 感激：Gratitude
- 过意不去：Greng jai
- 悲痛：Grief
- 罪恶感：Guilt
- H
- 隐忍：Han
- 快乐：Happiness
- 憎恨：Hatred
- 高敏感：Heebie-Jeebies, The
- 怀乡：Hiraeth
- 囤积冲动：Hoard, The Urge to
- 家的感觉：Homefulness
- 思乡病：Homesickness
- 怀抱希望：Hopefulness
- 气恼：Huff, In a
- 卑微感：Humble, Feeling
- 屈辱：Humiliation
- 饥饿：Hunger
- 激昂：Hwyl
- I
- 惹人怜爱：Ijirashii
- 客至忐忑：Iktsuarpok
- 快感恐慌：Ilinx
- 不耐烦：Impatience
- 愤慨：Indignation
- 安居乐业：Inhabitiveness
- 受辱感：Insulted, Feeling
- 激怒：Irritation
- J
- 嫉妒：Jealousy
- 喜悦：Joy
- K
- 渴望远方：Kaukokaipuu
- L
- 愤怒能量：Liget
- 捷克情结：Litost
- 寂寞：Loneliness
- 爱：Love
- M
- 羞赧：Malu
- 心之所向：Man
- 晨间忧伤：Matutolypea
- 怪诞恐惧：Mehameha
- 忧郁：Melancholy
- 微愠：Miffed, A Bit
- 物哀：Mono No Aware
- 病态好奇：Morbid Curiosity
- 喜：Mudita
- N
- 子女荣耀：Nakhes
- 不安：Nginyiwarrarringu
- 怀旧：Nostalgia
- O
- 内疚：Oime
- 淹没感：Overwhelmed, Feeling
- P
- 恐慌：Panic
- 妄想：Paranoia
- 乖僻：Perversity
- 空旷恐惧：Peur Des Espaces
- 怜爱情结：Philoprogenitiveness
- 赌气：Pique, A Fit of
- 怜悯：Pity
- 邮差之怒：Postal, Going
- 骄傲：Pride
- 想得美：Pronoia
- R
- 暴怒：Rage
- 后悔：Regret
- 纾解：Relief
- 不情愿：Reluctance
- 懊悔：Remorse
- 责备：Reproachfulness
- 怨恨：Resentment
- 铃声焦虑：Ringxiety
- 竞争：Rivalry
- 路怒：Road Rage
- 荒墟癖：Ruinenlust
- S
- 悲伤：Sadness
- 满意：Satisfaction
- 惆怅：Saudade
- 幸灾乐祸：Schadenfreude
- 自怜：Self-pity
- 羞耻：Shame
- 震惊：Shock
- 自鸣得意：Smugness
- 不公之愤：Song
- 诧异：Surprise
- 疑心：Suspicion
- T
- 技术应激：Technostress
- 恐怖：Terror
- 关门恐慌：Torschlusspanik
- 忧虑不安：Toska
- 胜利欢喜：Triumph
- U
- 糟透了：Umpty
- 不确定：Uncertainty
- V
- 报复心：Vengefulness
- 替代性尴尬：Vergüenza Ajena
- 渴慕：Viraha
- 脆弱：Vulnerability
- W
- 漫游欲：Wanderlust
- 暖光：Warm Glow
- 惊奇：Wonder
- 担心：Worry
- Z
- 失落感：Żal
FAQ
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About the author
Tiffany Watt Smith is a British writer and cultural historian whose public profile in the Chinese-speaking world remains fairly limited. She has long focused on the complex relationships among emotion, psychology, and culture, drawing on history, art, and everyday experience to trace how human feelings arise and evolve. Her representative work, The Book of Human Emotions, is organized as an alphabetical/entry-based guide that explains emotions one by one, placing psychological knowledge alongside cultural history and linguistic evidence. The book is both informative and engaging to read. Chinese readers often classify it as applied psychology, suitable for general readers interested in emotional awareness and self-understanding. Her writing tends toward interdisciplinary essays, marked by concrete examples and close observation; rather than building a systematic theory, she aims to expand readers' imagination about their own feelings. Within the available data, only one of her works is held, suggesting that her writing has yet to be more fully introduced to Chinese readers.
Lin Jinyuan is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. It is currently known that he has two works, dealing respectively with applied psychology and sports. His representative work, The Book of Emotions, belongs to psychological writing, exploring the theme of emotion and discussing how ordinary readers can understand and manage their feelings. The Theory and Practice of Wuji Ball leans toward sports practice, combining theoretical explanation with hands-on guidance. Judging from these two books, Lin Jinyuan's writing spans psychological adjustment and physical exercise, attending both to inner experience and to concrete, workable methods, and showing a character that is both accessible and practical. Because biographical information is lacking, no reliable record exists of his education, career, or writing history, and readers can only learn about his areas of interest through the works themselves. Overall, he is an author who has tried his hand at both psychology and sports; his output is small, but the range of subjects is notably broad.
