Anecdotes, Volume Five (Hardcover)

Name: Anecdotes, Volume Five (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9787101141535

徐俊Zhonghua Book Company · ChinaDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 121K words
Chapters: 24
ISBN: 9787101141535

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Summary

In 2016 the first volume of The掌故 appeared; now the fifth volume is published. Five volumes in four years may be said not to have disappointed the earnest expectations of our many readers. Among the contributors to this volume, Mr. Liu Yanwen happens to be one hundred this year, and Mr. Liu Yongxiang has just retired; father and son join The掌故 together with Reminiscences of Friendships and A Record of Things Seen and Heard in the World of Letters—an occasion for warm congratulation. Qiu Guangming personally attended and fully records the conference on“weights and measures”held shortly after the end of the Cultural Revolution, faithfully restoring the historical atmosphere of that special period; her recollection is irreplaceable. Similar is Hu Guilin's recollection of the Chinese Painting Creation Group, predecessor of the Chinese Academy of Chinese Painting (now the China National Academy of Painting), which existed for five years. The group's founding came close to the time of the weights-and-measures conference, and may be called the beginning of a revival in the art world.“How many more storms can one withstand; most lamentable is a land in ruins”—once Hu Wenhui excavates this famous couplet by Liang Qichao, it reveals the rich inner world of literati under complex social conditions. Zhu Jihai disliked others writing about him, and Wang Xuelei too admits that“Mr. Jihai is difficult for us to understand”; yet written plainly, the portrait remains credible and interesting. Many pieces in this volume deserve note: Xu Liping writes a life of the once-celebrated Haishan Xian Guan, and Ai Junchuan again discusses Xiaowanliu Tang, both focusing on the rise and fall of famous sites; Zheng Zhong takes Ye Gongchuo as an example to write of literati methods of pressing for debt, and Fan Xulun exposes the worldly-wise side of Qian Zhongshu, both attending to the light and dark of human affairs. The charm of The掌故 lies in just such“knowing men and judging the world.”The cover photograph shows the Confucian master Ma Yifu with Jiang Guobang at the site of Xiaowanliu Tang in Hangzhou.

Editor's review

The "Zhanggu" series has quietly reached its fifth volume, maintaining a calm and focused stance in today's clamorous publishing market. This volume inherits the spirit of its predecessors, continuing to delve into the subtle corners of modern and contemporary figures and historical events, retrieving the past through concise and incisive short pieces. As editor-in-chief, Mr. Xu Jun, with his customary rigor and meticulousness, has selected and polished a batch of articles that combine historical value with reading pleasure. The articles mostly focus on old people and old events in cultural and academic circles; the writing is calm and restrained, eschewing flashiness, yet revealing the warmth of history and the glimmer of human nature through plain narration. It does not offer grand historical narratives but is devoted to salvaging details and fragments ignored by mainstream accounts, allowing readers to approach the historical scene from another dimension. Reading such anecdotal writing requires not only curiosity but also a submerged state of mind, in order to savor the complex flavor of history and the true temperament of figures between the lines. For those so inclined, this is not merely a nostalgic pastime but a unique training in perceiving history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a strong interest in modern and contemporary Chinese cultural and academic history
Readers who prefer literary-historical sketches and enjoy discovering historical truth in details
Intellectuals who wish to understand history from the perspective of private narratives and marginal historical sources
Researchers or enthusiasts with sustained interest in biography and anecdotal evidential research

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic, complete textbook-style historical narrative
Readers seeking fast-paced reading with strong plot and dramatic conflict

Reading tips

It is recommended to read in a leisurely, relaxed mood, without striving to finish continuously; one may pick pieces of interest and savor them.
When reading, one may consult other biographies or historical sources of the relevant figures for mutual corroboration, to build a more three-dimensional understanding.
Pay attention to the notes and references at the end of articles; they are often precious clues for further exploration.

About the publisher

Zhonghua Book Company China · Founded in 1912

Zhonghua Book Company is a publisher known for collating ancient texts and academic publishing, with its output centered on Eastern philosophy, culture, classic works, art, and historical reading. Its library contains 532 titles, including Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guo Qingfan's Collected Commentaries on Zhuangzi, the four-volume Chinese Literature: Four Great Classical Novels, and the two-volume Table of Seal and Clerical Script Forms from Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin. These titles span historical classics, commentaries on the philosophers, classical novels, and philological reference works. Representative authors include Chen Shou, Guo Qingfan, Wu Cheng'en, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Luo Guanzhong, Xu Wenwu, and the Hanyu Dazidian character-form group, reflecting a focus on primary sources and scholarly editors. Its publishing character lies in combining authoritative editions and annotated texts with both accessible classics and specialized research. Public information on its fuller catalog is limited; this note describes only the directions evident in the library's holdings.

版权信息
交游漫忆
季海先生片谈（上）
由“遗世独立，与天为徒”引起的追忆——与程千帆先生的相识相处
怀念胡宛春、王驾吾二先生
忆张大壮生平
记黄永年先生
二
学林闻见录
“几番风雨”与“一片江山”——梁启超一副集宋词联的流传史
掌故家的罗生门
从廉庄到蒋庄——再谈西湖小万柳堂始末
叶恭绰逼债记
故宫人物片影
市道交
傅增湘逝世的日期
题签之疑引出的故事——沈燮元《屠绅年谱》出版始末
海山仙馆及《海山仙馆图》
吴湖帆和周鍊霞的三场约会
外祖父涤庵公摭忆
记“文革”后召开的古代度量衡学术会议
少为人知的“中国画创作组”
艺兰逸闻录（下）
编后语

FAQ

Compared with the previous four volumes, what are the characteristics or emphases of the fifth volume of the "Zhanggu" series?

While continuing the tradition of focusing on anecdotes of modern and contemporary scholars and literati, the fifth volume has more carefully selected materials and deeper evidential research. Some pieces touch on areas or figure relationships rarely discussed before, offering new historical perspectives and interpretive possibilities, and overall showing a trend of gradual sedimentation and deepening in the series.

If I have not read the previous four volumes, can I read the fifth volume directly?

Absolutely. Although the series is a continuous publication, each volume is independent in content, and there is no direct sequential relationship between pieces. Each volume is a collection of articles around the theme of "anecdotes," and readers can enter from any volume and still have a complete reading experience.

Is the style of the articles academic or popular?

The style lies between serious scholarship and popular narration, leaning more toward "scholarly essay" or "literary-historical notes." The authors are mostly researchers or seasoned enthusiasts in relevant fields; the narration is based on historical sources and emphasizes verification, but the writing strives for clarity and readability, avoiding overly specialized terminology and cumbersome argumentation, aiming to let readers with general literary-historical knowledge understand and become interested.

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About the author

徐俊 Author

Xu Jun: publicly available information is limited, and details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background have not been clearly recorded. Judging from the thirteen works held in the collection, Xu Jun's writing centers mainly on anecdotal and historical themes. Representative works include the first through eighth volumes of the "Zhanggu" series, as well as "Cuiwei Quegu Ji (Zhonghua Book Company and Modern Academic Culture)". His works are often classified under classics, historical reading, and literary appreciation. They deal largely with modern academic culture, figures and their anecdotes, and book-world lore, with a tone that emphasizes documentary organization and narrative and carries a strong flavor of literary and historical essays. The continued publication of the "Zhanggu" volumes indicates a sustained commitment to writing and compiling in this field, offering readers accessible texts for understanding the threads of modern academic culture.