Resembling Our Ancestors in Spirit

Name: Resembling Our Ancestors in Spirit
ISBN: 9787500689294

Zheng YefuChina Youth Press · ChinaJul 2025

4.0

Word count: 179K words
Chapters: 24
ISBN: 9787500689294

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Summary

'Resembling our ancestors in spirit' is the key term in a body of thought I have been advocating in recent years. Its implied subject is not the body but behavior: physically, we undoubtedly resemble our ancestors absolutely, since even the people of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou are too near to us in evolutionary time, to say nothing of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Our ancestors' bodies were the fittest survivors shaped by the shears of natural selection. Hence, only by resembling our ancestors in behavior can we attain physical and mental health. Yet ways of living are irreversible, and resemblance in form is impossible; the only resemblance worth pursuing is in spirit — hunting is a thing of the past, but running suits the present. While biologists' works have swept through intellectual circles worldwide, and foreign social scientists have moved from learning biological ideas toward integration and innovation, our own social scientists have shown an almost incredible numbness to this tide. This book finally breaks that silence, applying biological perspectives to the behavioral mechanisms and ways of living of organisms, humans in particular, and offering a fresh angle for anthropology and sociology.

Editor's review

This book takes “spiritually resembling our ancestors” as its central proposition, distinguishing between body and behavior: the body absolutely resembles our ancestors, but behavior cannot be restored because the means of survival are irreversible. What is therefore worth pursuing is similarity in behavioral mechanisms—hunting is long past, yet running remains suitable. Drawing on biological perspectives such as natural selection, sexual selection, self-interest and altruism, exchange evolution, mating systems, and the language instinct, the author discusses the mechanisms of human behavior and offers new angles for anthropological and sociological research. Its value lies in breaking social scientists' silence on biological thought, introducing relevant foreign discussions to Chinese-language readers and integrating them. It should not be read as a biology textbook but for its interdisciplinary problem awareness: which behavioral tendencies have evolutionary roots, and which institutional arrangements are compatible with them. Suitable for readers willing to accept conceptual challenges and able to connect biology with sociology.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Social science readers interested in the mechanisms of human behavior and evolutionary perspectives
Those who want to understand how biology enters anthropological and sociological discussion
Readers willing to accept interdisciplinary conceptual challenges and dissatisfied with single explanations
Thinkers concerned with the logic behind everyday behaviors such as running, mating, and altruism

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a strict biology textbook or a handbook of experimental data
Those who accept only a single disciplinary framework and reject interdisciplinary argument
Readers seeking concrete health plans or practical dating and marriage guides

Reading tips

Begin with the author's definition of “spiritually resembling ancestors,” then move into the individual topics to avoid conceptual confusion.
After each chapter, write one sentence summarizing that chapter's behavioral mechanism and an everyday example.
Note unfamiliar biological concepts first, look up basic definitions in a focused way, then return to the argument.
Read alongside works in sociology or anthropology to compare the differences in explanatory approaches

About the publisher

China Youth Press China · Founded in 1950

China Youth Press is a comprehensive publisher aimed at young readers, with publishing areas covering history, social sciences, modern romance, social fiction, management, and law. Its library currently contains 46 titles, including representative works such as Wang Chaozhu's three-volume Chiang Kai-shek and His Close Friends and Political Rivals, Zheng Yefu's social and cultural essays Resembling Ancestors, Lu Min's The Ring, Ma Xiaoyuan's Bank Archives, and practical titles such as Lu Heping's How to Talk and Act in Key Account Sales and Cheng Xianghui's Latest Practical Guide to Legal Risk Prevention in Compliant Entrepreneurship. Its authors include scholars and writers such as Wang Chaozhu, Zheng Yefu, Lu Min, Ma Xiaoyuan, Lu Heping, Cheng Xianghui, Shi Xianlong, and Wang Chunqiang, combining historical narrative, social observation, and practical knowledge to form a diverse publishing profile for young readers. As public information is limited, this introduction focuses on the publishing directions reflected in the library's titles.

版权信息
前言
第1章阅读生物学的意义
第2章说不完道不尽的达尔文
第3章自然选择
第4章性选择与炫耀
第5章利己与利他
第6章狭义利他的生物学基础
第7章交换的进化
第8章有性繁殖与婚配制度
第9章美感
第10章适应与进步观
第11章生长、衰老与生命周期
第12章病、痛、苦难
第13章沉溺快乐与追求伟大
第14章威慑、欺骗、猜忌、笑
第15章感官、情绪、理性
第16章语言是本能
第17章遗传与环境
第18章驯化与文明
第19章趋异、分工与生态学
第20章领地、部落性与大型共同体
第21章两种进化：生物与文化
参考书目

FAQ

What exactly does “spiritually resembling our ancestors” mean?

The book distinguishes between body and behavior: the body, shaped by natural selection, absolutely resembles our ancestors; but the means of survival are irreversible, so behavior cannot be restored to that of our ancestors. What can be pursued is “spiritual resemblance”—similarity to ancestors in behavioral mechanisms. Hunting is a thing of the past, yet running remains suitable today. The core is to use an evolutionary perspective to understand how modern humans can achieve physical and mental health.

Can I understand this book without a biology background?

Yes, but it requires some patience. When discussing concepts such as natural selection, sexual selection, self-interest and altruism, and the language instinct, the author does not proceed in textbook fashion but in service of social science questions. It is advisable to look up basic definitions of unfamiliar terms before returning to the argument; there is no need to grasp everything at once—focus on the problem awareness and the direction of the argument.

Is this book suitable as a sociology textbook?

Not as a systematic textbook. It is more a work of interdisciplinary thought, using biological perspectives to discuss the mechanisms of human behavior and offering new angles for anthropological and sociological research. If used in courses, it is suitable as supplementary reading or discussion material alongside standard textbooks, not as a replacement for foundational disciplinary training.

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About the author

Zheng Yefu Author · Chinese · 1950

Zheng Yefu, born in Beijing in 1950, is a Chinese sociologist and a professor in the Department of Sociology at Peking University. He was among the first sociologists in China after reform and opening up to study intellectuals as a social group. His writing has long centered on education, trust, consumption, and social problems, often starting from everyday phenomena and probing the deeper logic of institutions and culture in a plain yet reflective style. The library holds three of his works, including On Scholarship and Academic Writing, Resembling Ancestors, and On Cost, which touch on research methods, comparisons between biological and social behavior, and the costs of social development, showing a scope that spans sociology and interdisciplinary discussion. His other books include On Trust, The Pathology of Chinese Education, Civilization as a By-product, and The Coming of the Post-Materialist Age, and he continues to influence Chinese-language readers of social science.