Prefaces and Notes on Reading cover

Prefaces and Notes on Reading

Rating 3.8
Word count
233K words
Chapters
58
ISBN
9787301322154

Tags

Summary

Yan Shaodang is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Institute of Comparative Literature and Comparative Culture, Peking University. He has served as director of the Peking University Institute of Comparative Literature and as visiting professor at the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University; the Faculty of Letters, Bukkyo University; and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Ministry of Education, Japan.

Editor's review

This book collects Yan Shaodang's writings on reading, prefaces, and colophons—a record of years of reading and scholarship by a scholar of comparative literature and Japanese studies. Its value lies not in a systematic reading guide but in showing how a dedicated reader lives with books over a long academic career: how to choose books, take notes, draw questions from reading, and turn what one reads into prefaces and colophons. The prose is restrained and plain, with the texture of academic essays. Readers can see a reading method informed by comparative literature and sense the cautious attitude of an older-generation scholar toward documents and texts. It is suited to slow reading in quiet moments, one or two pieces at a time, compared against one's own reading notes; readers building a reading system or interested in the preface and colophon as forms of academic writing will find direct inspiration.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • General readers interested in reading methods and scholars' reading experience
  • Undergraduates and graduate students in comparative literature and Japanese studies
  • Writers who need to produce book reviews, prefaces, or academic essays
  • Deep readers who enjoy slow reading of essays and keeping reading notes

Not a good fit for

  • Readers seeking systematic reading lists or quick reading methods
  • Readers who prefer strong plots and light entertainment
  • Those without academic reading habits who may find essays dull

Reading tips

  1. Read one or two pieces at a time; pause after each and write a brief response before continuing.
  2. Keep a notebook of the book titles and questions mentioned, building your own extended reading list.
  3. Read alongside your own reading essays and observe how a scholar moves from reading to writing.
  4. Skip unfamiliar academic background at first; grasp the overall reading attitude and method.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 他序文
  3. 序孙立川、王顺洪编《日本研究中国现当代文学论著索引1919-1989》
  4. 序王勇著《中日关系史考》
  5. 序尚会鹏著《中国人与日本人:社会集团、行为方式和文化心理的比较研究》
  6. 跋六角恒广著,王顺洪译《日本中国语教学书志》
  7. 序周阅著《川端康成是怎样读书写作的》
  8. 《多边文化研究》第一卷“卷头语”
  9. 序《中日文化交流史论集——户川芳郎先生古稀纪念》
  10. 序张哲俊著《中日古典悲剧的形式——三个母题与嬗变的研究》
  11. 序李岩著《中韩文学关系史论》
  12. 序刘元满著《汉字在日本的文化意义研究》
  13. 序张玉安、陈岗龙主编《东方民间文学比较研究》
  14. 《多边文化研究》第二卷“卷头语”
  15. 序钱婉约著《内藤湖南研究》
  16. 序刘萍著《津田左右吉研究》
  17. 序王琢著《想象力论:大江健三郎的小说方法》
  18. 序张哲俊著《东亚比较文学导论》
  19. 序张哲俊著《吉川幸次郎研究》
  20. 序张哲俊著《中国古代文学中的日本形象研究》
  21. 序《东方研究2004——中日文学比较研究专辑》
  22. 序王青著《日本近世儒学家荻生徂徕研究》
  23. 序王益鸣著《空海学术体系的范畴研究》
  24. 序王青著《日本近世思想概论》
  25. 《多边文化研究》第三卷“卷头语”
  26. 序李强著《厨川白村文艺思想研究》
  27. 序王顺洪著《日本人汉语学习研究》
  28. 序周阅著《川端康成文学的文化学研究》
  29. 序隽雪艳著《文化的重写:日本古典中的白居易形象》
  30. 序牟学苑著《拉夫卡迪奥·赫恩文学的发生学研究》
  31. 序郭勇著《中岛敦文学的比较研究》
  32. 序潘钧著《日本汉字的确立及其历史演变》
  33. 序涂晓华著《上海沦陷时期〈女声〉杂志研究》
  34. 序张冰著《俄罗斯汉学家李福清研究》
  35. 序聂友军著《日本学研究的“异域之眼”》
  36. 序王广生著《宫崎市定史学方法论》
  37. 序张西艳著《〈山海经〉在日本的传播和研究》
  38. 自序文
  39. 《中日古代文学交流史稿》前言
  40. 《中国文学在日本》前言
  41. 《日本中国学史》代序——我和日本中国学
  42. 《中日文化交流史大系·文学卷》序论——中日文学交流的历程与我们的研究
  43. “21世纪比较文学系列教材”出版总序
  44. “北京大学20世纪国际中国学研究文库”总序
  45. “北京大学比较文学学术文库”出版总序
  46. 《比较文学视野中的日本文化——严绍璗海外讲演录》自序
  47. 《日本藏汉籍珍本追踪纪实——严绍璗海外访书志》自序
  48. 《日本中国学史稿》前言
  49. 《魏建功文选》前言
  50. 人物纪、访谈录
  51. 好人阴法鲁先生
  52. 北京大学比较文学研究所创始所长乐黛云先生纪事
  53. 贾植芳先生的比较文学观
  54. 中西进教授的学问——贺《中西进全集》刊出
  55. 我的老师们——北大在于斯、北大存于斯
  56. 我的生命的驿站——20年北大筒子楼生活拾碎
  57. 为人民读好书、写好书——严绍璗先生访谈
  58. “严绍璗文集”总目录

FAQ

Is this a strict tutorial on reading methodology?
No. It is a collection of the author's writings on reading, prefaces, and colophons, showing a scholar's reading practice and traces of thought rather than step-by-step instruction. Readers should treat it as a reference for reading experience, not an operation manual.
Can I read it without knowing comparative literature?
Yes. Some specialized background may need to be skimmed or looked up, but the reading attitude, taste in choosing books, and expression are open to general readers. As a scholar's reading essays, the threshold is not high.
How can I read it more profitably?
Read slowly with notes: record the titles, questions, and how the author handles them, then compare with your own reading habits. Writing brief reviews or essays alongside makes the effect even clearer.

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About the author

严绍璗 Author

Yan Shaodang is a scholar of ancient Japanese literature and comparative literature whose writings have exercised a certain influence among Chinese readers. The library currently holds three of his works: A Study of the Genesis of Ancient Japanese Literature, Studies in Comparative Literature, and Reading Notes and Prefaces, which fall under categories such as literary appreciation and classic works. Because public information is limited, details of his life—such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name—remain unclear, and no conjecture is offered here. Judging from the titles, his writing combines focused research with reading notes: the former explores theoretical questions surrounding the genesis of ancient Japanese literature, while the latter gathers prefaces, afterwords, and reading essays in a relatively plain scholarly-essay style. Overall, Yan Shaodang's writing is suitable for readers interested in Sino-Japanese literary relations, comparative literature methods, and the reading of classics.

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