Reading, Reading
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
The book's value lies in how it examines reading within a broader cultural context rather than offering a simple how-to guide. Starting from personal reading experience, Chen Pingyuan extends his observations to educational systems, the publishing ecosystem, and broader social and cultural change, giving the act of reading multiple dimensions of interpretation. His advocacy of "slow reading" and "deep reading" is especially valuable in an age of fragmented information.
Particularly noteworthy is the author's thinking on the relationship between academic reading and popular reading. As a university professor, Chen Pingyuan maintains academic rigor while demonstrating the ability to translate specialized knowledge into public discussion. This balance allows the book to serve both professional readers and ordinary book lovers. Chapters on library memories and bookstore experiences sketch a spiritual portrait of a generation of intellectuals with delicate strokes.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in reading culture
- Teachers and students concerned with humanities education
- Book lovers hoping to improve their reading quality
- Readers who enjoy scholarly essays
Not a good fit for
- Those seeking quick-fix reading techniques
- Academic researchers expecting a systematic theoretical work
Reading tips
- Start with the personal-experience chapters, then move gradually into the cultural reflections
- Read alongside other works by the author, such as The Immortal Dream of the Scholar-Knight, for comparison
- Best read in segments in a quiet setting, leaving time for reflection after each piece
About the publisher
Hunan People's Publishing House is a publisher known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences and in translated classic works. Its catalog covers biography, Eastern philosophy, philosophical reading, social fiction, classics, and essays, with a particular focus on introducing major foreign works of thought and literary classics. Representative titles include Stefan Zweig's Decisive Moments in History and The Struggle with the Daemon: Hölderlin, Kleist, Nietzsche, Albert Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus, Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness, and Seneca's On the Shortness of Life, alongside multiple volumes of selected fiction by Shen Congwen. Among the translators and authors represented are Liang Xijiang, Yuan Xiaoyi, Yi Siting, Pan Lu, and Ren Guoqiang. Beyond the 142 titles in this catalog, public information is limited, so no further publishing details are given here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序
- 附记
- 再记
- 导读
- 随便翻翻
- 闭户读书论
- 入厕读书
- 古书可读否的问题
- 再论线装书
- 读书的艺术
- 论读书
- 吸烟与教育
- 考而不死是为神
- 读书
- 读书
- 重读之书
- 读书界的风尚
- 事事关心
- 与友人论学习古文
- “书读完了”
- 谈读书和“格式塔”
- 书呆子——瓮牖剩墨之二
- 战时的书——瓮牖剩墨之四
- 书痴
- 书斋趣味
- 书痴
- 我之于书
- 版本小言
- 论书生的酸气
- 藏书印
- 藏书票
- 书和回忆
- 读书诸相
- 旧书铺
- 旧书店
- 卖书
- 买书
- 恨书
- 《西谛书话》序
- 访笺杂记
- 售书记
- 《劫中得书记》序
- 《劫中得书记》新序
- 书的梦
- 我的二十四史
- 姑苏访书记
- 东京的书店
- 三家书店
- 书林即事
- 琉璃厂
- 城隍庙的书市
- 西门买书记——城隍庙的书市续篇
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About the author
Chen Pingyuan, born in 1954 in Chaozhou, Guangdong, is a Boya Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University, a Distinguished Professor under the Ministry of Education's "Changjiang Scholars" program, and a member of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History. He previously served as chair of the department. His research focuses on twentieth-century Chinese literature, the history of Chinese fiction, intellectual history, and the history of education. His writings are known for their clear problem awareness, solid use of sources, and lucid argumentation, and he excels at examining literary phenomena and intellectual issues within their historical contexts. His representative works include The Transformation of Narrative Modes in Chinese Fiction, The Starting Point of Modern Chinese Fiction: A Study of Late Qing and Early Republican Fiction, The Dream of the Scholar-Martial Artist (revised edition), and The Unfinished May Fourth: Historical Scene and Intellectual Dialogue. He is also the author of A Brief History of Chinese Fiction and A Brief History of Chinese Prose, and has annotated A Brief History of Chinese Fiction and compiled Materials on Fiction Theory in the Late Qing and Early Republican Periods, exerting wide influence in the fields of fiction history and May Fourth studies.
