Unconventional Paths

Unconventional Paths is the breakout work of the scholar Yu Shicun, first published in 2005 under the original title Unconventional Paths: Chinese Discourse, 1840–1999, with a new edition released by Beijing Times Chinese Press in 2019. Borrowing the categorized-entry format of A New Account of Tales of the World, the book compiles the words, anecdotes, and details of Chinese historical figures from 1840 to 1999 into thirty-two sections, running from "Historical Scenes," "Political Affairs," "The Literary World," "Military Fortunes," and "Revolution" all the way to "Alienation" and "Absurdity." The figures who appear include late Qing heavyweights such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang; 1911 Revolution figures such as Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai; promoters of the New Culture Movement such as Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu; political figures such as Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek; and scholars such as Qian Zhongshu and Chen Yinke alongside writers such as Li Ao and Wang Xiaobo. The author claims to "not write a single word, not add a single note," merely compiling and arranging so that the materials speak for themselves; each entry runs only a few lines, yet in a phrase or two reveals the sides, silhouettes, and dark corners beyond grand history. Composed of linked short fragments, the book is regarded as a precursor of "microblog-style" history writing and is often read alongside A New Account of Tales of the World. It offers no complete narrative but assembles countless slices into a spiritual slice-history of modern China, suited to casual dipping and to repeated rereading.