Roam the world, Hunan people

Author: Wang Kaolin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: It is an undeniable fact that the people of Hunan have particularly high aspirations and a penchant for standing out. In governance, there were Mao Zedong and Hu Yaobang; in statecraft, there was Liu Shaoqi; in warfare, there was Peng Dehuai; in managing the economy, there was Zhu Rongji; in painting, there was Qi Baishi; in scriptwriting, there was Tian Han; in composition, there was Tan Dun; in novel writing, there were Ding Ling, Shen Congwen, and Han Shaogong; in hybrid rice research, there was Yuan Longping; in folk singing, there were Li Guyi and Song Zuying; in diving, there was Xiong Ni; in gymnastics, there were Lu Li, Liu Xuan, and Li Xiaoshuang; in weightlifting, there was Zhan Xugang; and in badminton, there were Tang Jiuhong and Gong Zhichao. The deeds of these modern and contemporary heroes are widely celebrated and household names. If our curiosity doesn’t stop there and we delve deeper into the depths of history, we will undoubtedly be even more astonished, for glaringly before us is the following line of text: “Half of modern Chinese history was written by people from Hunan.” “Half of modern Chinese history was written by people from Hunan.” This long-standing saying may be somewhat exaggerated, but in the turbulent and disaster-ridden history of modern China, the heroic figures of Hunan burst forth with vigor, singing the era’s resolute anthem with blood and talent: “If you say that China will surely perish, then it must be that all the people of Hunan are dead!” This is undeniable. The achievements and great deeds of Hunan’s heroes—Wei Yuan, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Tan Sitong, Huang Xing, and Cai E—have not faded into the mists of history. Nor have the extraordinary talents and unyielding spirit of the three outstanding talents of Hunan—Qi Baishi, Shen Congwen, and the Three-Fingered Monk—been erased by the vicissitudes of time. How could their resilient and adaptable, proud and self-reliant personality traits not be the accumulation of the cultural character of the nation? This book features twenty-three figures from Hunan, delving into historical records and commemorating their legacies, restoring their vivid historical presence. These once-dominant historical figures have transcended regional boundaries, and their cultural character and personal ethos are indelibly marked with the distinct imprint of the nation.