Book Forest Inn Language

Author: Wang Xingqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Pine Needle Literature Series is a continuation of Southeast University Press's "Six Dynasties Pine" brand series. This series collects "miniature essays" by eight university scholars who have achieved academic success while also possessing a poet's sentiment—Chen Mengxiong, Wang Xingqi, Gu Nong, Gu Yuanqing, Jiang Guangxue, Dou Zhai, Wu Haifa, and Wang Yingzhi. Works such as Following the Spirit of the Garden, Picking Random Flowers, Postscript in the Forest of Books, Winds from Overseas, Four Books of Shenhui Studio, Literary Curtain and Literary Tomb, Five Records of the Xiao Flute Pavilion, and Umbrella Boat on the River of Academia exemplify their serene and elegant writing style. The articles in this book are mostly around a thousand words, very short. The over one hundred articles collected here have all been published in newspapers and magazines, including Postscript in the Forest of Books.
The character "" (yì) in Chinese means a place for resting horses and chariots, i.e., an ancient "post station," where a station was set up every thirty miles during the Tang Dynasty. Reading is like traveling—it also requires rest. Just like a long journey where one becomes weary and the horses are exhausted, one needs to take a break at a post station to rest and relax. At such times, one might as well chat leisurely. This is why the essays in this book are spontaneous and effortless, written without much structure.
Moreover, "" (yì) is homonymous with "" (yì), meaning continuous. The collection is not just a one-time effort but a continuation—these small essays will likely be written endlessly in the future, like a continuous stream of post stations connected one after another.