Where is Xizhou: Poetic Narration of Jiangnan Culture

Author: Liu Shilin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The "aesthetic-lyric" function in the Chinese national character thrives best in the culture of Jiangnan. Since aesthetic existence represents the highest ideal of individual life, it can also be said that the Chinese culture with an early emergence and profound accumulation of humanistic spirit has achieved its highest logical stage in the poetic culture of Jiangnan. From a modern perspective, as Jiangnan poetic culture represents a rare individualistic factor in Chinese culture, it also has the potential to become a traditional humanistic resource for enlightening and nurturing the individuality of the Chinese nation. In the unstoppable yet extremely unbalanced process of globalization, Jiangnan poetic culture suffers more distortion and alienation than any other regional culture in China. Their true circumstances easily remind one of the desolate landscapes depicted by Song and Yuan Dynasty painters, and all we can do is preserve those classical fragments we hold dear on paper. If these narratives, as light as dreams and as fine as rain, can provide a reference for people to gain a deeper understanding of the "lovable Jiangnan," that would be exactly what the author of this book expects and strives for.