Shan Shui China (Beijing Volume 1)

Author: Duan Baolin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This series of books has two key concepts: "Mountain and Water Stories" and "Mountain and Water Sentiments." The richness of the "stories" behind the mountains and waters is a primary characteristic of Chinese landscapes. Due to the long-standing civilization and historical heritage, as well as the cultivation of agricultural life over centuries, the "stories" behind China's mountains and waters are particularly abundant, meaning that the cultural landscapes are exceptionally rich, and the accumulation of historical and cultural heritage is profoundly deep. This series blends landscape aesthetics, anecdotes and legends, poetry and prose about mountains and waters, and local customs and traditions, presenting readers with a "compendium of mountain and water stories." This sentiment, when expressed in the relationship between humans and nature, is the "heart of the forest and spring," where climbing a mountain fills one with emotion, and watching the sea overflows with feelings. This sentiment, when reflected in daily life, is the transformation of life into art and aesthetics. The New Stories of the World records: "Zixiu once temporarily rented an empty house and immediately had bamboo planted." This sentiment, when applied to one's attitude toward life and society, is the "ritual and music mindset of not rejoicing in external things or grieving for oneself." For thousands of years, this sentiment has not only enriched the lives of many individuals but also endowed China with a culturally beautiful spirit that the world envies. In modern society, where people are alienated by instrumental rationality into biological specimens and their spiritual worlds are fragmented into scattered cultural pieces, this sentiment and this cultural spirit undoubtedly hold special significance. Naming this series "Mountain and Water China" is an attempt to call back this sentiment and this spirit. It is hoped that it can become a spiritual oasis and a clear spring for the cultural root-seeking journey of Chinese people in the new century.