Comprehensive Chronicles of Chinese Culture

Author: Jiang Yihua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-01-01
Features: The Compendium of Chinese Culture is the first monumental work in the history of the Chinese nation that comprehensively and systematically summarizes Chinese culture from ancient times to the present day. The book is divided into an introductory volume and ten major sections with a total of 101 volumes and over 40 million words, completed by nearly 200 experts from across the country over eight years. Published by the People's Publishing House of Shanghai. This book spans 5,000 years of history and covers ten major cultural fields, including 56 ethnic cultures, involving ten primary disciplines such as literature, history, philosophy, and economics. It provides detailed and rich content. The Compendium of Chinese Culture is organized into ten major sections and a hundred sub-sections. The ten major sections are:
1. The of Cultural Evolution Throughout History
2. The of Regional Culture
3. The of Ethnic Culture
4. The of Institutional Culture
5. The of Education and Rituals
6. The of Scholarship
7. The of Science and Technology
8. The of Arts and Literature
9. The of Religion and Folk Customs
10. The of Sino-foreign Cultural Exchange
Each major section contains ten "sub-sections." The sub-sections of the of Cultural Evolution Throughout History are arranged chronologically. The sub-sections of the of Regional Culture primarily describe the regional culture of the Han ethnic group, arranged by the Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Pearl River basins. The sub-sections of the of Ethnic Culture are mainly classified by language systems. The sub-sections of the of Sino-foreign Cultural Exchange are arranged by regions, including China and its neighboring countries as well as major global regions. The sub-sections of the remaining major sections are organized by content.
This is a monumental work that comprehensively and systematically summarizes Chinese culture from ancient times to the present day, categorized by discipline. It clarifies the overall structure, historical evolution, and main characteristics of Chinese culture; it describes the contributions of each member and region of the Chinese nation to the development of Chinese culture and the process of cultural integration; it explains the exchanges between Chinese culture and other cultures around the world, as well as the important role of Chinese culture in the global cultural landscape.
From the beginning of its creation to its publication, the book received active support and enthusiastic assistance from leaders of the Party and the state, as well as from the academic community. President Jiang Zemin wrote a preface for the book and met with some of its compilers and authors after its publication, highly praising it. Xinhua News Agency published a summary of the book, and newspapers and journals across the country gave it prominent coverage. Fei Xiaotong, Dai Yi, Jin Chongji, and Rao Zongyi, among others, gave the book full affirmation. In multiple conversations, they particularly emphasized that the book adopts the traditional Chinese historical compilation method of "dian" (major sections) and "zhi" (sub-sections), requiring thorough research and objective reflection of historical facts, categorization based on events, and emphasis on integration, synthesis, and harmonization. This ensures that each sub-section is independent while the entire book forms a cohesive whole. The author team of the book is strong, the writing is standardized, and the book has been repeatedly revised, ensuring a high academic standard.