Wild History Records: The Mythical Modern China

Author: Gao Fei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Gao Fei's writings, in terms of style, are called essays, notes, or "scholarly prose," "cultural prose"—it doesn't matter. What matters is the "clarity" and "subtlety" behind these uneventful words. It's not "scholarly categorization" or "philosophical debate," nor is it modern "literature" of. It's a personal perspective on the rise and fall of a century's cultural tides. His youthful maturity and composed demeanor give him an extraordinary style. —Literary critic Meng Hua
The origin of this book is Gao Fei's column in Southern Weekly. It was already enjoyable to read, and now compiled into a book, it becomes magnificent. Gao Fei speaks of the wild history of the late Qing and early Republican era in a storytelling tone—painfully, yet vividly—making it both earnest and factually grounded. The characters, apart from a few uncouth figures like Yuan Shikai, are mostly refined scholars, including officials, journalists, and writers. He recounts their "eccentric" deeds, making readers laugh and sigh: "Who knew there were so many oddities!" Especially in the chapter "Journalist Family," for those not in the field of journalism, it's refreshingly "old." —Southern Weekly, Xia Chen
The book primarily draws from wild history—though there are overlaps with official history. The advantages of wild history don't need me to say; everyone knows them. It allows for hearsay, uncovering hidden truths, focusing on minor details, disregarding grand principles, being emotionally invested, or writing without restraint. In short, what official historians dare not do, wild historians boldly do. Many chapters are written freely, only daring to call them "tales of the minor," not daring to claim "final judgments," or else they'd risk endless disputes. Fortunately, the events described are all well-sourced. Even if some are baseless rumors, I bear no responsibility for spreading them, only for passing them on with a touch of mockery. As for calling this book the "wild Records of the Grand Historian," how could a humble writer be so audacious! The Records of the Grand Historian is not only the pinnacle of official history but also the source of wild history. Later generations' wild histories are merely even "wilder Records of the Grand Historians." Moreover, "what matters is not the era in which myths are told, but the era in which myths are told." Legends may have truth or falsehood, but the mindset of the storytellers and their audience reflects a strange kind of truth.
Dear readers, why not take a look at this book and then reflect after closing it: which chapters did I write with joy, and which did you read with pleasure?