Chen Yinque and Liu Rushi

Author: Xu Xun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: This book uses dramatic scripts as the basic text model, interspersing a large number of original documents related to Chen Yinque and Liu Shiyi. The dialogue and narrative language are all sourced and annotated within the text, creating a unique discourse form that combines literature and academia. This form presents the original historical materials to the readers, allowing them to make their own judgments. It remains faithful to the historical records while also reflecting the author's independent judgment and value orientation in selecting them. This book is a cultural history of China spanning centuries, based on the "Biography of Liu Shiyi" and presented in the form of a script. The protagonist, Chen Yinque, considers himself a person who entrusts his life to Chinese culture. In moments of deep contemplation, he transcends time and space to become a kindred spirit with Liu Shiyi from three centuries ago. The entire book follows Chen Yinque's revelation of Wang Guowei's suicide as the main thread, passionately arguing that Wang's sacrifice of his life to Chinese culture left a lasting sense of loss for generations to come. Later generations may have "petty grievances, fame and disgrace, trivial and vulgar disputes, all of which are not worth discussing." The author's sharp vision and broad perspective trace back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, down to the major upheavals in modern and contemporary intellectual culture. Interweaving past and present, crossing time and space, and transcending life and death, the book spans four hundred years, blending reality with dreams and enabling dialogue between the ancient and the modern. It is truly an extraordinary book with a strong postmodern flavor.