Casually talking about Chinese literati

Author: Zhao Jinming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: The three series of articles collected in this book, the first and second series are column articles I published consecutively in Tianjin's "Jinwan Evening News·Jinwan Supplement." The first series was titled "Notes on Rereading Classics," and the second was titled "Random Notes on the Literary World." Thanks to Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House's willingness to publish my articles in the journal, I felt the original titles might not be entirely clear to readers when compiling this book. The articles discuss pre-Qin literati but are titled "Rereading Classics"; "Random Notes on the Literary World" is also quite vague, neither specifying the era of the literary world nor clarifying what "random notes" refer to. Therefore, to help readers understand the context, I have changed the titles to the current ones.
Looking at the history of literati, it can be described as a great wave washing away the sand, where the pure remain pure and the muddy remain muddy: there are both towering and resolute men of integrity, as well as petty individuals bound by rigid rules; there are statesmen of practical governance and pillars of the nation, as well as social parasites who indulge in empty talk about self-cultivation; there are noble-minded scholars with high integrity, yet many are vulgar and morally corrupt like brokers and litigants; there is Li Bai's unrestrained spirit, Du Fu's sincerity, as well as Zhang Juzheng's cunning, and Hai Qingtian's blind loyalty. The spirit of righteous men contrasts with the faces of slaves, independent wills clash with power-driven obsessions, a global perspective clashes with narrow-mindedness, the vast earth and mountains contrast with fleeting romance, moral integrity and literary works coexist with calligraphy, painting, chess, music, and pearls, amidst a whirlwind of chaos.
The scholars who took "up the cause of benevolence as their own" wavered between advancement and retreat, hesitated between public and private matters, both upheld the nation's strong backbone and created a breeding ground for the stench of tradition. This book takes literati as its subject, discussing history through literature, with both a retrospective look against the current and a browsing along the waves; it includes serious research and discussion, as well as light-hearted selections and enjoyable insights. With this volume in hand, one embraces the past and present, filled with elegance, not only enriching the mind and sharpening wisdom but also providing conversation starters, uncovering hidden thoughts, and sparking occasional inspiration.