A talented scholar of the first generation, Qian Zhongshu

Author: Tang Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Tang Yan, the author of A Scholar of the Generation: Qian Zhongshu, is a Ph.D. in history from New York University. He began reading Qian Zhongshu's works in the late 1940s and became a "Qian enthusiast." After meeting Qian Zhongshu in the late 1970s in the United States, he has maintained correspondence with Qian and Yang Juan for over 20 years, gathering a vast amount of material on Qian. His deep immersion, meticulous research, and diligent effort have made this book the most comprehensive biography of Qian Zhongshu to date. Qian Zhongshu passed away in 1998, and the loss of his dear friends is deeply sorrowful. Living overseas, Tang Yan has an even stronger longing for this "contemporary Chinese sage." To fulfill his private wish from 20 years ago—"I want to write a biography of Qian Zhongshu"—Tang Yan is determined to produce a "reliable and vivid biography." He adheres to the principle of "rigorous sourcing and concise writing," with every statement backed by facts and references. The detailed annotations are rare in biographies and complement the main text, creating a harmonious whole. Compared to other biographies, this one "elaborates on what others overlook and overlooks what others elaborate on," correcting factual errors and misconceptions. This biography is not a specialized study of Qian Zhongshu's creative or academic achievements. It briefly records the life of this outstanding scholar, Qian Zhongshu, and provides a relatively comprehensive reflection of his extraordinary memory, encyclopedic knowledge spanning East and West, his eloquence, his wit and wisdom, his composed and unflappable personality, making it a "philosophical biography." The book is filled with laugh-out-loud moments, where one marvels at the wisdom of the scholar while being surpassed by ordinary people. The author, Tang Yan, is a Ph.D. in history from New York University, yet his interest in literature seems to surpass that of history. He admires Chinese and foreign writers and scholars such as Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo, Ye Gongchao, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Updike, but his greatest admiration is for Qian Zhongshu. Tang Yan began reading Qian Zhongshu's works in the late 1940s and, after meeting him in the late 1970s in the United States, maintained correspondence with Qian and Yang Juan for over 20 years. Over the years, he has extensively collected materials related to Qian Zhongshu, and his deep immersion, meticulous research, and diligent effort have made this book the most comprehensive biography of Qian Zhongshu to date.