Chit-chat and trivial talk

Author: Zhang Zhongxing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This is a book of essays. The author took the meaning of chatting leisurely while basking in the sun, writing about the old people and old events centered around Peking University in the early 1930s in the early 1980s. It includes more than 60 articles about figures like Zhang Taiyan and Huang Huiwen, published in 1986. The intention was to record people worth remembering, events worth feeling, and emotions worth cherishing. The author said, "It was written as if it were poetry and history," so the writing is always light yet serious, humorous yet tearful. After its publication, many review articles were published in domestic and international newspapers and magazines such as Dushu, , Guangming Ribao, Wen Hui Reading Weekly, Jin Wan Bao, Qing Nian Bao, Hong Kong Da Guang Bao, Dong Fang Wen Hua, etc., praising the author's profound insight and deep affection. With a writing style as effortless as flowing clouds and water, he wrote a modern Sayings of the World about the present age, depicting the passage of time with a sense of compassion for humanity, regret for the past and lament for the present. The uniqueness of the book's format, the height of its writing, and its rarity in recent years were all highly regarded. The book has long been out of print and is now being reprinted, with corrections of errors and the addition of a long preface by Mr. Zhou Ruchang. This book contains 64 essays, each written in a concise style of about a thousand words. The essays on events mostly focus on customs and human relationships, recording the evolution and continuity of old Beijing and the Qing, Republican, and People's Republic periods. The biographical sketches include both prominent figures like Zhang Taiyan and Hu Shi, as well as close relatives like Uncle Liu and Great Grandmother. The descriptions of teachers and classmates are vivid and composed with a sense of tranquility and depth. The gentle and heartfelt portrayal of family and friends is also deeply sincere.