Wind sound. Rain sound. Reading sound (New cover)

Author: Zhu Xueqin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Intellectuals can be divided into two types—academic thinkers and problem-oriented individuals. We always respect the former, but due to the limitations of our temperament, we are probably only suited to be the latter. The so-called "problem consciousness" of the author's generation primarily emerged in the later period of the Cultural Revolution. The pioneers became awakened through the ideological debates of 1968, while the later ones would not be late to the September 13th Incident of 1971. At that time, they engaged in passionate debates about stirring issues in private settings, armed with weak academic knowledge but abundant physical vitality. Later, the author chose to study at liberal arts colleges and specialize in the history of thought, largely driven by the motivation of "problem consciousness," rather than solely by academic interest. The generation named after "1968" later underwent significant divisions, with only a few fortunate enough to enter liberal arts colleges. Even so, among the latter group, fewer were willing to balance theoretical understanding with "problem consciousness" and advance simultaneously. Back then, thinking about issues that only intellectuals could contemplate in normal circumstances was, of course, a historical distortion, but it forged the intellectual life of this generation. If, after gaining intellectual status, one immediately pursues academic success and abandons the "problem consciousness" of their youth, it is like buying the box but discarding the jade—tragedy for the intellectual life of a generation. This book records the author's ten-year journey of intellectual exploration driven by "problem consciousness," including academic articles written while enduring solitude, as well as emotionally charged short essays, book reviews—"writing with a smile," "writing with a shout," and "writing with tears." These reflections on theory and emotion reflect the true insights of an intellectual historian, a fervent concern for the fate of the nation and its people, as well as a relentless pursuit of self-cultivation and the spiritual life.