Tang Poetry Reflections -- A Series of Modern Reflections on Traditional Culture

Author: Gou Chengyi (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The ancient Four Great Civilizations, once marvels of human cultural progress, have evolved with the passage of time. Some have vanished, leaving behind only a few ruins for people to ponder. Others have faded, no longer shining as they once did. Among them, only the Chinese civilization, with its profound historical and cultural heritage and strong capacity for innovation and inclusiveness, has endured and remains vibrant. As we witness the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must not forget the wisdom, diligence, inclusiveness, openness, and adaptability embedded in our blood over thousands of years—qualities that have nurtured us deeply. It is precisely the perfect integration of the essence of traditional culture with modern society and the trends of natural sciences that has revitalized Chinese civilization. "What is national is also global"—the study and reflection on traditional culture undoubtedly bring great benefits to contemporary readers. To meet the evolving needs of modern readers for traditional culture, Chengdu Tian Su Plastic Culture Communication Planning Studio has creatively planned and organized experts and scholars to compile this innovative "Modern Reflection Series on Traditional Culture" (hereinafter referred to as the "Reflection Series"). The aim is to break away from the outdated interpretation models of traditional culture popularizers in the past two decades and provide contemporary readers, especially young students, with a fresh, concise, and practical new series of traditional culture readers.
When people open a book, it naturally divides into two levels: one is "reading the book," and the other is "reading a book." Those who "read the book" stop at the form of its language and text, while those who "read a book" transcend the words to grasp its profound meaning, achieving a dialogue with the author and discovering the book's "supreme essence." (Huainanzi, Da Ying Xun) The "Reflection Series" is the crystallization of long-term reflection and earnest understanding of the precious cultural, artistic, and philosophical connotations in ancient literary and historical classics by scholars. Its publication will help the hurried modern readers perceive and appreciate the pulse and wisdom of the ancients, enabling them to engage in a heart-to-heart dialogue with the giants of ancient Chinese history and culture.
The "Reflection Series" presents the essence of traditional culture in elegant and fluent language (e.g., "Reflection on Tang Poetry") and concise yet meaningful prose (e.g., "Reflection on the Four Books"). This makes the series highly culturally, aesthetically, and intellectually rich, promising to bring readers a refreshing aesthetic experience and profound insights. The "Reflection Series" emphasizes the practicality and effectiveness of learning traditional culture, believing that the combination of "learning, reflecting, and applying" is the correct approach for modern readers to quickly absorb and master the rich nourishment of national traditional culture, thought, and art. Therefore, the series completely breaks away from the conventional models of "appreciation" and "translation" in traditional culture readers. It adopts a beautiful, concise, and accessible style to bridge the vast temporal, spatial, and linguistic gaps between ancient literary and historical classics and contemporary readers, significantly narrowing the distance between them.
The "Reflection" section is undoubtedly the highlight of the "Reflection Series" that meets reader needs and captures their attention. It plays a crucial role in helping contemporary readers quickly improve their ability to understand, appreciate, and apply ancient literary and historical classics. It is worth noting that the "Reflection on the Four Books," compiled by Professor Li Mengde, a distinguished disciple of the renowned national studies master Qu Shouyuan, possesses three key features. The Four Books are considered the cornerstone of traditional culture, and their profound and extensive thoughts often leave readers confused and discouraged. Professor Li Mengde, through systematic summarization and refinement, presents the profound wisdom and dialectical thinking of the Four Books in a clear and concise manner, making it easier for contemporary readers, especially young students, to read this classic work. The annotations of the Four Books have long been fraught with difficulties, and the author, referring to over ten existing commentaries such as the "Annotations and Explanations of the Thirteen Classics," has meticulously selected, rigorously verified, and provided detailed annotations, setting a high standard for annotations in Four Books popularizers. The author has also devoted great effort to the full-text collation of various historical editions of the Four Books, comparing as many as 15 versions. Thus, the "Reflection on the Four Books" is a rare and excellent edition of the Four Books that combines "meticulous collation," "precise annotations," and "insightful reflections," making it highly suitable for general readers and young scholars for study and collection.
Another innovative aspect of the "Reflection Series" is its "interactive open-ended function," which transforms readers from passive recipients into active participants. If readers come up with better "reflections," their contributions will replace the original articles in future editions, turning them into authors. This continuous cycle of interaction will help establish the "Reflection Series" as an outstanding brand in traditional culture readers. The "Reflection Series" will continue to release works such as "Reflection on Laozi and Zhuangzi" and "Reflection on Zen Buddhism" in the coming year. We look forward to readers' interest and participation in the "Reflection Series."
During the writing process, Chengdu Tian Su Plastic Culture Communication Planning Studio repeatedly submitted some sample drafts to two national key high schools as teaching materials for composition, achieving excellent results. Practice has proven that the innovative model of the "Reflection Series," advocating "selecting the essence and applying broadly" and "perceiving and reflecting," along with the correct learning method of "learning, reflecting, and applying," is highly targeted in opening students' minds, improving their comprehension and writing skills, and cultivating their personal qualities and intellectual breadth. It is an invaluable for young students.
The Tian Su Planning Studio has set extremely strict requirements for the authors, demanding not only profound knowledge of ancient classics but also elegant writing and active thinking. After repeated selections, Professor Li Mengde, Professor Gou Chengyi, Dr. Wang Qiming, and Professor Qiu Xiaobo, all renowned in classical literature research and teaching, were invited to contribute. The drafts underwent numerous revisions and refinements over more than a year before the first five volumes were finally completed.