Paper and Ink Fragrance, Open the Volume Collection

Author: Peng Yanjiao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: A Fragrance of Ink and Paper is the author's collection of reading essays, divided into five sections: Chuanzhai Book Talk, Chuanzhai Book Connections, Chuanzhai Book Annotations, Chuanzhai Reading Notes, and Chuanzhai Observations. The author narrates his decades-long journey of reading, collecting books, reviewing literature, and writing books in a light-hearted and humorous tone. Peng Yanjiao is a renowned poet of the "July Group," who joined the New Fourth Army in his early years and began publishing poetry in 1939. He served as the Executive Secretary of the Guilin Branch of the All-China Writers' Association and was an associate editor of the Guangming Daily during the early years of the liberation. From 1950 onwards, he taught at Hunan University, Hunan Normal College, and Xiangtan University. In his early years, he published long poems such as Spring—The Temptation of the Earth and Mom, Me, and the Songs I Sing, which are filled with the freshness of the earth and the optimistic spirit of battle, elegant yet profound, and rich in prose beauty. In the late 1950s, he began long-term work in collecting and researching folk literature. In recent years, he has published works such as Selected Poems of Peng Yanjiao and served as the editor-in-chief of International Poetry Forum. He has also written An Introduction to Folk Literature, compiled Selected Songs of Hunan, and led the compilation of the Hunan Folk Literature Series. The author's experiences are extremely rich, and he has achieved varying levels of expertise in fields such as literature, art, music, translation, and editing. Naturally, A Fragrance of Ink and Paper has become a comprehensive collection of reading essays. The book not only includes critiques of ancient books but also introduces modern and contemporary works, as well as reading notes on world classics and foreign poetry, and appreciations of folk art, among other topics. Additionally, each essay is accompanied by relevant images, allowing readers to enjoy the pleasure of reading while also exploring various knowledge, historical materials, and anecdotes—truly a rewarding read.
The first section, Chuanzhai Book Talk, primarily expresses the author's reflections and sentiments on book-buying, reading, collecting, and memorizing books, leaving readers with a delightful sense of scratching the itch of book lovers. The second section, Chuanzhai Book Connections, recalls the warm memories of the author's childhood reading, from which one can also sense the roots of his later reading preferences. The third section, Chuanzhai Book Annotations, enthusiastically introduces the author's carefully collected books to the readers, making book collectors envy his collection. The fourth section, Chuanzhai Reading Notes, includes recent reading notes such as Notes on Reading Maupassant and The Popularity of The Bridges of Madison County, which have been well-received by readers. The fifth section, Chuanzhai Observations, consists of two essays: Publisher Hu Yuzhi and Translating Poetry—A Reader's Memoir. These two essays are rich in historical materials and hold special significance for the study of modern Chinese publishing history.