Comprehensive Inquiry: Reason and Passion -- A Collection of Geographical Works by Chen Chuankang

Author: Chen Chuankang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: After the passing of Mr. Chen Chuankang, the compilation and publication of his major works has been a lingering dream. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, it has been delayed. Now that this collection is finally published, it brings a sense of relief, offering a small consolation to Mr. Chen in spirit, and more importantly, hoping to contribute to the inheritance and innovation of Chinese geography. Mr. Chen was a prolific author, but given the limited publishing capacity, only the most essential works could be included, and many brilliant arguments had to be reluctantly omitted. Additionally, the "Chen Chuankang Tourism Collection" has been edited by Mr. Sun Wenchang and published by Qingdao Publishing House, so his tourism-related essays are not included in this volume. One of the reasons for the title "Chen Chuankang Geography Collection" is to correspond with the "Chen Chuankang Tourism Collection," forming a complementary "sister volume" to as fully as possible reflect Mr. Chen's academic thoughts and achievements. The phrase "Rationality and Passion in Comprehensive Inquiry" in the title aims to summarize Mr. Chen's academic style, though it may fall short of capturing it entirely. Mr. Chen's academic career spanned over forty years of significant changes. To preserve the authenticity of history and his academic footsteps, we have made only minor technical corrections to the original manuscripts, leaving the viewpoints, arguments, text, figures, and tables, as well as the Chinese translations of foreign names and places, references, notes, and measurement units in their original formats from different publications. All essays in this collection without a specified author were written solely by Chen Chuankang. The arrangement of the essays follows their publication dates. Mr. Wu Chuanjun has always been concerned about this matter, and the efficient work of Li Ping, Tian Wenzhu, and Yan Tingzhen at Commercial Press accelerated the publication process. We are grateful to Jin Jun for his extensive proofreading, Xu Yueqing and He Gang for assisting in the search for literature, and Cai Yunlong, Wang Yanglin, Xu Xuegong, Bao Jigang, Yang Kaizhong, Xie Changqing, Tan Weining, Li Leilei, Liu Jiamei, Yang Xinjun, Cui Fengjun, Chen Nanjiang, Sun Ruyao, Ren Kai'ai, Gao Yugong, and Chen Ye for providing financial support for the publication. We extend our gratitude to all teachers and friends who have supported the publication of this book.