Long song; Ban Feng Ru Song: Wang Wei Memorial Collection

Author: Chen Jiaying
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: Here on this shore, amidst ten thousand volumes, a path through the forest of life; Only by taking hold does one grow weary, after a long song, the wind enters the pine! The articles collected in this volume are all in memoriam of Wang Wei. Not mere perfunctory pieces for the occasion. Each commemorative essay comes from the heart, sincere and profound. Each essay portrays an extraordinary ordinary person: some words appear frequently— (gǔdào rèqiáng, warm-hearted and generous), (hòudào, honest and kind), (tōngtòu, insightful)—but almost every piece offers a unique perspective, recounting different stories. Each essay, along with the image of Wang Wei, also reflects the image of an era: the restoration of the college entrance exams, the life of a Peking University student in the early 1980s, the Philosophy Department of Peking University in the 1980s, the flourishing of a new generation of scholars editing and publishing academic books in the late 1980s, and the rise of private bookstores in the 1990s. The authors are Wang Wei’s family members, teachers, friends, fellow scholars, colleagues, and students. Several of them are also renowned writers. In these reflections on Wang Wei, we also read their thoughts on life and death, the world and the times. The collected essays are arranged roughly in chronological order based on the main periods they discuss. They are divided into four sections: family members and old friends from his youth, Peking University classmates and colleagues, students, and book (friends in the book world). Finally, there is an academic interview with Wang Wei before his passing, as well as several interviews and speeches he gave while serving as Secretary-General of the Non-State-Owned Book Industry Working Committee of the China Book and Periodical Distribution Association, focusing on the development of the private book industry, included as appendices.