Human Words (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Wang Guowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: On the Words of Human Life, written by Wang Guowei. Wang Guowei, styled Jing'an, also known as Boyu, and styled Quantang, was born in Haining, Zhejiang, in 1877 and drowned himself in the Kunming Lake of the Summer Palace in Beijing in June 1927. Wang Guowei was a renowned scholar of modern China, making outstanding contributions and innovations in multiple fields of literary and historical research. His life was marked by a rich body of writings, compiled by Hou Ren in The Remains of Mr. Wang Jing'an of Haining. On the Words of Human Life is a literary theoretical work in which Wang Guowei integrates Western philosophical and aesthetic thought to expound on and critique classical Chinese literature. In this seemingly disorganized yet only a few thousand words of On the Words of Human Life, Wang Guowei conducts profound analyses, comparisons, and evaluations of classical Chinese poetry and its relationship with the emotions of the writer, the relationship between the work and its era, the evolution of literary styles, and the strengths and weaknesses of ancient poetry critiques, reflecting his unique and systematic literary thought. Since its publication, On the Words of Human Life has been highly valued and acclaimed, with the term jìngjiè (literally "boundary" or "realm") becoming a standard in the criticism of classical Chinese poetry. This book includes 64 entries from the main text of On the Words of Human Life and 49 entries from the Drafts of On the Words of Human Life. The poems and quoted phrases mentioned by Wang Guowei in his original text are annotated with the original text or source information, except for a few that are excessively lengthy. Additionally, any errors in the original manuscript or discrepancies in the attribution of poems are explained with notes. Furthermore, appropriate illustrations are included based on the artistic conception of the poems and the layout requirements, with a color-bound cover to delight the readers.