Historians' Tea House (Issue 6)

Author: Wang Zhaocheng, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Reading history is like savoring tea—this phrase depends on how you interpret it. There are two ways I read history. One is to read with a serious posture, usually within my professional field, focusing on a specific topic for research. This kind of reading is pure work, where historians solve lingering problems from the past, discover new things, or offer fresh insights. But over time, it can be exhausting and mentally taxing; at such moments, I switch to a different style, loosening up and indulging in my preferences, reading widely and freely—this is the second way. This second way is like enjoying tea at a tea house or engaging in lively discussions, surrounded by high-minded companions who may not be colleagues or familiar acquaintances, but rather spiritual connections across time and space in books. From north to south, from east to west, boundless and free, without any ulterior motives, only enthusiasm. It doesn’t require "wasting oneself for her," yet it brings the unexpected joy of "searching for her a thousand times in the crowd, only to turn around and find her in the dimly lit corners."