The Thick Black School of Thought -- Li Zongwu

Author: Li Zongwu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-09-01
Features: For the first time, the complete manuscript of "The Thick Black Book" as the library's treasure is used as the basis for this publication. Truly grasp the essence of Li Zongwu's original "The Thick Black Book" through the words. Renowned Taiwanese historian Xu Zhuoyun personally wrote the preface for this book. This publication also includes prefaces written by Lin Yutang, Baoyang, and Nan Huaijin for this book. "Among the books of Chinese and foreign literature I have read, not having read Li Zongwu's 'The Thick Black Book' is indeed a regret in life!" — Lin Yutang "The greatness of this book lies in telling the Chinese people how heavy the grief and suffering of a genius in a declining world are." — Baoyang "The morality of the Thick Black Book master is not at all thick or black; on the contrary, he is very sincere and upright." — Nan Huaijin "Our Li family's four eccentric geniuses — Laozi (Li Er), Li Zhuozhu, Li Zongwu, and Li Ao." — Li Ao
In the first year of the Republic of China, I wrote an article titled "The Thick Black Book." After that, I wrote some texts intermittently. In the sixteenth year, I compiled them into a book titled "Zongwu's Random Talk," which included an article titled "My Views on Solving Social Problems." In the seventeenth year, it was expanded into a standalone book titled "Discussion on Social Problems." In recent years, I have had some new reflections, so I scattered the texts I had written over the years and combined them with my new reflections, writing them in a style, titled "Random Talks on the Thick Black Book." Starting from August 1, 1925, I wrote one or two paragraphs every day and published them in Chengdu's "Huaxi Daily." With about 20,000 words per volume, one standalone book was printed every two volumes. Now, I have completed six volumes.
I originally wrote this out of idle time for leisure. As for how long it should be and when to stop, I had no definite plan. If I felt happy, I would write for a long time; if not, I could stop at any time. However, the text was too scattered, which might bore readers. What most people liked was hearing me talk about the Thick Black Book, so I slightly revised the standalone book of "The Thick Black Book" printed in Beijing in 1923 and reprinted it for everyone to read. Many people advised me to reprint "Zongwu's Random Talk" and "Discussion on Social Problems." I felt that there were many places in the two books that needed, and asking me to revise them one by one would be troublesome, so I wrote them down freely in the Random Talks. If readers only read the Random Talks, they would not need to read the two books again, as the content and points that should be in the two books have already been integrated into the Random Talks.
In the sixteenth year, when "Zongwu's Random Talk" was published, Li Chengbo and Zhou Yancang wrote prefaces. In the seventeenth year, when "Discussion on Social Problems" was published, Wu Yujiang, Hao De, Yao Qinru, and Yang Zaiyun all wrote prefaces. They are all listed at the beginning of the book as a brief introduction to the Random Talks, so that readers can understand the general content. If you are too busy, you don't need to read the Random Talks.
I have already sent two copies of "Zongwu's Random Talk" and "Discussion on Social Problems" to the Sichuan Library. I remembered that there were still several copies at home, so I collected them and mailed them to Nanjing, Beijing, and other libraries for storage, so that the Random Talks I have written now still align with my past thoughts.