Chinese New Curriculum Standard Required Reading Series -- Goethe's Conversations

Author: (German) Eckermann compiled, Zhu Guangqian translated
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Features: The Conversations with Goethe is divided into three parts. The first and second parts were published in 1836, and the third part was published in 1848. The 1830s and 1840s were a revolutionary era in German history. Due to Goethe's skeptical and detached attitude toward revolution, he became a target of attack from democratic radicals. Under these circumstances, The Conversations with Goethe, as a book recording Goethe's dialogues, was naturally neglected by critics and the general readership. After the 1848 revolution failed, the political situation in Germany changed, and Goethe gained increasing public attention. Especially after the unification of Germany in 1871, Goethe became the "Olympian God." The book recording the dialogues of this "saint" thus became the "sacred scripture." Academia has regarded this book as a secret reading list for studying Goethe; some experts even consider it as Goethe's own work. Additionally, many scholars have no doubt that the recorded scenes and dialogues in the book would be free of distortion, completely trusting their reliability. In summary, from the late 19th century to the 20th century, the vast majority of scholars regarded Eckermann's book as an objective and faithful record of Goethe's dialogues, an absolutely reliable primary source. However, this view of Eckermann's work contradicts his own intentions. In the preface to the first and second parts, he wrote: "Goethe manifests different images in different situations and to different people, so for me, I can only humbly say that this is my Goethe."