Interviews with Chinese Civilization Author: Zhang Quan Publisher: Yi Ye | Contemporary World Publishing House

Introduction
Zhang Quan, three-time winner of the "Asia Excellence in Journalism Award"
It took 9 years to interview 24 outstanding thinkers and outline the evolution of Chinese civilization
Xu Zhiyuan Special Recommendation
★A different "history of civilization"
The scholars interviewed in this book come from different countries and different fields, but what they have in common is that they all start from the periphery and challenge the center.
Thus, we learned from Martin Koch that Qin Shi Huang's so-called burning of books and burying of scholars had no factual basis, from Yuwen Suo'an we learned that Li Bai and Du Fu were actually non-mainstream poets at the time, from Wu Hung we learned that monumentality is not a Western monopoly, and we can also better understand Gu Bin's critical approach to contemporary Chinese literature.
Therefore, this book is a different kind of "history of civilization", which not only rewrites our existing cognitive picture, but also brings a new perspective to our official mind, and even has the flavor of stealing fire.
★A touching "love story"
Looking back on how they decided to give up their lives in an instant, they all traced it back to a poem:
Yuwen Suo'an is Han Yu, Ai Langnuo is Wang Wei, Gu Bin is Li Bai, and Martin Ko is Bei Dao. Heaney said that a poem cannot stop a tank, but it can make a person a sinologist. Of course, the moment of Oki Kang is because of the love between the oil seller and the famous prostitute in Feng Menglong's works.
Therefore, this book can be described as a touching "love story", telling how these Western scholars, when they were young, from all over the world, suddenly fell in love with faraway China and made China their career from then on.
★A bitter "struggle history"
Looking back on how their lives were not buried by the times, they all traced back to two books:
Qian Liqun reads The Complete Works of Lu Xun and Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Wu Hung reads Calligraphy of Inscriptions on Bronze and Tripod Vessels of Various Dynasties and English-Chinese Dictionary, and Zhang Longxi reads Greek and Roman literature and excerpts from British literature. Nabokov said that a good reader can only be a re-reader, and that was an era of spiritual famine, so they could only choose to keep ruminating to refuse to become missing.
Therefore, this book can also be described as a poignant "history of struggle", telling how representative Chinese intellectuals, when they were young, were obsessed with the light of civilization, broke out of China, which had entered the blind bowel of history, and finally transformed suffering into resources and even won a worldwide reputation.
【Content Introduction】
Yuwen Suo'an, Martin Kollmann, Fuma Jin, Gu Bin, Qian Liqun, Wang Fan-sen, Shu Hengzhe, Wu Hung, Zhang Longxi, Huang Jinxing... They are outstanding thinkers of our time. They come from different countries, focus on different fields, have their own tortuous and legendary lives, but maintain a secret spiritual connection with China.
This interview book is based on the evolution of Chinese civilization, from the beginning of the Chinese Empire to the present day. It hopes to find the lost truth through their eyes and rediscover China's heritage and turning points, rise and fall, and ups and downs.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part interprets the truth of ancient China, following the footsteps of scholars and walking out of the maze of history. The second part focuses on the choices of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China and the price of modernization. The pain of the past may still be felt today. The third part focuses more on the present and the future. In this era of globalization, with diverse cultures and changing theories, how should China deal with itself and how should it get along with the world?
About the Author
Zhang Quan
Graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Fudan University, former editor-in-chief of Life Monthly, winner of the "Asian Excellence Journalism Award" of the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) in 2008, 2010 and 2013. His major works include "City of Sorrow: Records of Sixteen Cities in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China", "Dunhuang: Everyone is Called" (co-authored), and documentaries such as "Xinhai", "Wudadao" and "Great Shanghai" (chief writer).