The Art of Association Author: Zhang Yixi, Editor-in-Chief Publisher: Guangxi Normal University Press

Introduction
This is a groundbreaking work on the study of scholar communities, presenting the daily life and academic activities of scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Taking associations as the theme, it spans China, Japan, Vietnam and other places to see how scholar communities demonstrate the style of scholars and influence the Chinese character cultural circle in the East Asian world.
1. Preface by famous scholar Wang Fan-sen, recommended by Li Xiaoti, Lü Miaofen, Wu Renshu, and Zuo Dongling
2. Breaking through previous related research results, it will change scholars' understanding of social activities, especially the social activities of East Asian intellectuals in the 16th to 18th centuries. In the past, research on literati societies focused on Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty. This book comprehensively deals with poetry societies, literary societies, and art and literature societies in various regions during the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were mainly based on the imperial examination but also expanded to interpret the classics. It also expands the area of ​​exploration from China to Japan and Vietnam, rewriting the previous understanding of the history of academic thought in East Asia from the 16th to the 18th century;
3. Interdisciplinary writing, exploring from multiple perspectives. Combining scholars from different fields such as literature and history, studying various social activities of scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, exploring from multiple perspectives such as politics, society, clan, space, literature, thought, medicine, and religion, presenting the diversity of the daily life and academic activities of scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as the complex relationship between social networks;
4. Refined, multi-angle, not obsessed with a single type of community. This book uses community as a general term, and conducts case studies on topics such as urban space, local families, identity class, calligraphy and painting, medicine, and imperial examinations. It puts forward different viewpoints on "community", and shows the rich community life of Ming and Qing literati from many aspects;
5. The historical materials are detailed. The book attempts to use a large number of local chronicles, family genealogies and other materials to construct the development history of local communities. At the same time, the author's own charts are attached to provide convenience for readers;
6. Present an effective academic operation mode. The reality of history is a whole. Due to the detailed division of modern disciplines, scholars often stick to their own territories and work hard, but they only see the trees and not the forest. This book takes "association" as the theme, inviting research experts from various fields to display their academic advantages for focused discussions, bringing many inspirations to related academic fields and providing useful reference for future academic operation modes.
【Book Introduction】
This book is a breakthrough work in the study of the scholar community in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The book combines scholars from different fields such as literature and history to study various social activities of scholars in Ming and Qing Dynasties. It explores the relationship between the community and urban space, local families, identity/class, etc. from multiple aspects such as society, clan, space, literature, thought, and medicine, presenting the diversity of the daily life and academic activities of scholars in Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as the complex relationship between community networks. At the same time, it also studies the situation of literati communities in Japan and Vietnam in the 18th century, which is helpful to deepen the study of the history of thought, culture, and society in Ming and Qing Dynasties from the perspective of East Asia. In addition, the various cross-border handovers and diversified academic phenomena presented in the book also provide useful reference for future academic operations.
【Recommended by famous experts】
In the past, research on literati societies has mostly focused on Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty. This book breaks through the results of all previous related research and comprehensively deals with poetry societies, literary societies, and art and literature societies in various regions during the Ming and Qing dynasties that were mainly based on the imperial examination but also expanded to interpret the classics. In addition to academics, thoughts, and literature, these articles further explore the topics of societies and local families, societies and identity/class, and societies and calligraphy, painting, medicine, and other arts from the perspective of social history and cultural history; and expand the area of ​​exploration from China to Japan and Vietnam. These novel and fruitful studies have completely rewritten our previous understanding of the history of academic thought in East Asia from the 16th to the 18th century, and are a must-read for studying Ming and Qing thought.
——Li Xiaoti (Academic Committee Member, Institute of Literature and History, Fudan University)
This book combines scholars from different fields such as literature and history to study various social activities of scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, exploring from multiple perspectives such as politics, society, clan, space, literature, thought, medicine, and religion, presenting the diversity of daily life and academic activities of scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as the complex relationships between social networks. The content of this book not only enriches our understanding of the scholar community in the Ming and Qing dynasties, but also challenges the narrowness of our modern academic disciplines and professions through various cross-border exchanges and diversified learning phenomena presented in the book.
——Lü Miaofen (Researcher at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica)
This book is the latest and most comprehensive study on literati societies in the academic community. It points out that after the mid-Ming Dynasty, societies became almost a national movement among intellectuals. They were not only integrated with local families, but also spanned different urban networks, reflecting the changes in the style of scholars at that time and affecting the political situation at both the local and central levels. The influence of the society was not only on other professions such as doctors, but also on the Chinese character cultural circle in East Asia, such as the customs of Japan and Vietnam.
——Wu Renshu (Researcher at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica)
Taking "association" as the theme and inviting research experts from various fields to display their academic advantages for focused discussions is an effective way of academic operation. Due to the detailed division of modern disciplines, scholars often stick to their own territories and work hard, but they have the disadvantage of only seeing the trees and not the forest. But the reality of history is a whole. The changes in the world and interpersonal disputes are the result of the aggregation of various forces. Even as a very independent creation of poetry and prose, it is difficult to explain it clearly without the complex historical whole. "Association" itself is a window to display the vitality of the humanities in the Ming Dynasty, and the period between the Ming and Qing Dynasties is the tangle of changes in the humanistic spirit. Therefore, the academic connotation of this book will bring many inspirations to related academic fields and provide useful reference for future academic operations.
——Zuo Dongling (Senior Professor of Capital Normal University, Distinguished Professor of Yangtze River Scholars Program of the Ministry of Education)