The Chrysanthemum and the Sword Author: Benedict R. Publisher: China Pictorial Publishing House

Japan, a tiny country, an island nation with extremely scarce resources, created a world war with one hand, and created the world's largest economic miracle after World War II with the other. Why did Japan play the role of a heinous aggressor during the war? How big is Japan's ambition? Does it really want to swallow up the United States? How did it quickly revive and rise after becoming the only country bombed by an atomic bomb? Does Japan, which is in economic recession and political chaos today, still uphold the spirit of a great power... All these questions can be answered in this book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword". "Chrysanthemum" is the family emblem of the Japanese royal family, and "sword" is a symbol of Bushido culture. Benedict uses "chrysanthemum" and "sword" to symbolize the contradictory character of the Japanese. From a Westerner's calm perspective, she takes a comprehensive look at Japan's unique cultural traditions and national character. She not only captures the subtleties of Japanese culture, but also places it in the human cultural perspective of Eastern culture and Pacific Island culture. To this day, she is recognized as the author who understands the Japanese best in history, and "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is recognized as the first book in history to describe Japanese culture. This book has been highly praised by all walks of life, and its great influence has not diminished to this day.

Ruth Benedict was born in New York in 1887. Her original surname was Fulton, and her ancestors had participated in the American Revolutionary War. She majored in English literature in college. In 1919, she entered Columbia University to study anthropology and was a student of Franz Boas. She received her doctorate in 1923. In 1927, she studied the culture of Indian tribes and wrote the book Patterns of Culture (published in 1934). In 1940, she wrote Race: Science and Politics, criticizing racial discrimination. During World War II, she conducted research on the nationalities of Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, Thailand and other countries, and her greatest achievement was in her research on Japan, namely the book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. After the war, she continued to participate in the "Contemporary Cultural Studies" at Columbia University and died of illness in September 1948.