国学新知Global Times:Inspiration from the ancients
2014-03-09
稿件来源：Global Times
记者：Sun Shuangjie
网址：http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/847110.shtml#.Ux_Ths4oOHN
"The scheming and plotlines in the popular US TV series House of Cards can't compare to those described in ancient Chinese classics like Zuo Zhuan," said 32-year-old Xu Yuan, a zealous reader of China's literary treasures.
Chronicling the rise and fall of political figures in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC), Zuo Zhuan is the earliest existing work of narrative history in China. The 180,000-character tome mentions more than 3,000 historical personages.
In Xu's eyes, Zuo Zhuan offers readers not only tales of fierce political competition, but also highlights the great political ideas to which ancient officials and thinkers devoted their lives.
"Hot topics nowadays, such as the legislative system and social security for seniors, were also discussed thousands of years ago."
In January 2010, Xu, who holds a master's degree in management from Fudan University, started to read the book with a dozen other Shanghai residents who he found through social networking site douban.com. Each week, they spent three hours together studying the book word by word in a café or a private club.
In October of the same year, Xu initiated Guoxue Xinzhi, a private institution that promotes the study of ancient Chinese classics nationwide. So far the group has organized some 1,500 events, mostly in Shanghai, including weekly reading events for its roughly 100 registered members as well as monthly cultural salons that are open free to the public, mostly taking place at Jing'an Book Club.
The books read by Guoxue Xinzhi have included Mencius and Book of Changes, both written before the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), as well as Records of the Grand Historian and Shuowen Jiezi from the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220).
Cultural pride
"For me, reading Chinese ancient classics enables me to better understand Chinese culture, especially its source, which gives me more confidence and pride in Chinese civilization," said Xu, who is currently pursuing his PhD in Unearthed Literature and Archaic Chinese Characters at Fudan.
Two of the 10 readers at a reading event for Book of Changes last Tuesday also told the Global Times that they believe mastering ancient Chinese philosophies will give them inner strength and provide them with a new perspective to look at everyday life.
"In terms of both language and social setting, readers will feel a connection with the stories in ancient Chinese classics, especially in comparison with Western philosophical classics," said Xu.
Xu is not alone in promoting the study of ancient Chinese classics in the city. Xu told the Global Times that he knows about 50 similar groups. The organizations either cater for children, such as the Autumn Glow Academy and Jiyuan Town, or target adults, such as Guoxue Xinzhi and Daoli Shuyuan.
A weekly reading session held by Guoxue Xinzhi Photo: Courtesy of the institution
Online academy
Daoli Shuyuan is an online study platform set up by Professor Ke Xiaogang from Tongji University in 2005, known as one of the earliest and most professional organizers of classics reading.
Currently Daoli Shuyuan holds four online reading sessions every week, which are conducted in a voice chat room open to everyone, as well as a weekly offline reading event at Shanghai Normal University on Xijiangwan Road.
Compared with formal academic classes that teach students the ancient classics, the reading events organized by Guoxue Xinzhi and Daoli Shuyuan usually spend more time explaining the books, which were written in ancient Chinese characters with archaic grammar, to ensure that readers completely understand them.
It took Xu and his reading fellows about 100 weeks to finish Zuo Zhuan. The reading was guided by Liu Xun, who holds a PhD in biology from Oxford University and started studying the book in 2007.
At Daoli Shuyuan's both online and offline reading events, learners take turns reading and sharing their understanding of and opinions about the content. A professional - usually an expert invited from a university - will preside over the event.
To serve a wider audience, both institutions make audio recordings of previous events available at the online radio website ximalaya.com.
Ke Xiaogang at Shanghai Confucius Temple with an original archaic prayer in his hands
Memebers from Daoli Shuyuan demonstrate a traditional ceremony to worship Confucius. Photos: Cai Xianmin/GT
Uneven quality
But looking at the increasing number of institutions in town that organize sinology-related activities, Ke expressed concern over the quality of the events.
"Schools and colleges struggle to meet an increasing demand to learn about traditional Chinese culture," said Ke in an e-mail to the Global Times. "However, the commercial institutions that make up the deficiency are often unprofessional and driven by profit, which ultimately vulgarizes culture and misleads the audience."
Jiang Yinghua, a trade company employee who started regularly reading ancient Chinese classics five years ago, told the Global Times that he was familiar with the sub-par nature of several such organizations.
"Some organizers have no idea about the classics and are teaching the wrong thing, while others sell training classes in calligraphy or antique collecting or even psychology under the name of sinology," said Jiang, who eventually started his own club, Yideng Shuyuan, to read with friends.
Ke suggested that the government should give more support to traditional Chinese culture education conducted not only in academies but also by non-profit organizations, and strengthen regulation over commercial institutions.
Xu also expects better communication between peer institutions in the future. Guoxue Xinzhi, which was ranked among Shanghai's top 10 NGO projects in 2012, now shares information on different sinology institutions around the world on its website.
稿件来源：Global Times
记者：Sun Shuangjie
网址：http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/847110.shtml#.Ux_Ths4oOHN
"The scheming and plotlines in the popular US TV series House of Cards can't compare to those described in ancient Chinese classics like Zuo Zhuan," said 32-year-old Xu Yuan, a zealous reader of China's literary treasures.
Chronicling the rise and fall of political figures in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC), Zuo Zhuan is the earliest existing work of narrative history in China. The 180,000-character tome mentions more than 3,000 historical personages.
In Xu's eyes, Zuo Zhuan offers readers not only tales of fierce political competition, but also highlights the great political ideas to which ancient officials and thinkers devoted their lives.
"Hot topics nowadays, such as the legislative system and social security for seniors, were also discussed thousands of years ago."
In January 2010, Xu, who holds a master's degree in management from Fudan University, started to read the book with a dozen other Shanghai residents who he found through social networking site douban.com. Each week, they spent three hours together studying the book word by word in a café or a private club.
In October of the same year, Xu initiated Guoxue Xinzhi, a private institution that promotes the study of ancient Chinese classics nationwide. So far the group has organized some 1,500 events, mostly in Shanghai, including weekly reading events for its roughly 100 registered members as well as monthly cultural salons that are open free to the public, mostly taking place at Jing'an Book Club.
The books read by Guoxue Xinzhi have included Mencius and Book of Changes, both written before the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), as well as Records of the Grand Historian and Shuowen Jiezi from the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220).
Cultural pride
"For me, reading Chinese ancient classics enables me to better understand Chinese culture, especially its source, which gives me more confidence and pride in Chinese civilization," said Xu, who is currently pursuing his PhD in Unearthed Literature and Archaic Chinese Characters at Fudan.
Two of the 10 readers at a reading event for Book of Changes last Tuesday also told the Global Times that they believe mastering ancient Chinese philosophies will give them inner strength and provide them with a new perspective to look at everyday life.
"In terms of both language and social setting, readers will feel a connection with the stories in ancient Chinese classics, especially in comparison with Western philosophical classics," said Xu.
Xu is not alone in promoting the study of ancient Chinese classics in the city. Xu told the Global Times that he knows about 50 similar groups. The organizations either cater for children, such as the Autumn Glow Academy and Jiyuan Town, or target adults, such as Guoxue Xinzhi and Daoli Shuyuan.
 |
A weekly reading session held by Guoxue Xinzhi Photo: Courtesy of the institution
Online academy
Daoli Shuyuan is an online study platform set up by Professor Ke Xiaogang from Tongji University in 2005, known as one of the earliest and most professional organizers of classics reading.
Currently Daoli Shuyuan holds four online reading sessions every week, which are conducted in a voice chat room open to everyone, as well as a weekly offline reading event at Shanghai Normal University on Xijiangwan Road.
Compared with formal academic classes that teach students the ancient classics, the reading events organized by Guoxue Xinzhi and Daoli Shuyuan usually spend more time explaining the books, which were written in ancient Chinese characters with archaic grammar, to ensure that readers completely understand them.
It took Xu and his reading fellows about 100 weeks to finish Zuo Zhuan. The reading was guided by Liu Xun, who holds a PhD in biology from Oxford University and started studying the book in 2007.
At Daoli Shuyuan's both online and offline reading events, learners take turns reading and sharing their understanding of and opinions about the content. A professional - usually an expert invited from a university - will preside over the event.
To serve a wider audience, both institutions make audio recordings of previous events available at the online radio website ximalaya.com.
 |
Ke Xiaogang at Shanghai Confucius Temple with an original archaic prayer in his hands
 |
Memebers from Daoli Shuyuan demonstrate a traditional ceremony to worship Confucius. Photos: Cai Xianmin/GT
Uneven quality
But looking at the increasing number of institutions in town that organize sinology-related activities, Ke expressed concern over the quality of the events.
"Schools and colleges struggle to meet an increasing demand to learn about traditional Chinese culture," said Ke in an e-mail to the Global Times. "However, the commercial institutions that make up the deficiency are often unprofessional and driven by profit, which ultimately vulgarizes culture and misleads the audience."
Jiang Yinghua, a trade company employee who started regularly reading ancient Chinese classics five years ago, told the Global Times that he was familiar with the sub-par nature of several such organizations.
"Some organizers have no idea about the classics and are teaching the wrong thing, while others sell training classes in calligraphy or antique collecting or even psychology under the name of sinology," said Jiang, who eventually started his own club, Yideng Shuyuan, to read with friends.
Ke suggested that the government should give more support to traditional Chinese culture education conducted not only in academies but also by non-profit organizations, and strengthen regulation over commercial institutions.
Xu also expects better communication between peer institutions in the future. Guoxue Xinzhi, which was ranked among Shanghai's top 10 NGO projects in 2012, now shares information on different sinology institutions around the world on its website.
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