The Tower of Reading 夢為蝴蝶   This is the first of ten chapters devoted to Zhuangzi in Studying Short Classical Chinese Texts by Zhong Shuhe 鐘叔河著《念樓學短·莊子十篇·篇首》。The title of Zhong’s selections from Zhuangzi 莊子, one of most entrancing works in the Chinese tradition, is ‘Butterfly Dreaming’ 夢為蝴蝶。 *** *** Preface The Tower of Reading is a China Heritage series focussed on the work of Zhong Shuhe (鐘叔河, 1931-), one of the most influential editors and publishers in post-Mao China and a writer celebrated in his own right both as a prose stylist and as an interpreter of classical Chinese texts.… Read

The Tower of Reading 各言爾志   This is the first chapter in Studying Short Classical Chinese Texts by Zhong Shuhe 鐘叔河，《念樓學短·論語十篇·篇首》。The title of Zhong’s selection of ten excerpts from the Analects of Confucius is ‘Everything Flows Like This’ 逝者如斯夫, itself a line from the Analects, and the title of the second chapter.… Read

The Tower of Reading 苟日新，日日新，又日新   Today, 10 February 2024, is the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, the jiachen Year of the Dragon 甲辰龍年. We are replacing the masthead of China Heritage with an image that reflects the tenor of our new series The Tower of Reading 念樓, launched today (see Introducing The Tower of Reading).… Read

Studying Short Classical Chinese Texts with
The Master of The Tower of Reading 念樓學短   Dedicated to Zhong Shuhe in celebration of Dai Qing and in memory of Huang Yongyu, Yang Jiang & Qian Zhongshu *** *** Preface The Tower of Reading is a series published by China Heritage focussed on the work of Zhong Shuhe (鐘叔河, 1931-), one of the most influential editors and publishers in post-Mao China and a writer celebrated in his own right both as a prose stylist and as an interpreter of classical Chinese texts.… Read

The Other China 辰龍 We marked the approach of the Year of the Dragon with the singers Namewee and Hou Dejian, the artist Lao Shu and the essayist Bo Yang. Dragon Years tend to have an air of malevolence and treachery.… Read

The Tower of Reading 歲節 On 2 February 2024, China’s state media proclaimed that ‘the whole nation is suffused with an atmosphere of uplifting optimism’ 整個國家都洋溢著樂觀向上的氛圍. As the economy struggled and the stock market roiled as a major real estate developer went into liquidation, the positive sentiments of the propagandists were widely mocked online.… Read