When it comes to the world in which the ancients lived,
What comes to mind?
It is an idyllic scenery that rises at sunrise and rests at sunset,
Or is it a more blown-down, rainy holiday carnival?
It is a paradise in the dreams of strange traffic, chickens and dogs smelling each other,
Or is it a bustling, bustling tile fence?
……
These are fragments of the lives of the ancients,
Or is it the romantic imagination of today's people?
The first edition of The Living World of the Ancients was in 2020, and the reader response was overwhelming and quickly sold out. This time, we recommend a revised version of the color map. The whole book is printed in full color, with better effect of illustrations, and the paragraph layout is readjusted to make the layout more comfortable and easier to read. It is worth mentioning that the illustrated text in the book contrasts with the main text, which makes people smile when reading it.
Mr. Wang Hongchao's book "The Living World of the Ancients" of Shanghai Normal University has built a framework for understanding the world of the ancients with eight categories, such as food, yixing, posture and entertainment. In this book, the author temporarily bids farewell to boring theoretical analysis and trivial historical research, as if he is next to the ancients to carefully observe, empathize with feelings, and then go back to tell you interestingly.
The ancients' view of time
At present, it is the Lantern Festival, how did the ancients celebrate the Lantern Festival?
Wei Jin: Sacrifice portal, yingzigu, the ritual of offering the portal is to make bean porridge; Sui and Tang: flower lanterns. The Sui Dynasty advocated frugality, and the Lantern Festival was strictly prohibited, so it chose to put flower lanterns to celebrate; in the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was a lantern market like day...
The ancients enjoyed a rare leisure time of the year during this time. Winter solstice, Lapa Ba, Small Year, Chinese New Year's Eve... One day and day, I painted the nine-nine cold map, looking forward to the plum blossoms in the painting becoming apricot blossoms in front of the window.
In the book "The Living World of the Ancients", the author devotes two chapters to "Time: Holidays, Years and Festivals" and "Space: Nature, Countryside and City" to tell the ancient people's view of time and space. Chinese in addition to the natural time of the twelve months of the four seasons of the year, the humanistic time such as festivals and solar terms is divided, which carries rich and colorful cultural implications.
When it comes to the concept of time, the author chooses a small incision - a nap. Historically, the two schools of Confucianism and Taoism on the mainland also had different views on napping, thus showing different views of time.
The undertones of history
Opening up the world of the ancients from the small details of life such as the above is the driving force of the author's writing. In the preface to the book, teacher Wang Hongchao wrote: "The daily life world of the ancients, although mostly concerned with trivial and ordinary things, is closely related to historical changes, the pulse of the times, and the ideas of the elite. ......”
From such a sympathetic perspective of observation, the world of life of the ancients restored in this book is humane but not vulgar, leisurely and interesting. For example, writing about the aesthetics of the ancients for body parts, although the literati mostly despised the mouth and abdomen, such as Li Yu said in "Idle Love and Occasional Mail": "Those who are tired of the ancients are only the mouth and abdomen." Teacher Wang believes that the stomach is by no means "superfluous", and the problem of the stomach is related to the most fundamental problem of human beings.
Talking about the sanitary conditions of ancient society, Teacher Wang talked about the fingers and claws of Magu from lice and itching. "Ling Er quickly scratched his back and took off the hairpin on my head." "The day is full of lice, and the breeze is full of tall trees." (Tang Dufu's "Blocking the Rain and Not Returning to Xi Ganlin" and Yuan Jie daisi's "Title Shepherd's Picture") There are no accusations of personal hygiene, but some pleasures of instant satisfaction that arise from limited cleaning methods.
There are many more vivid stories and aesthetic interpretations like these in the book.
Text/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Wu Bo
Photo/ Guangzhou Daily, Xinhuacheng reporter: Wu Bo
Video/Guangzhou Daily Xinhuacheng Reporter: Wu Bo
Correspondent: Zhang Ling
Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Li Yani