\Facing the East and the Land: Pearl S. Buck and the Chinese Novel Tradition\

Zhang Chunlei, Shanghai People's Publishing House

The 1938 Nobel laureate in Literature, American female writer Pearl S. Buck, is renowned worldwide for her novels on Chinese subjects. She lived in China for nearly 40 years, referring to Chinese as her \first language\ and Zhenjiang as her \Chinese hometown.\ Her unique upbringing in China gives her works a distinctive character. This book delves into the research gap between Pearl S. Buck's novel creation and Chinese novel resources, examining the formation of her novel view, her depiction of family, society, and intellectuals in her works, and deeply exploring the relationship between her creation and Chinese novel resources. This allows for a more accurate understanding, appreciation, and in-depth discussion of Pearl S. Buck's Chinese-themed novel creation.

\Soul: Prehistoric Art in China\

Xie Chong'an, Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House

This book is divided into three chapters: \The Origin of Art,\ \A Tour of Art History,\ and \Aesthetics and the Formation of National Style,\ introducing the process and characteristics of the formation and development of Chinese prehistoric art. Chinese prehistoric art has distinct characteristics of its own. The author narrates the achievements and general appearance of Chinese prehistoric art with simple and plain text, complemented by a large number of prehistoric art work images.

`Myths in Ancient History: Tracing the Myths of the Ancestors of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties`

By Song Yixiao, published by Guangxi Normal University Press

An innovative work that traces back to the myths of the ancestors of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, discussing mythological figures such as Gun, Yu, Emperor Shun, Cangjie, and Zhurong, and elucidating a brand-new mechanism for the generation of ancient myths. The author combines literature, artifacts, ancient texts, and myths from other regions, using cross-cultural comparative research to explore the relationship between the Gun Yu myth and Western Asian myths, the connection between the Liangzhu culture and the Xia culture, and the causes of the worship of the \mysterious bird\ and the thunder god during the Shang Dynasty, revealing the historical narrative of the ancestral god-making movement and the worship of gods as ancestors by the people of the three dynasties.

\Life Space-Time: New Theory on the Mawangdui Han Tombs\

Harvard University's China Art Lab, Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House

This book, authored by the China Art Lab at Harvard University, delves into the cultural connotations of the Mawangdui Han tombs and the cosmology, views on life and death, and aesthetics of life they embody. The book is richly illustrated, with high-precision digital technology used in the image section to innovatively display the striking details and dynamic structures of the Mawangdui tomb artifacts. The essay section compiles multi-dimensional research outcomes on the Mawangdui Han tombs from scholars at Harvard University and domestic scholars. The book is divided into three major sections: \Space-Time,\ \Yin-Yang,\ and \Life,\ interpreting the Mawangdui Han tomb artifacts from these three fresh perspectives, covering the latest research findings on various aspects such as the Mawangdui Han tomb coffins, lacquerware, silk paintings, musical instruments, bows and crossbows, textiles, and food.

\Beyond the Officialdom: A Study of Non-Officials from the Pre-Qin to the Western Han Dynasty\

Bai Pinjian, Chongqing Publishing House · Huazhang Tongren

Scholars were originally low-ranking nobility, hence early scholars did not face the issue of whether to serve or not to serve. In the late Spring and Autumn period, the boundary between the nobility and the commoners was broken, and \serving\ became a profession, requiring scholars to choose between \serving\ and \not serving.\ However, not serving does not equate to \reclusion.\ From the pre-Qin period to the Han Dynasty, as the feudal system collapsed and the unified commandery-county system emerged, especially after Emperor Wu of Han \exclusively honored Confucianism\ and \selected scholars based on their knowledge of the classics,\ the scholar community gradually became Confucianized, clan-based, and bureaucratized from a diverse mix of various schools of thought and commoners. Due to profound changes in political and social foundations, the scholars' choice to leave political power also underwent a process from \reclusion\ to \not serving,\ and then to \using not serving as reclusion.\ This book thoroughly analyzes the \scholars who did not serve\ from the pre-Qin period to the Western Han Dynasty by combing through historical materials such as \Records of the Grand Historian,\ \Book of Han,\ and \Biographies of Eminent Monks,\ and employing quantitative statistical methods. Through the life choices of scholars to serve or not to serve, one can glimpse the establishment and transformation of the tradition of reclusion in the process of feudal society moving towards unification, as well as the interaction between scholars and political power.

\Micro-Archaeology and Restoration of Excavated Bamboo Books\

By Jia Lianxiang, published by Zhongxi Book Company.

This book includes 24 papers written by the author over the past decade focusing on the collation and research of unearthed bamboo slips. \Micro-archaeology\ is a theoretical method summarized by the author in the study of unearthed documents, especially in the process of restoring and organizing bamboo slips. It is based on the \textuality\ and \materiality\ of unearthed bamboo slips, and through stratigraphic identification, detailed observation, simulation experiments, and digital means, it conducts micro-analysis and empirical research on their material form information to restore the material production, text copying, proofreading, scroll division, and storage form of bamboo slips. It can provide new evidence and ideas for the text restoration, content understanding of bamboo slips, and related issues in paleography, history, linguistics, and philosophy. The papers included in this book involve comprehensive studies on various material form information and text restoration, and text interpretation of unearthed bamboo slips.

\Realm of Imagination: A Study of the Political Rituals of the Guiyi Army in Dunhuang\

By Yang Lifan, published by Zhejiang University Press

This book primarily provides a comprehensive discussion on the political rituals conducted by the local power, the Guiyijun, in Dunhuang during the late Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, and the Song Dynasty. The content covers the implementation of the state and county sacrificial rituals stipulated by the Tang-Song ceremonial system during the governance of the Guiyijun, the rituals of tribute and reception of heavenly messengers in the interactions between the Guiyijun and the central dynasty, the rituals of interactions with neighboring ethnic minorities and other regional military governors, and the rituals of the spread of local customs by the Guiyijun. The book is a new attempt to view the political history of the Guiyijun through the perspective of rituals, a concrete and micro-level supplement to the Tang-Song ceremonial system, and it advances the study of the relationship between local power rituals and political communication.

\The Horsemen Cross the Yin Mountains: The Mountain Dwelling Ethnic Groups of Dingling and Ji Hu in Medieval North China\

Yan Hao, Oriental Publishing Center · Moment Humanities

This book takes two relatively neglected mountain-dwelling ethnic groups during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties period—Qi Hu and Ding Ling—as its research subjects. It adopts a long-term perspective, combining historical documents, archaeological materials, and field observations to examine the evolution of these two groups from the frontier to the Central Plains and their subsequent integration into Central Plains civilization. The book consists of eight chapters, which respectively investigate the entry and distribution of Ding Ling, the formation of Qi Hu, the governance of Ding Ling and Qi Hu by the central regimes during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Sinicization process of the frontier groups. The author makes full use of some underappreciated epigraphical and archaeological materials, attempting to provide a more comprehensive analysis and reveal the \true face\ of the frontier groups. At the same time, numerous maps are drawn to display and clarify many relevant details.

\Unfinished Joy: Prescriptions for Social Interaction among Celebrated Scholars of the Wei and Jin Dynasties\

By Dong Tiezhu, Guangdong People's Publishing House · Universal Gravitation

In the long river of history, the Wei and Jin dynasties shine like a unique star, and this book is like a door leading to the Wei and Jin era, showing us the social life and unique philosophy of happiness of the famous scholars of that time. In this book, the author takes \Shishuo Xinyu\ as the blueprint, deeply analyzing the stories of Wei and Jin scholars in the seven social relationships of monarch and minister, parent and child, elder and younger, friend, colleague, brother, and husband and wife.

The Shackles of Territory: The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty from a Military Logistics Perspective

Zhao Xuteng, Shanxi People's Publishing House · Source Tracking

This book explores the changes in the Ming Dynasty's territorial boundaries and the rise and fall of the nation from the perspective of military logistics. Military and financial issues are fundamental to national development, and the logistics support system is not only a direct reflection of a country's financial capacity but also a crucial factor in determining the fate of the nation. By analyzing the preparation, storage, transportation, and consumption of logistics materials in the Ming Dynasty, one can directly observe the changes in military capabilities and border defenses during different periods of the Ming Dynasty.

\Five Emperors of the Southern Ming: Resistance, Dilemma, and Disillusionment\

Zhang Yuxing, Yue Lu Press

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, five successive rulers claiming the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty appeared in southern China: the Hongguang Emperor, the Longwu Emperor, the Lu Jian Guo, the Shaowu Emperor, and the Yongli Emperor. This book provides a detailed description and study of the lives of these five rulers and their times, praising the loyal and righteous, castigating the despicable, and revealing the deep-seated reasons for the demise of the Southern Ming.

The History of the Southern Silk Road

Duan Yu and Zou Yiqing, published by Bashu Book Society

This book starts from the overall perspective of the Eurasian continent, with general history as the main thread, and meticulously narrates the evolution of the Southern Silk Road from the pre-Qin period to the Ming and Qing dynasties from multiple aspects, highlighting the development characteristics of each period, deeply explaining its historical significance in promoting trade, cultural exchange, mutual learning of civilizations, and ethnic integration, and greatly expanding our understanding of the connotation and extension of the Southern Silk Road.

\The World, China, and the Dynasties: Re-understanding the Political Geographical Structure of Ancient China\

By Cheng Yinong, Social Sciences Academic Press · Nine Colored Deer

This book attempts to adopt a perspective of \observing in accordance with the times\ to analyze important concepts frequently used in the study of ancient Chinese history, such as \Tianxia\ (All Under Heaven), \Tianxia Order\, \state title\, \Tianxia's title\, \Zhongguo\ (China), \dynasty\, \imperial dynasty\, \border\, and \frontier\. It then suggests that since modern times, it has been customary to understand and narrate ancient Chinese history from the perspective of \hindsight\, based on Western history and modern concepts. However, due to the inability of these two to fit together in terms of historical processes and cultural traditions, it naturally leads to some historical and practical issues that are difficult to explain. Based on the above understanding, the book ultimately concludes that the narrative of \Chinese history\ formed since modern times is not actually \Chinese history\ under the traditional Chinese discourse system. In the future, it should be China-centric and deeply consider the narrative methods of \Chinese history\.

The Life of Poetry by Li Qingzhao

Wang Chen, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press

This book takes \Shuyu Ji\ and \Jinshi Lu Houxu\ as primary sources, and also includes literary notes, local chronicles, and widely refers to the research results of predecessors, trying to reconstruct Li Qingzhao's life through the changes of the two Song dynasties and the turmoil of the nation.

The Concept of Novels in Late Qing China: The Emergence and Practice of the Translated Term \Xiaoshuo\

By Guan Shipei, published by Sanlian Bookstore, Shanghai Branch.

The book focuses on the modern Chinese novelist theorists such as Liang Qichao, Lu Xun, and Lu Shimian, who are representative since the late Qing Dynasty, and their theories on novels. It meticulously analyzes the concept of \novel\ they deduced in their literary theories, and how through the techniques of preserving \form,\ maintaining \sound,\ and changing \meaning,\ they carried the Western novel concepts that were introduced through the East, allowing the Chinese term \novel\ to gradually become a \translated term\ like \literature\ and \society,\ thereby facilitating the emergence of new literature, which has been in use to this day. Beyond theoretical discussions, the author also takes the literary practices of late Qing writer Wu Jianren and translator Lin Shu as specific examples, depicting the East-West intersection and the clash of old and new in the modernization process of \novels.\

\The Curator of the Forbidden City 1925—1949\

Zhang Hongwei, Zhonghua Book Company · Shanghai Ju Zhen

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\Life of Retirement: New Opportunities, Setting Off Again\

By Qian Ligang, Huozhi Culture | CITIC Publishing Group

This is a book that does not seem like \Qian Liqun\ at all, as it reveals many aspects of him that are unknown to many. Some are qualities he has had in the past, but were overshadowed by the brilliance of being a \famous Peking University professor\; some are traits that have been discovered and unleashed one by one during his \five major returns\ journey in old age. This is also a very \Qian Liqun\ book, as it continues, as always, Mr. Qian's rational thinking as a scholar and his sense of responsibility as an intellectual. In addition to the authentic, candid, and vivid individual life experiences, Mr. Qian's vision far exceeds the nursing home where he lives. He captures many sharp, sensitive issues that require more attention in the era of longevity, opening up new perspectives for \gerontology\ research.

\Doing Fieldwork\

By Yang Shanhua, Guangqi Bookstore | Shanghai People's Publishing House

This book condenses the author's exploration and contemplation of this important method during twenty years of engaging in sociological field research. The core part of the book includes two chapters. The first chapter focuses on the paradigm and methods of sociological field research, first clarifying the theoretical basis of fieldwork advocated by the author, and then zooming in from the macro to the micro, meticulously analyzing the elements that the foundation requires researchers to pay attention to in the field site, such as the narratives, actions, life details, and interview scenes of the interviewees. The second chapter uses thematic research as a case study, showing up close how field methods are implemented and transformed in academic practice, establishing a context for readers from theory to practice, from the abstract to the concrete. The last two chapters include first-hand records from the author's students when they were in the field and their reviews of past field experiences, supplementing concrete field scenes and the profound impact of field research on the researchers themselves.

What Has Education Changed?

By Liu Shaoxue, The Commercial Press

This book skillfully integrates research methods from multiple disciplines such as Bourdieu's sociological theory and Piaget's developmental psychology, revealing the profound impact of education with vivid cases and rich data. It deeply analyzes how education shapes the growth trajectory of individuals at both explicit and implicit levels from perspectives such as career choices, lifestyle, and ability development.

Are we in a \Post-Global\ era?

Liu Dong, Century Wenjing · Shanghai People's Publishing House

Professor Liu Dong published \Reinventing Tradition: Joining Globalization with Vigilance\ ten years ago, discussing the core issue of \Chinese culture and globalization.\ He proposed that we need to create a modern form of Chinese culture to better cope with the impact of globalization. Since then, the world situation has changed dramatically, and \post-globalization\ has become a fashionable topic in the international academic community, prompting the author to reflect on and supplement his previous views. The author first reiterated his previous view that the underlying globalization movement is inherently full of uncertainty, then analyzed the various troubles caused by the compression and interweaving of civilizations in the process of globalization, with the crux being that \compressive globalization\ leads to the fragmentation and even collapse of the world in which people live. The author further believes that, in the long run, only the ideals of \post-national states\ and \cosmopolitanism\ can help us out of the current \globalization setback\ predicament.