Zhao Xinshan

Zhao Xinshan

Zhao Xinshan, born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on April 2, 1938, is a professor, philosopher, writer and writer. He has published 46 books, such as thoughts on philosophy of science and art, the soul of Planck, and the earth is crying. At present, he is committed to the comparative study of eastern and Western cultures.

Personage introduction

Zhao Xinshan:

Professor, philosopher, writer, writer

Chronicle

He was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on April 2, 1938.

He was admitted to Peking University in 1955.

He graduated from the Department of German literature and language of Peking University in 1961.

From 1961 to 1978, he studied land, grain and population in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

From 1978 to 1983, he studied modern western philosophy in the Institute of philosophy, Chinese Academy of social sciences.

Since 1983, he has been engaged in the comparative study of eastern and Western cultures in the Eurasian Institute of the Shanghai Academy of social sciences.

Character experience

Publishing books

He has published 46 books, including thoughts on philosophy of science and art, philosophy and the contemporary world, philosophy and human culture, the merits and demerits of human civilization, the journey of human civilization, the soul of Beethoven, the soul of Mozart, the soul of Planck, architecture is a philosophical poem, architecture, irresistible art, and equality before architecture 》"Hitler and art", "human brain, human desire, city", "the sound of Rhine", "triple love", "sick world", "uneasiness", "escape or fight? 》He also wrote "genius and madman", "Selected Essays of Zhao Xinshan", "anthology of Zhao Xinshan" (three volumes), "man house world: architectural philosophy and aesthetics", etc.

Readers' comments

When I was in Nanjing book city, I saw a book about architecture, architecture: irresistible art, written by Zhao Xinshan in 2001. In 2001, I was just a little p-child who was just beginning to learn architecture. His book is my compass, which guides me to the road to the palace of architectural art. However, when I look back at the book at that time, I feel that I still don't have a deep understanding of architecture. What I feel is a kind of curiosity and exclamation about the subject of architecture. At the same time, I deeply realize that my road to architecture is still very long. So when I returned to Shanghai, I wanted to borrow this book again to feel something I couldn't feel at that time.

However, when I was looking for this book, I found that Zhao Xinshan wrote another book about architecture in 2004 - "the world of human house: architectural philosophy and architectural aesthetics". Out of a kind of happy and tired of the old, I took this book home to read. In the book, the author philosophizes, aesthetically and humanizes the world of architecture. In his view, the happiest state of life is physical and mental security. A good and poetic architectural field promotes people's spirit, accommodates and settles people's soul, and is the object of people's beloved relatives and friends and the attachment of life and death. Judging the beauty of the house from a unique perspective, analyzing the reason of the house, and revealing the philosophy and aesthetic principles hidden in the deep structure of the building with literary brushwork.

In addition to Philosophy and aesthetics, the author also compares architecture from other disciplines, which makes me feel that architecture is a very extensive discipline, and its exploration significance has exceeded architecture itself. Architecture is mathematics, because our living space is Euclidean geometric space, and the beauty of architecture comes from the beautiful curve of mathematics; architecture is physics, because architecture is the four-dimensional space of residence, which is always presented in the form of an architectural field; architecture is music, because architecture embodies the melody of music, as soft as Liszt's dream of love, The saying "architecture is solidified music" is not empty talk; architecture is also literature, whether it is Tang poetry, Song Ci, or the New Testament, we can find the shadow of architecture.

In this book, the author's perspective is keen. An example is excerpted to let us appreciate the charm of Architecture: "do architects and paleontologists have a common topic? The answer is yes. If a man of paleontology graduate falls in love with a woman of architecture graduate and ends up as a loving couple, please don't be surprised, because they are like-minded. Why? Because it is structural mechanics that connects them together, because the structure of dinosaurs and buildings has their unity, and they all follow the principles of structural mechanics. If we say that God designed dinosaurs and architects designed buildings, then the highest title of architects is "man next to God!"

There is also a passage about the relationship between God and the architect. After the benevolent God created man, he said two paragraphs: "let the architect be born, so that people can have a house to live in, a space to live in, and be free from the attack of wind and snow." After many years, let's say, "in order not to let people lead a monotonous, boring and lonely life, let architects build theaters, museums, sports venues and memorial buildings again."

Main works

Philosophy and the contemporary world, the soul of Planck, the earth is crying, it rains at dusk, war and male hormones, the soul of Beethoven, the soul of Mozart, Hitler and contemporary art, architecture is a philosophical poem, Einstein and art, etc.

Writing ability

Walter Benjamin has a wonderful theory about writing books. He said that writers write books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with other people's books. He also said that there are many ways to search and visit books. The most praiseworthy way is to write your own books. It's a good idea, but it's crazy. It's one thing to be able to write books when you are talented, but it's another thing to be addicted to writing books. It's like a woman giving birth to a child - some women are infertile for life, some have only one child, and some live forever. On the surface, it is the difference of life style, but in fact, it is about faith -- there are not many Chinese writers who regard writing books as faith, and Zhao Xinshan is one of them.

In terms of the number of books published, few contemporary scholars and writers can match Zhao Xinshan. So far, the latest one is the 46th one: from the first book "science, art and philosophy" published in 1985 to "I am a repeater of Peking University" (Jiangsu literature and Art Publishing House) published in June 2004, there are almost two to three copies every year - and the speed is not slowing down at all. What's more, such a high output is by no means the same. Almost every book will have an impact in different fields: philosophy, poetry, quantum physics, mathematics, music, architecture, sexology To paraphrase Hannah Arendt's comments on Benjamin, Zhao Xinshan is "knowledgeable, but not a scholar; he studies philosophy, but not a philosopher; he writes musicians' commentaries, but not a music critic; he writes poetry, but not a poet; he studies architecture, but not an architectural theorist; he studies quantum physics, but not a physicist; he loves mathematics, but not a mathematician; he studies mathematics, but not a mathematician Psychology is not a psychologist. He's like a book writing machine. The academic circles have always had different opinions on Zhao Xinshan's book. I read a reader's book on the Internet: "I bought it almost every time I published it. His spirit of rational thinking, in addition, is a new point of view, and provides a lot of cultural information from around the world This judgment is pertinent and sincere. I always have a high respect for scholars engaged in interdisciplinary research - it's a skill to get through literature, history and philosophy, and those who can integrate literature, history, philosophy and science are almost geniuses - they are highly admired in two aspects: pattern and weather. As the ancient Chinese literary theory emphasizes, there are four indispensable parts of literature: style, ambition, Qi and rhyme. The pattern is grand and lofty, the weather is profound and meaningful, so for the article, the article has style, so for people, personality has power. There are many humanists who are convinced in this field, such as Qian Zhongshu, Foucault and Walter Benjamin.

Character review

There is no meaning to compare Zhao Xinshan with the master. What I want to say is that the subject Zhao Xinshan studied, the way he wrote books, the academic pattern and atmosphere he created really make people feel a kind of tragic meaning: in the era of serious surplus of books and academic articles, in the era of general lack of rational spirit, who has thought, who has compassion, who adheres to academic belief, who adheres to a kind of romantic humanistic feelings, who has a strong sense of responsibility It's the powerful, but it's also the loneliest. As for Zhao Xinshan, what I am more interested in is his initial way of enlightenment, a new Chinese college student in the 1950s. What kind of force is pulling him and making him an anomaly in the academic circle?

Quotations

Zhao Xinshan's answer is very simple: I am a repeater of Peking University. This is Zhao Xinshan's most proud and gratifying thing. In 1955, Zhao Xinshan was admitted to Peking University, but when he graduated in 1959, he deliberately failed two main courses and failed for one year. The reason is very simple - because he is nostalgic for the library of Peking University, and because of a sentence in the "Warring States strategy": those who are not plump can not fly high. Zhao Xinshan's action, in the 1950s, can be described as crazy, in the history of Peking University also can be regarded as unusual. In Zhao Xinshan's words, the sixth year of Peking University "sowed many seeds on my heart. That was unconscious. Today I understand that these seeds can be divided into three categories: Science, art and philosophy.

42 years later, it dawned on Zhao Xinshan that his life, profession and framework were doomed in Peking University, that is, to observe the structure and texture of the journey of human civilization from the perspective of philosophy. Therefore, we can see how a beautiful young man studies hard in Peking University, how to inquire about the meaning and value of life, how to follow Professor Wende to inquire about the palace of classical music, how to be lovelorn, and how to venture into the world

Chinese PinYin : Zhao Xin Shan