secluded orchid in a deserted valley(kōng gǔ yōu lán)

secluded orchid in a deserted valley

A secluded orchid in an empty valley is a record book of American Sinologist bill Porter's search for hermits in China. It mainly focuses on his search for hermits in Zhongnanshan, and makes his own views and comments on Chinese hermit culture. Most of the books use the technique of white line drawing, which is free and easy to follow and highly infectious. After its publication, the book has aroused a wave of overseas study and study of Chinese culture.

content validity

The book is a "journey of seeking Seclusion" about China written by bill Porter, an American Sinologist. Through his personal visit to Chinese modern hermits living in Zhongnanshan and other places in the 1980s and 1990s, he introduced the history of the emergence and development of Chinese hermit culture and its tradition, compared it with the current situation he was interviewing, expressed his high praise, yearning and nostalgia for Chinese traditional culture, and wrote the hope of China's future development that he saw. Although it is a journey to seek seclusion, the style of this book is not dignified. Even when Bill describes the damaged old trees, he also wants to let readers see the buds on the damaged old trees. The language of the book is as beautiful as a line drawing, full of vitality and appeal, and the lines reveal American humor, which often makes readers laugh. Therefore, to be exact, this is a "journey of hope" about the rejuvenation of Chinese traditional culture. The book's dozens of illustrations, some of which were taken by Stephen R. Johnson, a famous American photographer, risking his life, are breathtaking.

Catalogue of works

Creative background

Since the 1970s, Bill Porter, a writer, translator and sinologist, has settled in Taiwan and Hong Kong for a long time. In the late 1980s, he began to travel frequently in the mainland. On the one hand, he translated ancient Chinese Buddhist classics into English, and wrote a large number of articles and travel notes on Chinese cultural relics for European and American readers On the other hand, he pursues the trace of hermits and personally visits contemporary Chinese hermits living in Zhongnanshan and other places.

Appreciation of works

Quite different from the hermits in his impression, these hermits in real life are far less romantic than he imagined. Their place is not "in the clouds, in Panasonic, outside the world". Of course, they are not "living by moonlight, taro and marijuana". On the contrary, they live the most primitive life, enduring the loneliness and poverty that ordinary people can't bear. The orchid in an empty valley by bill Porter is not only a cultural Book Exploring the traditional hermit's life style, but also a wisdom book combining the author's unique life experience. Bill Porter not only recounts the life stories of many famous hermits in ancient China to prove the historical origin of hermits as a kind of cultural tradition, but also discusses the social identity and essence of hermits from various angles. "The contradiction between morality and politics is at the heart of the hermit tradition," he said He said: "as long as you are not troubled by desire, as long as your heart is not affected by delusion, then you are a monk or a family member, there is no difference at all." It is from the individual level to the essence of hermit culture. the ancients said: "small hidden in the wild, big hidden in the city." In my opinion, concealment is not so much a kind of behavior as a kind of state of mind - as Tao Yuanming said: "the heart is far away from the earth" - the earth is far away from the earth, which is not important. The heart is far away, which is the key. Maybe that's what Bill Porter wants to tell us.

About the author

Bill Porter is a contemporary American writer, translator and sinologist. He translated a large number of ancient Chinese Buddhist books into English, which caused great repercussions in Europe and America. He has translated and published such English works as Hanshan poetry anthology, Shiwu Shanju poetry anthology and Bodhidharma Chan Dharma under the pseudonym of "hongsong". Since 1972, he has been living in Taiwan and Hongkong, and has often travelled in mainland China, and has written a lot of books and travel notes on Chinese mainland cultural relics.

Chinese PinYin : kōng gǔ yōu lán