Book description
In the autumn of 2006, Yu Dan, a professor of media studies at Beijing
Normal University, gave a series of lectures entitled "Yu Dan's
Insights into the Analects" which was broadcast for seven days on
China Central Television. Her highly personal interpretation of
Confucian thought was rapturously received, An edited transcript of the
lectures sold 10,000 copies on the day it was published in book form and
by September the following year the book had sold 4. 2 million legal
copies in China and an estimated 6 million pirated ones, remaining at
the top of the Chinese bestseller lists today.
Simply written, and with a view to taking the wisdom of Confucius out
of the hands of the academics and the philosophers and making it
accessible to the general reader, Confucius From the Heart
gives us a contemporary Confucius, one who can teach us how to attain
spiritual happiness, adjust our daily routines and find our place in
modern life. Yu Dan argues
that his sayings, or Analects - far from being merely interesting
quotes from ancient lore, of little use in our hectic, stress-filled
world. Instead, they are simple truths that can speak to each and every
one of us and help us lead better, happier, calmer lives. A professor
at China's Beijing Normal University, assistant to the Dean, Faculty of
Arts & Media, and Head of the Department of Film & Television
Media, Yu Dan is now a household name in China. She has a master's
degree in ancient Chinese literature and a doctoral degree in film &
TV studies. Following the extraordinary success of her lectures and
subsequent book on Confucius, she gave another series of her lectures,
this time on the philosopher Zhuangzi, which has also been a massive
bestseller.
