New book on cross-strait masters launched in Taipei

2015-01-14

A book featuring 100 cross-strait masters over the past century was recently unveiled in Taipei City, spotlighting Chinese achievements in such fields as archaeology, the arts, education, literature, politics and science.

Authored by Taiwan journalism scholar Cheng Jim-ming and mainland Chinese academic Ding Shixuan, the two-volume “Masters of a Hundred Years” took three years to complete. Its 10 categories span from the early years of the ROC to the present, with no story exceeding 4,000 words.

Cheng said compiling the “easy-to-read” offering was not easy. “The 100 stories do not just represent 100 role models for youngsters, they also mean 100 touching experiences with the masters.

“The stories allow readers to literally stand on the shoulders of these giants and look deep into their souls.”

Notable inclusions are educators Cai Yuanpei, president of Peking University, Fu Ssu-nien, president of National Taiwan University, and Hu Shih, president of Academia Sinica—Taiwan’s top research institution; essayist Shen Congwen; journalists Kao Hsin-chiang and Tseng Hsu-pai; novelists Eileen Chang and Pai Hsien-yung; and scientists Lee Yuan-tseh, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Qian Xuesen, head of the mainland Chinese missile program, and Yang Chen-ning, winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize in physics.

As one of the first batch of journalism students in Taiwan, Cheng said he was fortunate to experience a lecture by Hu Shih, a famous scholar of Chinese philosophy in the early 20th century. His personal encounters with great academics continued after serving as director of the Department of Journalism at Taipei City-based Chinese Culture University.

Some of Cheng’s most memorable meetings include Lin Yu-tang, a renowned bilingual writer in Chinese and English, and Liang Shih-chiu, the first academic to translate the complete works of Shakespeare into Chinese.

According to Cheng, one of the reasons for writing the book is his concern that Taiwan’s youth is short on values and lacks substance. “Mediocrity results from ignorance and emptiness of thought is due to a lack of reading,” he said.

With the young people of today increasingly led astray by the false prophet of materialism, Cheng sees a real need for a refresher course on the achievements of the masters. “I hope this book provide guidance for the youth and inspires them to follow their lead,” he said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=226215&CtNode=413)