History Is People

An updated book - and several translations - take readers beyond an academic understanding of Chinese culture by highlighting personal stories, the authors tell Mei Jia.

Authors Ye Lang and Zhu Liangzhi had a daunting task: Boil down Chinese civilization that has spanned thousands of years into a book of about 300 pages.

Both influential professors of philosophy and of aesthetics and arts from Peking University, the two sifted through many options when they proposed a book on Chinese culture as a gift for the world when Beijing was hosting the 2008 Olympic Games.