Living Elsewhere: Twenty Portraits of Ordinary People

Living Elsewhere： Twenty Portraits of Ordinary People

by Yan Lizhong

Published by the Chinese Overseas Publishing House， May 2012

Yan Lizhong is a journalist with Chinas Life magazine. This book is based on his experiences as a reporter over the past decade， in which he developed a method of depicting ordinary people and their lives from singular perspectives. His 20 subjects for the book include a cook， a delivery boy， a street singer， a miner， an AIDS volunteer， a prison guard， a private collector， a foster parent for left-behind children， a dramatic actor， a reform school teacher， an environment activist， a resident of a landmineridden village， a retired world champion weightlifter， a cyclist who circled the world， a forest ranger， a rural doctor， a retired soldier， a porcelain painter， a tomb guard， and a railroad maintenance worker. Critics have commented that the silent voices and lonely faces depicted in Yans book showcase some overlooked pieces of glistening China and the fastchanging era.

A Broken Family： The Desperate Relation between a Father and His Son from Chinese Mainland to Taiwan

by Liang Xuan

Published by Guangxi Normal University Press， March 2012

This book recounts stories about a broken family separated by the Taiwan Straits， as well as the authors personal life. The author led a life full of frustration： He was abandoned by his parents， became a monk when he was young， skipped school， became a thief， fought with his father， and ran away from home. The author also describes how his father didnt show at his wedding， took over National Taiwan University， and participated in campaigns to defend Chinas Diaoyu Islands. The book also illustrates how the author reunited with his mother across the Taiwan Straits after four decades of separation. The stories of the broken family reflect the beginning and end of a drifting era. Instead of important historic events， the book focuses on stories from ordinary life on Chinas mainland and Taiwan Province.

Liang Xuan， born Ma Guoguang， is a famous writer in Taiwan. He was born in the Beibei District of Chongqing on October 10， 1942， and moved to Taiwan when he was five years old. He received a masters degree in television and radio at Brooklyn College， City University of New York， and worked as a radio and television anchor and producer. His father， Ma Ting-Ying， was a prestigious paleontologist， marine geologist and biologist， as well as a pioneer of Chinas marine geology research.

The Evolution of Modern Chinese Society

by Chen Xulu

Published by China Renmin University Press， June 2012

Basically speaking， modern Chinese society combines tradition and innovation in the process of its evolution. This also explains its complexity. The Evolution of Modern Chinese Society （illustrated version） not only reviews the economic and political reforms of contemporary China， but also analyzes Chinas changes in social structure due to external influence， thus painting a comprehensive picture of the evolution and reform of modern China. This book has been hailed as one of the best publications about contemporary China.

Chen Xulu （1918-1988）， a native of Xiangxiang County（todays Shuangfeng）， Hunan Province， was an internationally renowned Chinese historian. He served as a professor at the Department of History of East China Normal University. He devoted his entire life to researching the history of modern China. Many of his books have been translated into Russian， English， and Japanese.

A Story of Ruins： Presence and Absence in Chinese Art and Visual Culture

by Wu Hung （U.S.A.）

Translated by Xiao Tie

Published by Shanghai Peoples Publishing House， November 2012 In the 1990s， why did so many Chinese artists show great interest in recording demolished houses and decaying industrial sites through a broad variety of media， including photography， installation， performance art， and cinema？

The answer is sought in A Story of Ruins： Presence and Absence in Chinese Art and Visual Culture. This richly illustrated book focuses on Chinas “ruin culture” and related images， and examines the evolution of Chinese artis- tic practices from ancient times through the present across a wide range of art forms including painting， architecture， photography， print， and cinema， in hopes of revealing the connection between traditional Chinese art and modern visual culture. The book consists of three parts： The first addresses the “relic” concept in Chinese culture and its visual manifestations， the second focuses on Chinas “ruin culture” from the 19th Century to the early 20th Century， especially the ruins of war， and the final part depicts images of ruins from the second half of the 20th Century to the present.

Author Wu Hung studied at the Department of Art History of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In the 1980s， he studied in the United States and received a double doctorate in art history and anthropology from Harvard University. Later， he served on the teaching staff of the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard， and received tenure in 1994. In 2008， he was honored with the Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award at the annual conference of the College Art Association. Now he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science.