Customer Reviews

Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters

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The power of Qian's cirticism lies not so much in his erudition as in his common sense. Common sense is a thing rarely found in a scholar, especially in a Chinese scholar living in the last century.

The following statement is found in the "Limited Views"(my translation): 'A scholar is often like a drunkard, either leaning to the right or falling to the left.' To be sober with common sense, it seems to me, is Qian's morality of being both a critic and a man.

Now every reader of the "Limited Views" is dazzled by Qian's eruidtion; but I think his erudition outshines his orginality. Qian has an unusually original mind; his contributions to the understanding of Chinese Classics seem still not truly acknowledged.

One more point to add: the "Limited Views" is a VERY ENTERTAINING book, full of literary and historical anectodes; indeed I read most of the book(5 small vol.s in the original) during train journey. There are too many myths concerning this book; it is said to be inaccessible to "ordinary people"; I am an ordinary enough man, and I enjoy this book very much; yes, I bursted out into laughter when reading it; so just ignore what the bald professors and enthusiastic but humorless "culture men" say, and go directly to the book.