Ebb and Flow

Wang Guowei was a renowned scholar of international standing during the transitional period between modern and contemporary China.

王国维是中国近、现代相交时期一位享有国际声誉的著名学者。

Adopting a fresh humanistic perspective and a solemn historical approach, this book recreates, against the broad backdrop of the turn of the century, the turbulent times and dramatic changes that Wang Guowei experienced during his "fifty years of life." It chronicles how he rose from a mere "student" of the late Qing Dynasty and a commoner of humble origins to become a great master who integrated Chinese and Western learning and mastered both ancient and modern knowledge through self-study. From both macro and micro perspectives, the book comprehensively and meticulously presents his multifaceted contributions and global impact on modern Chinese culture and scholarship as a pioneer of new literary theory, a founder of new historiography, and one of the "Four Halls" of oracle bone studies and the "Four Great Masters" of Tsinghua University. At the same time, it ideologically reveals his tragic end-his pursuits, anguish, contradictions, and eventual self-drowning-amidst the great transformations of history.

本书以崭新的人文视野，凝重的历史笔触，从新旧世纪之交的广阔背景上，再现了王国维"五十之年"中经历的时代风云、事变沧桑，记述了他怎样从清末"诸生"、寒门"布衣"，通过"独学"成就了融汇中西、学贯古今的一代大师；并从宏观与微观的结合上，比较全面而翔实地展示了他作为新文艺理论的先导、新史学的开山和甲骨"四堂"、清华"四大师"之一的学术巨子，对近代中国文化学术多方面建树及世界性贡献；同时，从思想上揭示了他在历史的大变局中追求、苦恼、矛盾、最后"自沉"的悲剧性结局。