Yi Zhongtian (born 8 February 1947) is a Chinese historian.[1] He is also a professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Xiamen University's School of Humanities.[1]

Yi Zhongtian
易中天
Yi giving a talk at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in July 2013
Yi giving a talk at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in July 2013
Born (1947-02-08) February 8, 1947 (age 77)[1]
Changsha, Hunan Province, Republic of China
OccupationHistorian
LanguageMandarin Chinese
NationalityChinese
Alma materWuhan University (BA & MA)
SubjectsLiterature, art, aesthetics, psychology, anthropology, history
Notable works
  • Pin Ren Lu (品人录)
  • Du Cheng Ji (读城记)
  • Pin San Guo (品三国)
  • Xian Qin Zhuzi Baijia Zhengming (先秦诸子百家争鸣)

Life and career

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Yi's grandfather, Yi Silin (易思麟; 1885–1983), graduated from the Hunan Law School (湖南法政学堂; now part of Hunan University) and served as the acting county magistrate of Dao County, Hunan Province. He became a self-taught physician after leaving office. Yi's uncle, Yi Rengai (易仁荄; 1908–1990), graduated from Tsinghua University's Department of History in 1935. Yi's father, Yi Tingyuan (易庭源; 1919–2011), was an accountant.[citation needed]

Yi spent his childhood in his birthplace, Changsha, Hunan Province, before moving to Wuhan, Hubei province at the age of six. He attended Yuemachang Primary School (阅马场小学) and No. 1 Middle School attached to Central China Normal University (华中师范大学第一附属中学).[citation needed]

Between 1965 and 1975, Yi went to Xinjiang to join the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. From 1975 to 1978, he taught at a middle school for the children of employees at a steel production firm in Urumqi, Xinjiang.[1]

Yi studied ancient Chinese literature in Wuhan University under the tutelage of Hu Guorui (胡国瑞) and graduated in 1978 with a BA.[citation needed] In 1981, after obtaining a MA degree from Wuhan University, he became a lecturer at his alma mater. He is currently a professor and PhD supervisor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Xiamen University's School of Humanities.[1]

Works

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Yi's academic interests include literature, art, aesthetics, psychology, anthropology and history.[1] His published works focus on popularising academic subjects. This has caused some controversy, but has also led to the popularity of his works.[citation needed]

In 2005, Yi appeared on CCTV-10's Lecture Room programme. His series of lectures on personalities of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period were successful,[1] but there was also criticism about the academic quality of his lectures.[citation needed] Due to the popularity of his lectures, in 2006 CCTV-10 made a contract with him to produce a series of 52 lectures on the history of the Three Kingdoms period. In 2008, he started a series of 36 lectures about the Hundred Schools of Thought on Lecture Room.[1]

In 2013, Yi wrote Yi Zhongtian Zhonghua Shi (易中天中华史; Yi Zhongtian's History of China). A year later, he wrote San Guo Ji (三国纪; Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms) to dispel myths about the historical figures Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Zhuge Liang.

List of works

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  • Chinese culture series:
    • Xianhua Zhongguo Ren (闲话中国人; The Gossiping Chinese)
    • Zhongguo De Nanren He Nüren (中国的男人和女人; China's Men and Women)
    • Du Cheng Ji (读城记; Reading and Cities)
    • Pin Ren Lu (品人录; Analysis of People)
  • CCTV-10 Lecture Room series:
    • Han Dai Fengyun Renwu (汉代风云人物; Prominent Personalities of the Han Dynasty)
    • Pin San Guo (品三国; Analysis of the Three Kingdoms)
    • Xian Qin Zhuzi Baijia Zhengming (先秦诸子百家争鸣; The Hundred Schools of Thought Before the Qin Dynasty)
  • Politics:
    • Diguo De Chouchang (帝国的惆怅; Melancholy of the Empire)
    • Diguo De Zhongjie (帝国的终结; End of the Empire)
    • Feicheng Fengyun: Meiguo Xianfa De Dansheng He Women De Fansi (费城风云:美国宪法的诞生和我们的反思; Philadelphia: The Birth of the United States Constitution and Our Reflections)
  • Aesthetics:
    • Po Men Er Ru (破门而入; Forced Entry)
  • Social sciences:
    • Chengdu Fangshi (成都方式; The Chengdu Method)
  • Essays:
    • Shusheng Yiqi (书生意气; Scholar's Spirit)
    • Shusheng Shaqi (书生傻气; Scholar's Foolishness)
    • Gao Gao De Shu Shang (高高的树上; High Up on the Tree)
  • Others:
    • Dahua Fangyan (大话方言; Discussion on Dialects)
    • Zhongguo Zhihui (中国智慧; Chinese Intelligence)
    • Wo Shan Zhi Shi (我山之石; The Rock of My Mountain)
    • Yi Zhongtian Zhonghua Shi (易中天中华史; Yi Zhongtian's History of China)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Yi Zhongtian short biography". china.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 March 2018.
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