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Yuan Qi ed., The Rock and the Rainbow: Selected Papers on Biography of Yang Zhengrun. Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2016. 493PP.

 

Yuan Qi ed., The Rock and the Rainbow: Selected Papers on Biography of Yang Zhengrun. Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2016. 493PP.

 

This collection, as the third volume of modern biography library by the Center for Life Writing, SJTU, consists of 60 sample papers on biography by Prof. Yang Zhengrun, a famous scholar in China. In addition to the editor’s prologue and the academic autobiography, this collection is divided into five sections. The first 10 papers emphasize on the examination and construction of the theories and methods of modern biography. The second section (10 papers) is the studies on important biographers, classic biography, biographical history and some controversial issues.  The third part (14 papers) responds to the popular topics of contemporary biography while criticizing classical biography. The fourth one (4 papers) is the biographical studies on several important historical figures. The last part (12 papers) are prologues to studies on biography by other scholars, followed by the epilogue of Prof. Yang’s studies on biography. This collection, including short-length appreciation on biography, scholar essays and prologues, with sparkling thoughts and smart writing, as well as finely constructed and deliberately demonstrated long-length papers, exhibits Prof. Yang’s exploration of and contribution to biography.