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《中国文化品读（英文版）》
《中国文化品读》（Insights into Chinese Culture）由北京大学哲学系教授叶朗、朱良志著，将兼收并蓄的中国文化按专题结集成书，致力于向世界传播中国文化、发扬民族精神中国文化。正像前言中所说的那样：
We hope our book will help readers not only gather more detailed knowledge about Chinese culture, but also vividly gain insight into its intrinsic spirit, a nation's great aspirations for life and creation, and a people's character, ethos and pursuits.
我们希望我们的书，能帮助读者在获得中国文化的具体知识的同时，可以感受到中国文化的内在精神，感受到中华民族的伟大生命力和创造力，感受到中国人的活生生的性格、灵魂和情趣中国文化。
全书分四大板块：
1 智慧与信仰丨Wisdom and Beliefs
2 创造与交流丨Creativity and Exchange
3 艺术与美感丨Art and Aesthetics
4 民俗与风情丨Folk Customs
每个板块下的章节主题，像一颗颗珍珠，在历史的长河中熠熠生辉，展现出厚重而鲜活的中国文化中国文化。
1 智慧与信仰丨Wisdom and Beliefs
“智慧与信仰”这一板块蕴藏着中国古代思想家们的生活哲学与精神追求中国文化。从孔子的天人之学到老子的自然无为，这些智慧世世代代指引着中华民族的前行方向。那些流传至今的箴言警句，让我们在纷繁世界中始终能找到心灵的根基。
用英文阅读中国古代哲学家的思想，如同走向“曲径通幽处”，既是一种挑战，也是一种享受中国文化。
谈到老子的“反者道之动”思想时中国文化，书中是这样说的：
When discussing ideas that are both opposite and complementary, Laozi often "speaks the positive as if it were the opposite." He said, "When all under heaven seek beauty, beauty is bad; when all seek goodness, goodness is not good. This is because things are complementary, such as being and non-being, difficult and easy, long and short, high and low, different sounds, forward and backward, etc. Thus the wise act through non-action and teach without words. All things grow naturally without judgment."
在阐述相反相成的思想时，老子常采用“正言若反”的思维方式中国文化。正如其所说：“天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教。万物作焉而不辞。”
对于反者的相互关系中国文化，书中还作了进一步的阐释：
Beauty and ugliness, good and evil are comparative. When people say something is beautiful, their concept of beauty is in contrast with that of ugliness. The same is true with being and non-being, difficult and easy, long and short, forward and backward, etc. According to Laozi, our concepts of opposites and complementarity about the world are not part of the world. They are our judgments imposed on the world." All things grow without judgment" means that they exist naturally, with no difference between big and small, noble and ignoble.
美和丑、善和恶都是相对而言的，人们说这个东西是美的，就有个丑的概念相比衬中国文化。有和无、难和易、长和短、高和低、前和后等都是如此。但老子认为，我们对事物相反相成的看法，并不是世界本身所具有的，而是人所赋予的。“万物作焉而不辞”——万物自在生长，并没有评说（“不辞”），万物生长只是自然而然，本身并没有大和小、尊和卑的区别。
2 创造与交流丨Creativity and Exchange
“创造与交流”这一板块展现了中华文化生机勃发的文化传播过程中国文化。从四大发明推动人类文明进程，到丝绸之路架起东西方沟通的桥梁，中国人从未停止过探索与分享的脚步。先辈们以开放的胸怀接纳外来文化，在交流中不断丰富自身的内涵，让中华文化如同奔流的江河，始终保持着旺盛的生命力。
对于中西文化交流的标志——“丝绸之路”中国文化，书中提供了值得学习的经典表达：
The Silk Road highlights a period of history when China looked west for a broader vision of the world. To the east, apart from the islands of the Pacific and Japan, the country faced only a vast ocean. To the west, in contrast, there were many countries in the Western Regions and beyond. By the 10th century, Chinese explorers had already realized there were prosperous countries, attractive goods and artworks, and different peoples beyond the Western Regions. This aroused great interest in the "west" among ancient Chinese people. Back then, the Chinese usually associated the Western Regions with mysterious aspirations and were fascinated by things from there.
中国文化发展在一段时期中有一个有趣的现象，就是向西看，这其实正是渴望开放的心理中国文化。向东面临茫茫大海，经过日本之后，浩瀚的大洋中找不到一块陆地；而向西看则不同，西域以及更远的地区分布着许多国家。到了公元10世纪，中国探险者就已经知道，在西方遥远的世界中，有富庶的城邦，有富有魅力的物品和艺术品，更有长相不同的人，这引起了华夏民族的浓厚兴趣。中国人观念中的西方，常常与神秘的希望联系在一起，那里的事物也充满了魅力。
3 艺术与美感丨Art and Aesthetics
走进“艺术与美感”的世界，便能感受到中华文化独特的审美韵味中国文化。无论是水墨丹青中 “留白” 的意境，还是唐诗宋词里 “言有尽而意无穷” 的含蓄，都蕴藏着中国人对美的追求。这些艺术形式不只是技艺的展现，更是情感的表达与心灵的对话，让我们在笔墨光影、声色韵律中感受到中华文化的细腻与深邃。
在这一板块中，作者以层层递进的笔触，从各类艺术形式的鲜明特征入手，由表及里地剖析，最终落脚于对中国精神的深刻阐释中国文化。例如，中国瓷器中对裂纹的审美推崇，充分体现了中国人在艺术创造中对自然本真的崇尚。
Chinese people love crackleware because they appreciate nature's unique crafting. Porcelain may be an artificial art, but what it most defies is nothing other than artificiality. The interest in crackleware lies in its naturally produced and unpredictable patterns. Any manmade crackles would be mechanical and unnatural and betray a certain artifice, definitely no match for naturally crafted crackles.
中国瓷器追求裂纹，就是追求自然天成的趣味中国文化。瓷器是人工的艺术，但最反对人工的痕迹。瓷器上面好的裂纹是自然形成的，其纹理充满了不可预测之韵味。人工画出的裂纹都会显得机械、刻意，带有一种人工的痕迹，绝对无法与自然天成的裂纹相媲美。
Chinese people's love for natural beauty is not only embodied in crackleware but also reflected in the quest of all Chinese porcelains. Without natural beauty, there is no Chinese porcelain. Porcelain is manmade, but the Chinese have managed to achieve an effect of naturalness without a trace of artificiality. This is the principle Chinese porcelain craftsmen adhere to.
追求自然天成的意味，不仅体现在裂纹中，也贯穿于所有中国瓷器的追求之中中国文化。没有自然之美，就没有中国的瓷器。瓷器虽是人工做成的，但中国匠人却能够巧妙地呈现一种毫无人工痕迹的自然之感。这正是中国瓷器匠人始终坚持的创作原则。
4 民俗与风情丨Folk Customs
民俗与风情是中国文化最贴近大众的部分中国文化。从《清明上河图》（A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival）的市井文化，到老北京、老上海的风情韵味，从优雅的传统服饰到各地的特色美食，民俗风情融入了生活的方方面面，记录了不同地域、多元民族的生活方式，使中国文化呈现出丰富多彩的面貌。
在众多中国民俗文化中中国文化，茶文化尤为独特，书中介绍道：
To tea drinkers, the first and foremost pleasure derived from drinking tea is "cleansing." Tea purifiesthe soul. An old teahouse couplet goes, "A healthy body comes from less food, / An elegant poem derives from more tea." Tea represents ultimate clarity, produced through the condensing of pure energy in the universe; it is a gift of nature. Tea prefers to grow in clean places. The cleaner a place, the better the quality of the tea it nurtures. Fine teas usually grow on high mountains, enveloped in clouds and mists and in a clear atmosphere. In such an environment, transparent new tea leaves grow and are picked with the dew still clinging to them, hence the tea leaves carry the refreshing air of nature. A cup of fine tea is crystal clear and refreshingly fragrant, so that it can help the body become cleansed and balanced. Laozi (dates of birth and death unknown) said, "Being clear and clean is the right way in the world." This characteristic of tea alligns perfectly with Chinese philosophic thought.
喝茶人，首先取一个“清”字中国文化。茶是清洁心灵之物。一副古老茶馆的对联写道：“身健却缘餐饭少，诗清每为饮茶多。”茶为至清之品，为天地间清气凝聚而成，是大自然的馈赠。茶偏爱清洁之所，越是清洁的地方，孕育出的茶叶品质就越高。好茶来自高山，高山之中，云雾蒸腾，清气舒卷，酝酿成透明的叶片，带着露水摘下，大自然的清新气息也随之而来。一杯清茶，汤色清澈，清香馥郁，可以致清导和。老子说：“清净为天下正。”茶所具有的这一特点，与中国哲学思想正相合。
The second important facet is that of "seeking leisure."The bustling world, full of confusion and argument, weariness and exhaustion, damages the minds and bodies of human beings. A cup of refreshing tea can parry the sound and fury of the secular world at arm's length. In the process of sipping tea, the mind may become as calm as a lake on a windless night, when the moon shines brightly,illuminating the world. A cup of tea may open up a new, boundless world.
喝茶人在茶中追求“闲”中国文化。熙熙攘攘的人世，纷纷扰扰的争执，疲惫不堪的劳累，戕害人的精神和身体。而一杯清茗则能将世俗世界的喧嚣与浮华隔绝在外。品茶时，心灵平静如夜阑风静的湖面，月光照彻，一片澄明。小小的茶碗，荡开了一片广阔的天地。
The third important feature is that of "paying respect."The Chinese people have long fostered the custom of expressing respect by presenting a cup of tea. They treat guests with tea as a sign of respect, regardless of whether they are thirsty or not, and guests drinking the tea feel refreshed and energized. Educated people treat their guests arriving at night with tea instead of wine, a practice highly appreciated by the literati. In some places in China, there is the custom of presenting tea three times to the guests, as a sign of welcome, then of hospitality, and finally of good wishes. Presenting tea to guests demonstrates not only hospitality but also one's respect for the guests.
喝茶人还讲究一个“敬”字，中国民间长久以来有敬茶的习俗中国文化。客人来了，无论是渴还是不渴，都要泡上一杯茶，表达一份敬心。一杯香茗暂留客，喝了这盏茶，顿觉神清气爽。文人们以寒夜客来茶当酒为胜境，有的地方还流行迎客、留客、祝福三道茶的习俗。在敬茶中，既体现出中国人好客的传统，也体现出待客敬心的精神。
本书四大板块相互关联、彼此辉映，如画卷徐徐铺展中华优秀传统文化的恢弘图景中国文化。每章主题如点点珠玑，于历史细节中唤醒文明的记忆：是典籍里的千年哲思，是交流中的兼收并蓄，是技艺里传承的匠心坚守，是民俗中流淌的家国情怀。字里行间，既饱含岁月沉淀的温度，又蕴藏着穿越时空的力量，让中华文脉的深厚底蕴与独特魅力在书页间静静流淌，直抵人心。
值得一提的是，《中国文化品读》（Insights into Chinese Culture）和其中文版《中国文化读本》是一对相辅相成的佳作，专为帮助读者更深入地了解和欣赏中国文化而打造，适合大学生、中学生，以及广大文化爱好者中国文化。两书对读，更能领略中国文化的独特韵味。
秋意渐浓，不妨捧起这两本好书充实自我、静心养性，在墨香与秋色的交织里，把日子过得从容而丰盈中国文化。