With 10 million copies sold, Yu Dan’s new take on Confucius is one of the worlds best-selling books on Chinese culture. Confucius from the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s Worldsold 10 million copies internationally, which is considered “one of the best-selling books on Chinese culture in te international book market.”The book, published by Zhonghua Book Company, was selected at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 as one of the representative books of China, this year’s Guest of Honor country. Its German Edition was released at the Fair.So far, the book has four English editions, with the Chinese mainland edition (translated by Estger Tyldesley, 187pp, Zhonghua Book Company & Macmillan) published in July as the cheapest at 58 yuan.
Yu, 41, is a professor under the School of Arts and Media at Beijing Normal University. She has become a household name in China since lecturing on The Analects of Confucius on CCTV’s prime time programLecture Room in 2006. The transcripts of those talks were used in developing this text.
The book explains the wisdom of The Analects, a major text of Confucian philosophy that has dominated China intellectual and spiritual culture for 2,500 years. Yu digests Confucius’ theory to produce something usable by everyone. She says Confucius can help people to stay grounded, understand the hectic world and live fuller lives.As a transcript, the book keeps the tone and style of her speech. The book is easy to follow and reveals truths between pages of interpretation and self-questioning.
