From October 5th to October 8th, 2023, the 8th Nicosia Book Festival was held in Acropolis Park in Nicosia, Cyprus. China participated in the Book Festival as the guest of honor for the first time. A total of 20 Chinese publishers participated in the book festival.
Zong Junfeng, Chairman of Tsinghua University Press (TUP) and Sun Yu, Associate General Editor, attended the book festival and held meetings with local publishers, introducing a variety of book titles published by TUP to local readers.
Tsinghua University Press has always attached great importance to exchanges and cooperation with its international counterparts, and has licensed rights of a large number of high-quality titles reflecting traditional Chinese culture to the overseas market. The traditional Chinese culture not only crystallizes the wisdom and characteristics of the Chinese civilization, but also is an important source of the core values of Chinese socialism. It also provides the nation with a cultural stamina in spite of the disruptions that accompany modernization. Tsinghua University Press made full use of this book festival as a platform for copyright trade and international exchange, and brought 34 excellent titles such as The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts: Studies and Translations 1: The Yi Zhou Shu and Pseudo-Yi Zhou Shu Chapters, History of Chinese Architecture: from Pre-Qin Period to Late Qing Dynasty, and And Then There is Brightness: 400 years of scientific exploration from 1543 to 1957 to the book festival.
Zhang Jianchun, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee introduced The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts: Studies and Translations 1: The Yi Zhou Shu and Pseudo-Yi Zhou Shu Chapters to Ms.Vasiliki Kassianidou, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Cyprus
The Bamboo slips of the Warring States Period collected by Tsinghua University, called “Tsinghua manuscripts”, are a batch of bamboo slips of the Warring States Period salvaged by Tsinghua University from overseas. Most of the inscriptions on the bamboo slips are texts related to the classics (Jing) and histories (Shi). A careful study of these texts serves to provide insights on history of ancient books in the Pre-Qin period and can help us better understand the origin and development of Chinese culture.
The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts: Studies and Translations series are jointly completed by the Research and Conservation Center for Unearthed Texts of Tsinghua University and well-known experts in the field of Chinese cultural studies at home and abroad. This book is written and translated by Edward L. Shaughnessy, the Lorraine J. and Herrlee G. Creel Distinguished Service Professor in Early Chinese Studies at the University of Chicago. It is an English translation the texts of the Yi Zhou Shu or Leftover Zhou Scriptures and other texts of similar genre found in the Tsinghua manuscripts, accompanied by introduction of relevant background, and at the same time, it provides insights into the text circulation of Yi Zhou Shu.
The publication of The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts: Studies and Translations series embodies the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, sets an example of cultural exchange and communication between China and the West, and provides a reference for sinologists around the world to jointly explore and reveal the profound historical and cultural connotations of Tsinghua manuscripts, and at the same time, it enables scholars and readers at home and abroad to have a deeper understanding of the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
In the future, Tsinghua University Press will continue to adhere to the global strategy, endeavor to tell the China’s stories and convey China’s voice well, so as to make more contributions in promoting the traditional Chinese culture around the world, and improving its international appeal.
