Book Title: Six Humanities Lessons for Future Doctors: Bai Xianyong, Wei Tiancong, Dominic Cheung, Jiao Tong, Zheng Ying, and Zhong Wenyin

Book Description:

While professions can be chosen, the soul need not be confined. By appreciating the humanities and arts, the world you see will be transformed.

Literature and art originate from life, and in turn, nourish it. Guided by the interpretations of six masters, even profound academic fields become accessible and enjoyable for both refined and popular tastes. As long as one understands the subtleties and exquisite details, art and aesthetics can be found everywhere in life.

Centered around lectures by renowned writers, Taipei Medical University organized a series of humanities seminars covering six major themes: travel and food, literature and history, and culture and art. Though seemingly independent, these topics echo one another, demonstrating the integration and nourishment of literature and life.

About the Authors:

• Jiao Tong: The Folk Dance of Taste

  Dietary consumption is not merely a physiological need; it is also a form of aesthetic taste. When fine food pairs with words, it feels like enjoying a feast for the taste buds that wanders across different countries. The color, aroma, and flavor in reading and listening can stimulate the taste buds even more, thereby enhancing one's appreciation of food and aesthetics.

• Zhong Wenyin: Encountering the Muse in Artistic Journeys

  Achieving self-growth and experiencing the world through travel, Zhong Wenyin's step-by-step deep cultural journeys and her skillful writing present the aesthetic impact and foreign experiences of moving through diverse cultures for many years. She internalizes the escape and relaxation of her mind into a profound care for the land.

• Wei Tiancong: Starting from The Water Margin

  Although literature is not history, it can reflect the worldly conditions and human hearts of various eras. Wei Tiancong approaches from the perception of secular good and evil and different perspectives, reflecting on why readers approve of the rebellious actions of the Mount Liang heroes yet hold a negative attitude toward antisocial behavior around them, thereby presenting the complexity of literature and the truth of history.

• Bai Xianyong: From My Father and the Republic to Healing Trauma

  Old photographs of his father vividly recount the mental journey during the War of Resistance and after coming to Taiwan. This teaching material, absent from textbooks, paired with Bai Xianyong's wry commentary, allows readers to get closer to the history of the Republic of China. General Bai Chongxi's life witnessed the birth of the Republic and also fulfilled his own faith and mission.

• Zheng Ying: Dream of the Red Chamber and Material Culture

  The sophistication of dining and the magnificence of decoration—Cao Xueqin depicts absolute luxury. Through the delicate description of numerous plots, even without explicitly elaborating on facial features and character traits, he enables readers to easily sketch out the appearance of the characters in the book. This style of writing is precisely the brilliance of Dream of the Red Chamber in conveying emotion through events and using objects as metaphors for people.

• Dominic Cheung: Western Botanical Science and 19th-Century Chinese Pith Paper Paintings

  Chinese artworks emphasize the prosperity and decay of plants at different times, making them ideal specimens for European botanists. The meticulous paintings of rare birds and exotic plants on pith paper witness European naturalists' exploration of Southeast Asia. The depth of traditional meticulous painting, blending with the realism of Western watercolors, has left an indelible contribution to scientific research.

• Bai Xianyong

  Born in Guilin, Guangxi, in 1937, he is the son of the famous general Bai Chongxi of the Northern Expedition and the War of Resistance. He is also a novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright. He graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at National Taiwan University and holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. In 1965, he went to teach Chinese language and literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1997, the university's library established the "Bai Xianyong Special Collection," which houses translations of his lifelong works in various countries, relevant materials, and manuscripts. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to public welfare activities for AIDS prevention and the revival of Kunqu opera, producing the Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion, which toured across the Taiwan Strait, the United States, and Europe, receiving widespread acclaim.

• Wei Tiancong

  Born in Dangshan, Jiangsu, in 1935, he came to Taiwan in 1949 with the National Revolutionary Army Orphans School. He graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature at National Chengchi University and served as a professor in the same department, as well as the editor-in-chief of Bi Hui monthly, Literature Quarterly, Wen Ji quarterly, and China Forum. Wei Tiancong is currently an emeritus professor at the Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature and the Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature at National Chengchi University. His works include the short story collection The Man Who Went to Fanlindun; the critical essays Notes on Literature, Nation and Homeland, The Pursuit of Ideals, and Collection of Discussions on Nativist Literature (as editor); and the essay collections Skylight Collection, The Gods, Dates and Pomegranates, The Passing Years, and Looking Back at Our Era.

• Dominic Cheung

  Pen name Chang Cuo, he is a contemporary poet originally from Huiyang, Guangdong (Hakka heritage). He received his Bachelor's degree from the Department of Western Languages and Literatures at National Chengchi University, his Master's degree from the Department of English at Brigham Young University, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington in Seattle. He is currently a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California (USC). He has won the Taipei China Times Literary Award (First Prize for Narrative Poetry), the National Literary and Art Award, and the Chung Hsing Literary and Art Award. He has published over forty works, including seventeen poetry collections. His recent books include Graceful Like You and A Piece of Porcelain Heart.

• Jiao Tong

  Born in Kaohsiung in 1956, his published works include the essays My Housing Affairs, On the Edge of the World, The Gluttonous Martial Arts World, Taiwanese Flavor, Taiwanese Belly, Taiwanese Tongue, and From Yunnan Flavors to Longgang; the poetry collections Jiao Tong's Poetry Collection, The Complete Aphrodisiac Cookbook, and Youth Specimen; the fairy tale The Journey of A-Ching the Common Green Swallowtail Butterfly; and treatises such as Drama in Early Post-War Taiwan and Street Movements of Taiwanese Literature, totaling more than thirty volumes. He has edited over fifty annual food anthologies, annual poetry anthologies, annual fiction anthologies, annual essay anthologies, and various thematic anthologies. In 2005, he founded Food & Beverage magazine and initiated Taiwan's annual restaurant evaluation work, serving as the convener of the judging panel.

• Zheng Ying

  Born in Penghu, Taiwan, in 1969. She graduated from the Literary Creation Section of the Department of Chinese Literature and completed her Ph.D. in the Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature at Chinese Culture University. She currently teaches at Chinese Culture University. She is the author of The Wild Academy: A Study of Gao Yang and The Face of Melancholy: A Study of Li Yu's Fiction.

• Zhong Wenyin

  Graduated from the Department of Mass Communication at Tamkang University, she once went to the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York to study painting. She is now a full-time writer, focusing on fiction and essays, while also being skilled in photography and practicing painting for self-cultivation. She has won multiple literary awards, including the China Times Literary Award, the United Daily News Literary Award, the World Chinese Fiction Award, the Lin Rong-San Literary Award, and the Wu San-Lien Literary Award. Having traveled the world for many years, she possesses rich experience in cultural exchange. Her writing goes deep into the local and foreign lands, with a grand vision and far-reaching cultural touch. She has published multiple short story collections, full-length novels, and essay collections. In 2006, she won the Open Book Best Book Award for The Decadent Dance. In 2011, she published the million-word masterpiece The Taiwan Trilogy, which is available in Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and English editions.