Recently, the Chinese translation of the book "The Origin of Sex" written by the historian of Oxford University, faramez Dabohowala, was published. The book was a blockbuster when it was first published in Britain and America in 20 12. It was listed on the best books list of American mainstream news media in 20 12, and won many awards such as The Economist, Observer, Sunday Telegraph and Time Magazine. What book is this? Is it just "crossing the past, reaching into the boudoir and lifting the sheets"? Late at night, the reporter interviewed Yang Lang, a postdoctoral translator in Tsinghua University, to learn about the origin and history of sex.
How did the "first sexual revolution" happen?
Shenzhen Evening News: What does The Origin of Sex mainly tell people? Why did this book attract great attention as soon as it was published?
Yang Lang: The Origin of Sex mainly discusses how the concept of sex in the modern sense came into being and developed from the end of17th century to18th century under the joint action of the historical environment, social structure and trend of thought of the times in Europe (mainly Britain) at that time. There have been many in-depth studies on the history of sexual concepts and behaviors in the West before, such as Foucault's History of Sexual Experience, which is well known to readers in contemporary China. However, The Origin of Sex has its own characteristics in the research path. It covers a wide range of social, religious, political, ideological, literary, media, charity and other fields at that time, clearly describes how the "first sexual revolution" occurred under the joint action of various factors, shows the complexity and versatility of the historical process, and comprehensively and deeply discusses the important significance of "sex" in the Enlightenment for the first time.
Shenzhen Evening News: At first glance, I always thought the Origin of Sex had been read before. After verification, I realized that this book was really introduced to China for the first time this year. Why is there such an illusion? Can you sort out the publication of this book for us?
Yang Lang: Maybe it's because the title of The Origin of Sex reminds people of biological works such as The Origin of Species, and then gives people the impression that it is a physiology book (of course, this book is not). In addition, in 20 13, Zhonghua Book Company published Moro's The Origin of Sex: Anthropological Thinking on the Concept of Sex and Spiritual Culture, and its contents are also related to this book.
The Origin of Sex has two English and American editions, published by Oxford University Press and Penguin Publishing Company on 20 12 respectively. The content is the same. I have the Oxford edition. This book was widely praised by British and American academic circles as soon as it was published. In addition to the Chinese translation of Yilin, there are also Portuguese and German translations, which shows that this book has aroused the interest of the whole world.