Vice President of China Forbidden City Society
Researcher, Manchu Institute, Beijing Academy of Social Sciences
President of Beijing Manchu Society
Honorary Director of Academic Committee of Confucius Temple and imperial academy Museum.
Honorary President of Penglai Qi Jiguang Research Association [3]
2 Role experience
1On April 24th, 934, Yan Chongnian was born in a fisherman's family in Xiesongying, Penglai, Shandong. Yan Chongnian lived in this semi-agricultural village until he was 15 years old. Speaking of his childhood, he still remembers it vividly. At that time, he farmed at home and went out to sea with fishermen. He experienced the scorching sun and saw the dangerous scene of choppy waves. These experiences had a great influence on his later life path. It was also in the village that Yan Chongnian began to go to school and was exposed to the traditional culture of China for the first time, especially the complete school.
Academic courses
Fear of history
"We should respect history: why should we' respect'? Because learning from the experience of predecessors will gain valuable wisdom; Why "fear"? Because repeating the mistakes of predecessors will be punished by history. We should fear history, neither forgetting the shame of history nor erasing the glory of history. " [4]
Academic footprint
Yan Chongnian was invited to give lectures at Yale University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and other Ivy League universities in the United States, and went to Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan Province Province, Hong Kong, Macau and other countries and regions to study and attend academic conferences.
Yan Chongnian recalled: "I began to like history when I was in middle school. I have been studying history since I graduated from high school, and it has been more than 50 years now. My middle school is Beijing No.6 Middle School and one of the best middle schools in the city at that time. I did well in history in the exam. I did well in math and physics, too. I was the first in my class and the first in my whole grade. After studying university history, you should choose a certain period of history as your research direction. The first choice is pre-Qin history. I was in my twenties at that time. I went to an old gentleman whom I admired very much and showed him my article. The old man agreed and encouraged me. He also put forward his own views, saying that you'd better not study the history of pre-Qin. The advantage of studying pre-Qin history lies in Xi 'an, and the first-hand materials of archaeological discoveries and documents in Shaanxi are there. You are in Beijing. From the geographical advantage, you'd better study the history of Qing Dynasty. Beijing is an important place in the history of Qing Dynasty. I think what the old man said is very reasonable. I started studying Qing history from 1962 and never wavered. " [5]
Lecture room
Reward the people
Since March 2004, Yan Chongnian has gradually become a public figure. Some people say that he was a late bloomer and became famous at the age of 70. However, Yan Chongnian believes that success is an endless process.
"In fact, before I went to CCTV's Lecture Room, my peers all knew me. All my colleagues in the world who are engaged in the study of Qing history and Manchu know me. But for me, this is the first time to reach a wide audience, different classes and different groups. " Yan Chongnian pointed out that an expert and scholar should be recognized by his peers first, and then by the masses. "It is difficult for a person to get two kinds of recognition. If you are a pure scholar, it is enough to have peer recognition. It is of course better to be able to go among the masses and be recognized by the masses. "
Yan Chongnian, who has been helped by scholarships many times on his way to school, regards repaying the people as one of the responsibilities of scholars. "A scholar has all kinds of responsibilities. The first kind of responsibility is academic responsibility. Mainly to communicate with peers and promote academic exchanges. But scholars should also have other responsibilities, that is, to return what they have learned from the people to the people. I have been studying and studying the history of the Qing Dynasty for 50 years, and I want to return what I have learned to the society and people as much as possible. I think this is also the responsibility of a scholar.
Shang Feng, Amswf
In 2004, Yan Chongnian first appeared in CCTV- 10 Channel "Lecture Room" and gave a series of lectures on "The Mystery of the Twelve Emperors in Qing Dynasty", with a total of 37 lectures. Since then, Yan Chongnian has become the turning point of "Lecture Room" out of the trough, creating a fashion of telling historical truth. It was published by Yan Chongnian at that time.
Therefore, The Biography of Nurhachi is considered to be the best candidate to tell the story of Nurhachi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, in The Mystery of the Twelve Emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Nie Congcong, the producer of the column, went to Yan Chongnian's home with a letter of appointment. Yan Chongnian hesitated and only promised to give it a try. Results The effect of the trial lecture was very good. After the recording, Nie Congcong and the director invited Yan Chongnian to dinner and asked him to finish all the mysteries of the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Yan Chongnian dare not promise, only promised to tell another episode of Huang Taiji. After talking about Huang Taiji, the ratings of The Mystery of the Twelve Emperors of Qing Dynasty began to rise steadily, and the comprehensive ranking of Lecture Room kept the second place in the science and education channel. Yan Chongnian also gradually gained confidence, so he talked about Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and so on until he talked about Xuan Tong. After the mystery of the Twelve Emperors of Qing Dynasty was finished, Yan Chongnian began to talk about the general theory of the mystery of the Twelve Emperors of Qing Dynasty and the answer to the mystery of the Twelve Emperors of Qing Dynasty, which set the highest audience rating of the science and education channel at that time at 0.57. [6]
On the basis of handouts, Yan Chongnian published a book "Talking about the Twelve Emperors of Qing Dynasty", which sold hundreds of thousands of copies and received rave reviews. Yan Chongnian once said: This book has a wide readership, ranging from academicians to 8-year-old pupils. Specifically, this book tries from four aspects, namely, "speaking directly", "talking in detail", "talking in general terms" and "new ideas".
"Tell the truth"-unlike "joking" in history, this book emphasizes "telling the truth". "Telling the truth" means telling the history to the audience fairly and truly according to its true colors. Since 1980s, China's films and literary works have a special liking for the ancient history of China, especially the Qing history and emperors, and gradually become a "joke". This not only aroused people's concern about the history of Qing Dynasty, but also aroused people's doubts about its authenticity. People generally expect to "tell the truth" about the history of Qing Dynasty, and the best-selling of this book is the result of "a long drought meets rain". In fact, people need to "tell the truth" and "joke", and neither historians nor filmmakers can be asked to "tell the truth". For the audience, when watching "Joke", we should know that it is a "play" and that it is lively and cannot be taken seriously; When reading Tell the Truth, you should know that this is "history" and what you know is "the truth", so you can't just joke about it. When the cultural quality of ordinary people is improved, they can tell.
"elaborate"-history is flesh and blood, rich and colorful. Previous history books were rough, and textbooks and historical works usually summarized historical development, expounded major historical events and commented on important historical figures. For example, the death of Emperor Guangxu is a word "collapse". However, these small events are often the focus, hot spots and doubts of the audience and readers. Yan Chongnian listed five explanations about the death of Emperor Guangxu in detail, and analyzed, synthesized and explained them from the previous archives, documents, word of mouth and works. Not only the viewpoints are clear, the historical materials are rich, but also the explanations are detailed, the analysis is in-depth, and opinions are expressed. In this way, history becomes flesh and blood, and it is very interesting to read.
"General Theory"-Yan Chongnian believes that the rise and fall of a dynasty can only be seen vertically. The internal relationship between the whole history of qing dynasty and the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the mirror image of its rise and fall, the quality of chaos control, all need to be systematically expounded. For example, the twelve emperors of the Qing Dynasty had their own historical contributions and political disadvantages. So, what are the lessons from the rise, rise, decline and demise of the Qing Dynasty? Nuerhachi, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, not only planted the seeds of "the prosperous time of Kang Gan", but also planted the gene of "the world decayed by light". Obviously, the Eight Banners system is a fulcrum of its "seed" and "gene". The Eight Banners System is a basic social system in Qing Dynasty. When the Eight Banners flourish, they prosper, but when they fail, they perish.
"New Theory"-Yan Chongnian made a "new theory" on many events in the Qing Dynasty. For example, in the Opium War, in the past, middle school textbooks emphasized that "you will be beaten if you fall behind", while Yan Chongnian said that "you may be beaten if you fall behind" and thought that the responsibility for the failure of the Opium War was mainly borne by Daoguang Emperor. When Britain invaded, the rear was on the other side of the Atlantic. If the "diligent king" is called, Daoguang may defeat the enemy. There are many examples in history in which the weak beat the strong and the few beat the majority. The ancestors of Daoguang, in the Battle of Salhu and the Battle of Jin Song, the Eight Banners army defeated the strong with weakness, and defeated the strong with less. [5]
Legend of pulpit
In September, 2006, Yan Chongnian went into Lecture Room again, held a series of lectures on "Sixty Years after the Ming Dynasty's Death" with 46 lectures, and published a book of the same name.
In March 2008, Yan Chongnian gave a series of lectures on "Emperor Kangxi" in Lecture Room, with a total of 23 lectures, and published a book of the same name. As early as the early 1960s, when Yan Chongnian studied the history of Qing Dynasty, he started with the study of Kangxi. 1964 wrote a paper on Emperor Kangxi, but it took many years to publish it. Later, his research focus shifted to before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, but he never relaxed his concern about the history of the Kangxi Dynasty. "For more than 40 years, I have never given up studying and paying attention to the history of the Kangxi dynasty. Everything is always everywhere and always haunts me. " So, he finished a series of lectures on Kangxi the Great in the lecture room. When he made a systematic review of the history of the Kangxi Dynasty, he thought it had also realized his long-cherished wish for many years. [7] In the book Kangxi the Great, Yan Chongnian expounded Kangxi's growth experience, great achievements, daily life, regrets and so on from five angles: international, civilians, television, justice and humanity. His broad vision, ups and downs of the plot and accurate analysis present readers with a plump image of a thousand-year-old emperor with distinctive personality, great wisdom and courage, and short wit. [8] Yan Chongnian said that he hoped this book would become an inspirational reading. In his view, the object of inspiration can be said to be a variety of readers. For young readers, Kangxi's self-improvement is commendable. He lost his parents and suffered from smallpox when he was a child, but he overcame difficulties and realized his ambition step by step. For middle-aged readers, we should learn from the book how Kangxi worked tirelessly for his country. As a specific group of readers, civil servants will learn from it, that is, how Kangxi ruled the country. Speaking of Kangxi's personal cultivation and self-study, Yan Chongnian spoke highly of a sentence: "What is the difference between saints, saints, mortals and laymen? Just two words-ambition and learning. " [9]
Palace fever
In 20 12, Yan Chongnian boarded the lecture room for the fourth time and gave a series of lectures on the "Grand Forbidden City", with a total of 64 lectures. At the same time, three books, Grand Forbidden City 1, Grand Forbidden City 2 and Grand Forbidden City 3, were published, which set off an upsurge of paying attention to, studying and studying the Forbidden City throughout the country. Yan Chongnian was the vice president of the Forbidden City Society in China, and his historical research topics were mostly related to the Forbidden City. After many field visits to the Forbidden City in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Forbidden City in Shenyang and the Forbidden City in Taipei, Yan Chongnian put forward the concept of "Grand Forbidden City" for the first time, which immediately inspired his creation. DD starts with the Forbidden City and seeks a breakthrough in interpreting history under the background of greater China culture. Inspired by this, Yan Chongnian decided to open the extension of the Forbidden City for the first time, including the Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, Summer Resort, Shenyang Palace Museum, Nanjing Palace Museum and Taipei Palace Museum. Based on this, it deeply analyzed the feudal royal family system, mechanism framework, social humanities, cultural origin, architecture, cultural relics and folk customs that lasted for thousands of years, and made a grand project of "Encyclopedia of the Forbidden City".
Yan Chongnian said that his past forum programs were gradually deduced and promoted in chronological order along the life track of historical figures; This lecture on "The Great Forbidden City" takes architectural space as the main clue. Every time you give a lecture, you must first set the concept of a space, and then the time, people, events, buildings and cultural relics in this space will take root.
In Yan Chongnian's view, if we want to explain the "Grand Forbidden City" clearly, we must "look at the world first, then at China". Therefore, Yan Chongnian made extensive contacts with foreign historians and sinologists, and exchanged views with the "heads" of the Palace Museum on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as many experts in the fields of architecture, history and cultural relics, so as to obtain a multi-perspective and diversified interpretation of the "Great Palace Museum" based on the comparative cultural foundation between the East and the West. Yan Chongnian said that it took him a whole year just to collect information and contact experts. [ 10]
Yan Chongnian's "Grand Forbidden City" structure is mainly summarized from five aspects:
-On a large scale. The Forbidden City in Beijing in the concept of "Grand Forbidden City" covers an area of more than 720,000 square meters, with a construction area of 6,543,800 square meters. There are more than 9,000 temples and houses in the Forbidden City. The wall of the Forbidden City is 10 meter high, with a perimeter of 3,428 meters outside the city, surrounded by a moat with a width of 52 meters and a length of 3,800 meters. This is a concentrated display of the heyday of Ming and Qing Dynasties13 million square kilometers, 40 million people and the 5,000-year civilization of China.
-It has a long history. Twenty-four emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties and Empress Dowager Cixi lived in the Forbidden City and ruled China for nearly 500 years. It has been 609 years since the decision to build the Forbidden City, which is unparalleled in the world.
-There are many treasures. There are 6.5438+0.8 million cultural relics in the Forbidden City in Beijing, 650,000 handed down treasures and about 400,000 files in the Palace Museum, Shenyang Palace Museum, chengde mountain resort, Nanjing Museum, Summer Palace Management Office and Tiantan Park Management Office, as well as 6.5438+0.8 million files and 2 million Manchu files in the First Historical Archives of China, which are the essence of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years.
-wide coverage. The "Grand Forbidden City" includes not only the Forbidden City, but also temples, royal gardens and mausoleums related to the Forbidden City, as well as Shenyang Forbidden City, summer resort, Mulan paddock, Ming Zhongdu, Ming Nanjing and other related historical sites, as well as cultural relics and treasures moved south from the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The areas managed by the former Ministry of Internal Affairs are generally covered in the "Grand Forbidden City".
-Meridian. The architecture of the Forbidden City strictly abides by the law of symmetry and develops symmetrically along a north-south meridian, that is, the central axis. Whether it is plane layout, three-dimensional effect or architectural form, it shows solemn, majestic, magnificent and neutral bearing. The main buildings of the Forbidden City are distributed on the central axis, which embodies the essence of China's traditional culture-the idea of peace and stability in the Middle Kingdom. [ 1 1]
Three personal works
(1) The Biography of Nurhachi, Beijing Publishing House, 250,000 words, 1983, Beijing.
(2) Complete Works, Ethnic Publishing House, 350,000 words, 1999, Beijing.
(3) Talking about Twelve Emperors in Qing Dynasty, Zhonghua Book Company, 250,000 words, Beijing, 2004.
(4) Sixty Years of Ming Dying and Qing Xing, Zhonghua Book Company, 2006 (I), 2007 (II), Beijing.
(5) Emperor Kangxi, Zhonghua Book Company, Beijing, 2008.
(6) Grand Forbidden City (1)(2)(3), Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, 800,000 words, 20 12, Beijing.
(7) Ancient Capital Beijing, Chaohua Publishing House, 1986, Beijing.
(8) Record of Fighting: Dialogue between Yan Chongnian and Master Xing Yun, Kyushu Press, Beijing, 2009.
(9) The Complete Biography of Nurhachi, Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House, 20 14, Jiangsu.
Yan Chongnian, Han nationality [1], researcher of Manchu Institute of Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, president of Beijing Manchu Society, and vice president of China Forbidden City Society [2]. Famous historian, speaker of CCTV lecture room. Graduated from the History Department of Beijing Normal University, studying Qing history, Manchu studies and Beijing history. He has published dozens of monographs and over 0/00 papers, and his works have been translated into English, German, Japanese and Korean. A series of lectures, such as Mystery of the Twelve Emperors of Qing Dynasty, Sixty Years of Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi and The Grand Forbidden City, for CCTV Lecture Room, have aroused strong social repercussions at home and abroad, and are known as the "founders" of Lecture Room. The Collection of Essays consists of four parts: Manxue, Yanshi, Yuan Chonghuan Studies and Yanbu. Monograph 16, including Biography of Nurhachi, the Ancient Capital of Beijing, and Destiny Khan, etc. Editor-in-chief of the academic series "Manchu Studies" series 1-6 and "Yuan Chonghuan Academic Essays" and other eleven works. He published more than 250 papers on Manchu studies and Qing history [2].
Initiated and founded the first professional full research institution-the full research institute of Beijing Academy of Social Sciences. Initiated and presided over the first to fifth international seminars on total research. Beijing Municipal Government awarded the title of expert with outstanding contributions and enjoyed the special allowance issued by the State Council. He has been to the United States, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong and other countries and regions for lectures or academic exchanges.