History is people

New editions of Insights Into Chinese Culture which were recently published.

The authors take the Great Wall as a symbol of Chinese aspiration for peace.

"Building walls was extremely hard labor," they say in the book, but the walls prevented bloody wars.

"Thus the Great Wall was built with the basic goal of safeguarding peace. It represented Chinese people's longing for a peaceful life," they write.

Zhang Siying, who translated the edition into English, says some well-explained ideas in the book are valuable to Chinese readers: "We may know the cultural anecdotes, but we're actually not certain of what they signify precisely.

"I was inspired by the authors' reinterpretation of the Taoism belief of shang shan ruo shui."

Created by ancient philosopher Laozi, the anecdote compares the best people to water, nourishing the earth without being driven by benefits.

"You can't try to take up all the advantages. If you think about what benefits you can offer to others, they will pay you back in some way, and vice versa," says Zhang.