Lin Shen_Art Appreciation Essays II: Ten Lessons on Art and City-Toppling Allure_Taiwan Exclusive

Price: NT$590 ***This product is only available for shipping within Taiwan. For Hong Kong/Macau shipping, please visit the "Light Culture" Pinkoi store: https://pinkoi.com/store/enlightenfish) Author: Lin Shen Publisher: Light Culture Size: 150mm x 210mm Pages: 176 ISBN: 978-988-8820-39-9 Publication Date: May 2023 [Synopsis] Dr. Lin Shen, a Cambridge scholar, writes with the poetic and insightful touch of a humanist thinker. He guides readers through the cultural heritage of ancient castles, museums, metropolises, and the worlds of film and literature across Europe, Britain, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, seeking to offer solace to our restless era. This series has received endorsements from Hong Kong designer Kan Tai-keung, American philosophy professor Wang Wei-xiong, Taiwanese cultural professors Chiu Teh-liang and Yip Yin-chi, artist Wong Chi-fai, and critic Tang Cheng-jian, among other prominent figures from across regions and disciplines! Eileen Chang said, "The China here is the China in the Western imagination—absurd, exquisite, and comical." Leo Ou-fan Lee asked, "What is worth continually questioning, and how can I make my discourse relevant to today?" Lin Shen extends the phenomenon of the Peak Tram psychology to originate the concept of "city-toppling allure." Following the plot of James Bond films, he writes from Britain to modern Shanghai, and finally walks with Eileen Chang in post-war, isolated Hong Kong. He humorously analyzes the shifts of great powers, drawing lessons from the past to inform the present, imbuing these "city-toppling" locales with a spirit of steadfastness—"There is a time for sunrise and sunset; perhaps the point has never been about glory and city-toppling, but about bravely facing the myriad challenges in the torrent of time, and never yielding." [Endorsements] "Lin Shen's writing is entirely 'foxy,' drawing from extensive references... When I received the two volumes of 'Art Appreciation Essays,' I thought, 'Yes, this is the kind of book it is; one day people will say this is Lin Shen's form, his 'fully evolved state' at the peak of his development.' The fundamental content of 'Art Appreciation Essays II' is solid and delightfully engaging cultural and textual criticism." — Dr. Wong Chi-fai (Urban Studies Scholar, Artist, Lecturer at the General Education Foundation Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) "So-called historical restoration is nothing more than connecting luminous historical events like stars to form constellations. 'Art Appreciation Essays II' is precisely such a discourse... It paints a unique constellation belonging solely to Lin Shen." "Just as Benjamin was one of the most creative thinkers of the 20th century, the so-called constellation of ideas should be a mode of discourse that humanist thinkers strive to explore, and Lin Shen's writing in this book embarks on this very path." — Dr. Tang Cheng-jian (Cultural Critic, PhD in Cultural Studies from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Winner of the 2012 Hong Kong Arts Development Award for "Young Artist Award (Arts Criticism)") [Author Biography] Lin Shen (San Lam) is a Hong Kong writer, theoretical criminologist, thinker, and novelist. Born in Hong Kong, he holds a PhD from the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge and has held positions as a visiting scholar at the same university and an honorary fellow at the University of Hong Kong. His scholarship spans literature, history, philosophy, sociology, and aesthetics. He advocates for the development of original thought and has proposed original concepts such as "Orthodox Games" and "Pseudo-Authentic Products," receiving acclaim both within and outside academic circles in mainland China and Taiwan. His debut work quickly became a bestseller at Eslite Bookstore and Preface Books in Hong Kong. His novel "Barren People" inspired a short film, and he has also published collections of essays housed in the Academia Sinica in Taiwan and various university libraries. Abandoning law for literature amidst the prevailing trends, he has lived in seclusion in Europe, dedicating himself to writing and establishing his theories.