In A Bittersweet Journey Through Culture Yu Qiuyu travels across the Chinese mainland to visit the country's national heritage sites and unlock the mysteries of China's cultural and historical legacy. As he winds his way through the countryside, cities, and ruins, Yu Qiuyu ruminates on the places, people, and moments that have shaped his and the Chinese way of life. He also reflects on his own personal history, weaving into his tale the histories of his literary heroes and the great works that have shaped him as a writer. First published in 1992, A Bittersweet Journey Through Culture popularized the literary concept of the meditative essay, establishing a new tradition in Chinese prose.
Yu Qiuyu (余秋雨), born in 1946 in Yuyao, Zhejiang, is one of the well-known contemporary Chinese cultural and literary figures. With an enormous readership in China and overseas, his cultural explorations link China with the rest of the world and his bold and direct criticisms of certain cultural phenomena make him loved and detested in equal measure. In 1985, Yu became the youngest full professor in China at the age of 39, and later became the president of the Shanghai Theater Academy.
余秋雨is a illustrious Chinese writer ,he writes many great books about China《中国文脉》、《千年一叹》、《庄子译写》and 《山河之书》.In this book《文化苦旅》 narrate the culture of China and Chinese Art and Theatre Studies .Shows 漫长而独特的东方中华文明中重要与庄严的改变,and 中国文学的博大精深,山河大地的情怀与历史人文的交接和碰撞。