In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

qr Xia Mianzun By all accounts, Xia Mianzun (1886–1946) is a kind, fair-minded, and disciplined man. He is remembered mostly for the contributions he made to literature and education. Xia received a traditional education at a young age and earned a xiucai degree under the old civil examination system in 1901. Inspired by the intellectual climate of the rest of the world, he continued his studies in Japan for two years, where he gained such a degree of mastery of \PM2IXIVM[MTIVO]IOM\PI\PMJMKIUMIXZWTQÅK\ZIV[TI\WZWN2IXIVM[M books. His teaching career began soon after his return to China in 1908. Throughout his life, he taught in a number of schools, the most important of which is the Chunhui Middle School in White Horse Lake, where he attracted a group of like-minded educators to the teaching staff. The writers among them would later be loosely grouped together JaKZQ\QK[I[\PM¹?PQ\M0WZ[M4ISM;KPWWTºBP]BQYQVOAM;PMVO\IW and Feng Zikai, whose works are included in this anthology, are regarded as core members of this school of writing. As a teacher, Xia was tireless in promoting the appreciation of the Chinese language among middle school students by editing literary journals and co-authoring literature guides, such as Wenzhang zuofa and Wenxin. These endeavors contributed indirectly to the development of Chinese literature. The journals provided venues for the publication of many contemporary literary works while the literary guides and manuals nurtured a generation of discriminating readers. Xia’s writing style is plain and unadorned and his essays are held up I[ UWLMT[ WN UQTLVM[[ IVL []J\TM\a ¹) 5MUWZaº ZMTI\M[ PQ[ VIZZW_ brush with death, an incident of potential high drama. Yet, Xia characteristically adopts a subdued tone in the essay, giving more attention to what happens before and after the incident of his near LZW_VQVO ZI\PMZ \PIV \W \PM QVKQLMV\ Q\[MTN ¹?QV\MZ I\ ?PQ\M 0WZ[M 4ISMº KIX\]ZM[ PQ[ NWVL UMUWZQM[ WN  PQ[ ZM[QLMVKM I\ \PM +P]VP]Q Middle School, where he spent two productive and meaningful years. 46 A Garden of One’s Own A Memory (1934)

Share