A book title for the Renaissance

(Part 1) Entry-level

1. "What is the Renaissance"

Shiono Nanao, the author of "The Story of the Romans", comes out to save everyone again. In water and fire. Shiono Nanao's writing style has always been praised by people for being easy to understand but not lacking in academic depth. She has published frequently in the professional field of the Roman Empire and the Mediterranean world after the Roman Empire. She has lived in Italy for a long time. It took her fifteen years to complete the Roman Stories series, and she won the Italian National Medal and various domestic awards in Japan. Now the set of Renaissance stories imported and translated by CITIC Publishing House has been published in its second volume. The two books are "01, What is the Renaissance" and "02, My Friend Machiavelli - The Rise and Fall of Florence".

Pictures

The first volume, "What is the Renaissance," takes readers through the origins of the Renaissance, the connection of important city-states and events, and provides biographies of important figures at the end of the article. At a glance. It is a good introductory book for readers who are new to the Renaissance.

The author starts from the spiritual connotation of the Renaissance and explains straight to the point that the spiritual essence of the Renaissance is: "the explosion of desire to see, want to know, and want to understand", and the result of this explosion of desire is Each piece of work is crystallized with art as the center. This spirit is demonstrated in more detail in the subsequent descriptions of Florence, Rome, Chianti and Venice throughout the book.

However, why did this "desire to see, want to know, and want to understand" explode at this specific point in time? The author has suppressed people's desire from (a.) An outlier in the Christian Church for a thousand years: St. Francis; (b.) The pope’s opponent: Frederick II, the head of the Holy Roman Empire; (c.) and later Lorenzois, who lived in the first half of the 15th century Ra began to expand on the points of falsification of the Donation of Constantine, and explained the origin of the Renaissance.

The book is divided into four chapters: Florence, Rome, and Grevejo Venice in Chianti. Among them, Florence, Rome and Venice successively became the centers of the Renaissance. The author wrote this book in his own style in the form of a question-and-answer dialogue, following the techniques commonly used by Europeans after Plato (here the author recalls two ancients: Cicero and Machiavelli).

The main text is only about 200 pages. As a popular reading, it can be read in a few hours. The "List of Resumes of Important Persons" compiled in the appendix can also be used for beginners to make a simple reference. In addition, for readers who have the opportunity to travel to Florence, Venice and Rome, this book can also be used as one of the pre-trip readings to draw out more points of interest and provide some references for more in-depth travel exploration.

2. "My Friend Machiavelli - The Rise and Fall of Florence"

If the first book in this series, "What is the Renaissance", is a quick glance at literature and art? As an introductory book on revival, the second volume of "My Friend Machiavelli" is a detailed and long read. However, this book still inherits Shiono Nanao's consistent style, and it feels like following her footsteps and wandering among the streets and palaces of Florence. If you plan to go on a free and in-depth tour of Florence, you can bring the map included in the book: Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Porta Romana, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Strozzi, these names are like Dear friends wander among Shiono Nansheng's words. Friends who are interested can also search according to the picture to find two old square logs from Machiavelli's house.

The most important works of Machiavelli passed down to later generations are undoubtedly "The Prince" and "On Livy". For domestic middle school students, "The Prince" is also an indispensable recommended reading list. A book that is also a frequent visitor to the recommended book list in the original English version, of course usually the later English translation. It is not difficult to understand the content discussed in "The Prince" itself. With a little annotation, you can roughly understand what the author has to say. Even the current translators of Italian works will feel that Machiavelli's book does not exist in translation. It is difficult to translate "ancient Chinese" into modern Chinese (compared to the Venetian dialect or Latin of the same period), and the division of chapters and the words used are clear and straightforward enough.

However, people still have certain prejudices and misunderstandings about "The Prince" or the later so-called "Machiavellianism", partly because of the author's era and the time when he wrote the book. There is no background supplement for the state of mind, and this book "My Friend Machiavelli" accomplishes this very well.

For example, why Lorenzo, the third generation of the Medici family, was not regarded as a model of monarch by Machiavelli, and the "devil" Cesare Borgia, who has been criticized by the world for many years, is in " The fact that Machiavelli was enthroned in The Prince is related to the fact that Machiavelli suffered the pain of mercenaries and witnessed the ups and downs of the Florentine Republic. The three major elements Machiavelli requires leaders to possess are also more realistic. Consideration:

Virtu: ability, strength, talent

Fortuna: luck, good luck

Necessita: in line with the requirements of the times

And Italy The Latin word viruts corresponding to the slang word Virtu was regarded as virtue in the eyes of his contemporary Thomas More in the era of Henry VIII: "The so-called politics is a matter of virtue (Virtus) rooted in human nature." The difference during this period is still related to Machiavelli's personal experience. For details, see the third part of "My Friend Machiavelli".

In the early years, I couldn’t grasp the essentials of “The Prince”, so I read “Machiavelli’s Career—Evidence of “The Prince””, which is a little more difficult for a beginning student. It is recommended to start with After reading the first and second volumes of Shiono Nansei, it will be more effective to read them together with "The Prince" and "Sparse Evidence".

3. "The Prince"

Since you have already recommended "My Friend Machiavelli", you might as well read carefully this short book "The Prince" , the version recommended is the hardcover illustration version seen in the picture below.

Machiavelli said this in a letter to his friend (this is also known as one of the most beautiful letters in the history of Italian literature):

“As night falls, I return When I get home, I go into the study. Before entering the study, I take off my regular clothes that are stained by mud or other things, and put on my official clothes.

After putting on my formal clothes, I come to the palace of the past. There I was warmly welcomed by them, eating the food that was specially given to me and for which I lived. There I spoke to them without shyness and asked them the reasons for their behavior. Answer my questions the same way.

In 4 hours, I will not feel bored at all. I will forget all the troubles, no longer afraid of poverty, and no longer afraid of death. I have integrated into their world wholeheartedly. .

Dante said that there is no science (scienza) if you don’t think about what you hear. I decided to try to organize my conversations with the ancients into a piece titled "The Prince". Short essay. I will try my best to explore the following topics.

What are the types of monarchs? How do you lose your status as a monarch? ?

I think that even if you are not satisfied with all my previous fantasies, you will not dislike this paper. I think this paper will definitely be used by monarchs, especially emerging monarchs. Accepted."

4. "The Divine Comedy" and "The Decameron"

Both the Divine Comedy and The Decameron are regarded as one of the must-read books for middle school students, but On the one hand, it is because the Divine Comedy is a long poem, and on the other hand, both books are large works and are not easy to read. Here, it is recommended that students read Dan Brown's novel "Inferno" and then read it together with the beginning of the Divine Comedy Inferno, which Italian primary school students must memorize. Since the Decameron is composed of short stories, it is also recommended to try to read the first few chapters. The story gives a preliminary understanding of it.

5. "Hell" by Dan Brown

Dan Brown's detective novels have always been a good entry point. This book has been introduced in the previous recommendation. Here is a brief introduction. Just like Dan Brown's other novels such as "The Da Vinci Code", "The Lost Symbol", and "Angels and Demons", "Hell" also combines history, art, religion and semiotics. A detective novel with other elements. For students who have little interest in the Renaissance or this period of history, this book can be said to demonstrate how to arouse interest and want to take a look at classic works such as "The Divine Comedy". It is generally recommended for junior high school students to read the Chinese version. If the English level is reached, they can also read the original version directly.

6. "City of Fortune: Venetian Ocean Hegemony"

This book has also been recommended in previous articles, and Shiono Nansei will also do so in the Renaissance Story series. There are two books about Venice that are currently in the process of being translated and published. The Republic of Venice, with its unique form of government formation, became a buffer point between the forces of Christianity and Islam before and after the Renaissance, especially in the Mediterranean era before the Age of Discovery. At the same time, with its unique appearance and confidence, it became the cradle of the Renaissance after Florence and Rome. After the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, the Eastern Roman Empire fell and Venice became a refuge for Greek scholars. In the subsequent escalating conflicts of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, as well as the increasingly severe atmosphere of religious trials, Venice became a rare "free place" around the power of the Holy See. Perhaps even Shakespeare himself could not understand from the perspective of later generations the impact that Venice and the Venetians' separation of church and state and economic attitudes had on the entire Europe.

"City of Fortune: Venetian Maritime Hegemony" is a popular reading that looks at the entire Mediterranean world from the perspective of a country's history. For details, please see the previous recommended articles for more discussions on its history.

7. "Shakespeare's Turbulent Era"

Introductory Renaissance readings mainly focus on the major Italian cities of Florence, Rome and Venice. However, it cannot be ruled out that the subsequent rise of Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Germany will have the same development in various aspects of literature and art. In the previous topic "A Little Shakespeare", we have already recommended Shakespeare-related books, and here we will discuss them separately. I would also recommend this interesting read "Shakespeare's Turbulent Times". For more related books, please see the recommended article on Shakespeare published not long ago.

8. "Return to the Renaissance", Jiang Xun Series, "Hamer Manuscripts" and "The Story of Art"

From "What is the Renaissance" to books related to Machiavelli , in reading classics such as Dante and Shakespeare, as well as related historical readings, the main purpose is to connect the main line of the Renaissance through these books. Compared with the Reformation and Enlightenment, the Renaissance is fortunate that there are more beautiful things for middle school students to appreciate and experience. So, looking at pictures is the serious thing.

Taiwanese publishers and authors have become relatively mature in popularizing reading materials. Here we recommend "Return to the Renaissance", which was also introduced and published in mainland China. The author Xie Zheqing graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London with a double master's degree in archeology and art history. He once served as a research assistant at the British Museum and curator of Christie's auctions. He is known as the "youth version of Jiang Xun" and is known as an art storyteller.

""Return to the Renaissance" is the first work to show the history of Renaissance art from the confrontation of geniuses. "Return to the Renaissance" tells you the artist's mental journey and creative details, restoring Daphne Discover the most authentic Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, and Botticelli, interpret the spirit of the Renaissance, and experience that glorious era of freedom, creativity, and wisdom. ”

Since Jiang Xun is mentioned, I would like to recommend his "Jiang Xun Decodes Michelangelo" and "Jiang Xun Decodes the Beauty of Leonardo da Vinci". Although there are so many of his books in recent years, they have received mixed reviews. Personally I think he has a tendency to analyze all things with an aesthetic system, which is called routine in popular terms. But his work on art history, especially on general popular readers, is still worth checking out.

Teacher Lily has already written a special article recommending this "Hamer Manuscript". If you are interested, you can find it in the old articles on the public account platform. I won't go into details again.

In addition, Gombrich's "The Story of Art" has been repeatedly recommended in other topics. You can select the parts before and after the Renaissance to read, and I won’t go into details here. It is recommended to purchase the illustrated version.

(Part 2) Entering the Class

1. Colorful Reading General Reading "A Brief History of the Renaissance"/"The Renaissance: a very short introduction"

Getting Started The grade-level popular readings have come to an end for the time being, and I would first recommend this set of general readers from Oxford. Pocket book versions of this set of books are sold in bookstores near almost all universities in the UK. This is also a set of books that I read before taking every non-major course. It can effectively help students clarify the outline and key points of some subdivided subjects in the general curriculum. This series also focuses on conciseness and clarity, and is very popular among students as an introductory book to the subject. Foreign Language Education and Research Press has published bilingual versions of this series in Chinese and English. For students who are about to be exposed to academic English, you can choose some of these topics for text reading training or speed training.

The book "Renaissance: a very short introduction" is different from general popular books. As an academic introductory book, it is more objective and has a broader perspective. For example, although the opening chapter describes the elements of the Renaissance through a painting, and then analyzes the dark side of the Renaissance, the origin and flaws of the term Renaissance, and the limitations of focusing on Italy, etc., for those who have mastered the basic facts, For scholars, it is a new brainstorm, which helps to examine the historical stage of the Renaissance more objectively and from a broader perspective.

2. "European Renaissance"

Finally, I recommend this book "European Renaissance" which has been listed as a must-read reference book by many universities in the United States. It can be used as a reference book for checking information. Come and read it, or read it through to get a more comprehensive understanding of the Renaissance. You can also examine the limitations of this book in conjunction with "A Brief History of the Renaissance".

(Thanks to the recommender: LEO)

- Seven Years -

Seven Years 13 Group is open, welcome to join.

It is not easy to learn both Chinese and Western knowledge;

Studying abroad is only an education option, there is no other;

Go back to the basics, read well and expand your horizons;

As time goes by, famous schools are within easy reach.