Yu Dan (academic)
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Yu Dan (, born June 28, 1965) is a Chinese professor of media studies at China's Beijing Normal University. She is also assistant to the Dean, Faculty of Arts & Media, as well as the Department Chair of the Film & Television Media Department.


Background

Yu was born in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China. She received a master's degree in ancient Chinese literature and a doctoral degree in film & TV studies from Beijing Normal University. She holds strategist/researcher positions in a roster of mass media groups such as China Television Artists Association, China Visual Association's Tertiary Arts committee, China Visual Association's Research Group, CCTV's Research Office, China News Research Group, China-Guangdong Research Institute, China-Guangdong Institute Legal Programs Committee, News Corp (Australia), etc. Yu is apparently a fan of pop music idols such as
Jay Chou Jay Chou ( zh, t=周杰倫, s=周杰伦, poj=Chiu Kia̍t-lûn, p=Zhōu Jiélún, first=t, w=Chou Chieh-lun; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the " King ...
and
Nan Quan Mama Nan Quan Mama () is a Taiwanese music group. The name is a phrase in Mandarin to explain having strength while being gentle as a mother. They are closely tied with the well-known artist Jay Chou, but it was revealed after Lara and Chase Chang wen ...
, a Chinese classic enthusiast and a Kunqu Opera performer. She is also unofficially known as "the chieftain of the fun-seeking club of the School of Media and Arts at Beijing Normal University."


Lecture Room Program

In late 2006, a series of her lectures entitled "Yu Dan's Insights into the Analects" (于丹《论语》心得) was broadcast for seven days on China Central Television (CCTV) as part of the ''
Lecture Room ''Lecture Room'' is a Chinese television programme hosted by China Central Television (CCTV), in which scholars from various disciplines are invited to provide lectures. It was first broadcast on 9 July 2001 on CCTV-10. In its early days, featur ...
'' (《百家讲坛》) program. The transcript, edited into a book, sold 10,000 copies within the first day of release. Within 40 days, sales exceeded 1.5 million."Yu Dan"
on the English version of the China Radio International (CRI) portal
By September 2007, the book has sold 4.2 million legal copies and an estimated 6 million pirated ones since its publication in December and remains on best-seller lists.
on the New York Times site
It has been published in English under the more literally translated title ''Confucius from the Heart''. In the Spring Festival period of 2007, another series of her lectures "Yu Dan's Insights into
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to: * ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism **Zhuang Zhou Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
" (于丹《庄子》心得) was broadcast to much acclaim. The transcript "Yu Dan's Notes on Zhuangzi" sold 15,000 copies on its first day of release on March 3. Crowds of people lined up outside the
Zhongguancun Zhongguancun () is a major technology hub in Haidian District, Beijing, China. Zhongguancun occupies a band between the northwestern Third Ring Road and the northwestern Fourth Ring Road, in the northwestern part of Beijing. Zhongguancun is ...
Xinhua bookstore, waiting as many as eight hours in the rain, just to get Yu Dan's autograph.


Criticisms

Yu managed to become a household name in China because she abridged the works of
Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
(551-479 B.C.) and
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to: * ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism **Zhuang Zhou Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
(369-286 B.C.) to make it appear relevant to laymen with "colloquial re-wordings and vivid short stories". In an interview with New York Times, Yu attributed the popularity of her work to the stresses of life in the fast-changing nation and to historical factors (paraphrased): "Traditional thought has been criticized for so many years that there is genuine interest in rediscovering it." On the
Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the l ...
(《百度》) portal alone, there are over 20,000 posts on th
"bulletin board" named after her
"White collar workers, college students, professors, migrant workers, community guards and retired grannies all had something to say." Christian Caryl, writing in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
's ''Muse'' Magazine, has criticised Yu's book ''Confucius from the heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World'': 'New-Agers in the West have made an industry out of freeze-drying non-Western religions until they're tasteless enough for the indiscriminate modern palate. Yu's book is the first time I've seen a non-Westerner up to the same sort of thing.'


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Dan Educators from Beijing 1965 births Living people Beijing Normal University alumni Academic staff of Beijing Normal University Writers from Beijing Beijing No. 4 High School alumni