On December 16, the Publishers Association of China released 30 good books in China in 2018, including Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud translated by Professor Hu Cui'e from the College of Foreign Languages of Nankai University. Out of the love and pursuit of the ideas and knowledge that can inspire the human mind and reflect the human spiritual life best, Professor Hu Cui'e completed the two-volume philosophical translation of nearly two million words in two years.
The author of Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud is British scholar Peter Watson. The book is an encyclopedic masterpiece that provides an overview of the world's ideological and cultural development from the time of human standing and making fire until the early 20th century. Its characteristics are first embodied in the definition of thought, which can be described as the first time. It incorporates the practice of standing upright, fire, hand axe, etc., greatly improving the pedigree of thought. Contradictory with the serious and rigid historical writing style based on time and characters, this book begins from the paradox of Newton, supplemented by flashbacks and interludes, bringing readers into a living historical and spiritual life of human being through a fascinating narrative.
Professor Hu Cui’e is a serious and rigorous scholar, her research focusing on the history of Chinese and Western translation and the comparison of Chinese and Western cultures. As a translator, Professor Hu has been engaged in translation studies for decades and deeply understands that translation has always been the silent pusher behind the world's entry into China and China's move to the world.
The book Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud translated by Professor Hu Cui'e is well received after it was published in January 2018. The Phoenix website called it a book of insight, and the book is also the recommended book of China Reading Weekly, The Publisher Si Nan Literary Journal, Jing Press, Jiemian and other media presses, and was selected by the Yilin Press as the best book of the year.
