History is people

New editions of Insights Into Chinese Culture which were recently published.

"We detail scenes from the lives of the Song Dynasty people that the scroll presents, including a mother holding a child at a clinic and trying to feed her baby herbal medicine," says Ye.

"We believe the carefree and happy atmosphere of everyday life is what keeps attracting the scroll's viewers."

Meng Peiyuan, a scholar from the Philosophy Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the book is a rare link between Chinese spiritual traditions and contemporary life.

The well-illustrated book is now a textbook in universities at home and abroad.

Ye and Zhu attempt to include the latest academic findings as well as traditional interpretations.

"Books for general readers should also have academic significance," says Ye.

"Fresh contemporary interpretations of old wisdom are what made the history alive and helpful."