Yi Zhongtian is giving a lecture on the CCTV program "Lecture Room"
Yi Zhongtian, took off his shoes, kneeled down on a mat and then stood up to act out traditional Han Dynasty etiquette during a lecture on the CCTV program "Lecture Room".
It could have been a brilliant lecture, but Yi's demonstration was criticized as inappropriate and his speech misleading.
Yi is a writer, historian, scholar and professor who rose rapidly and controversially to superstar status in recent years due to his TV lectures that use simple and interesting approaches to historical stories.
"The way Professor Yi talks is very expressive, and he always has his trademark gestures and uses humorous language. He always knows how to control the rhythm of his lecture," said Zhou Xiaying, a reporter for the Shanghai Morning Post and former student of Yi at Xiamen University.
But while his programs have been heavily followed by his fans, Yi has been bombarded with questions by reporters and scholars about his personal interpretation of history..
Ge Hongbing, associate dean of Shanghai University, commented on his blog that Yi has been dishing up the same old stuff in his lectures, which is meaningless to academics and has vulgarized history.
"Yi compares the Three Kingdoms and the History of the Three Kingdoms apparently to find historical facts. However, his real aim is to entertain people, making fun of historical scholars and turning history into entertainment,""said Ge.
Nevertheless, Yi refused to continue the war of words by fighting back, saying: "It is common for people's opinions to differ. TV is mass media, and the programs are for the public. Thus, everyone has a right to make remarks."
Yi said he wants to be an approachable public scholar and establish a friendly relationship with the media.
"The approachable scholar is like a neighbor, a relative, a friend or an acquaintance to the public. Therefore, in my lectures, Figures of the Han Dynasty or the Three Kingdoms, I was trying to return the historical figures to lifelike, sentient, ordinary people, like every viewer," explained Yi.
According to Yi, his approach to history was deeply influenced by his 13-year experience living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In 1965, Yi went to Xinjiang after graduating senior high and became a teacher on a farm. Through the hardships there, he realized that life is not poetic, but ruthless.
"I learned a lot on the farm, including about human nature. Many people living there were demoted cadres. But they were no more than ordinary people when dealing with problems. This taught me that people actually share a common human nature. Thus, I would like to return historical figures to ordinary people when telling stories. I also learned to use the vulgar tongue of the masses, which is much more vivid than technical terms," noted Yi.
Despite being heavily criticized, Yi still recently debuted his new book Collected Works of Yi Zhongtian, which covers various topics including literature, aesthetics, arts, culture, history and philosophy.
At the book launch, Yi admitted there were weaknesses and faults in his book, some of which were corrected in the footnotes.
Meanwhile, Yi also showed gratitude to the critics stating that "The rabbit could run fast because there was a wolf behind it. So I should thank the critics who have been keeping me on my feet."
