Yu Dan

Yu Dan (zh-cp |c=于丹 |p=Yú Dān, born June 28, 1965, in Beijing, China) is an associate professor at China's Beijing Normal University. She is also assistant to the Dean, Faculty of Arts & Media, as well as Head, Department of Film & Television Media. She has a master degree in ancient Chinese literature and a doctoral degree in film & TV studies. 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. [1]

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" (《百家讲坛》) program. Her messages were warmly welcomed by the audience. The transcript, edited into a book "Yu Dan's Notes on the Analects", sold 10,000 copies within the first day of release. [3] Within 40 days, sales exceeded 1.5 million. [6] 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. [8]

In the Spring Festival period of 2007, another series of her lectures "Yu Dan's Insights into Zhuangzi" (于丹《庄子》心得) was also 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 Xinhua bookstore, waiting as many as eight hours in the rain, just to get Yu Dan’s autograph. [4]

Yu is now a household name in China because she managed to make the ancient texts of Confucius (551-479 B.C.) and Zhuangzi (369-286 B.C.) understandable and relevant to laymen with "colloquial re-wordings and vivid short stories". [6] 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." [8] On the Baidu (《百度》) portal alone, there are over 20,000 posts on the [http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=%D3%DA%B5%A4%BD%CC%CA%DA "bulletin board" named after her] . "White collar workers, college students, professors, migrant workers, community guards and retired grannies all had something to say." [5]

Interestingly, Yu is apparently a fan of pop music idols such as Jay Chow and the Nanquan Mama, 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." [8]

References:

# [http://www.yudan.net.cn/html/20061125231851.asp "Intro to Professor Yu Dan"] on the official Yu Dan site
# [http://baike.baidu.com/view/538603.htm "Yu Dan"] on Baidu Baike
# [http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2007-01/art/notes "Yu Dan's Notes on the Analects of Confucius"] on Beijing This Month
# [http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2007-04/art/zhuangzi "Yu Dan's Notes on Zhuangzi"] on Beijing This Month
# [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200703/04/eng20070304_354044.html "Yu Dan:: Woman lecturer brings ancient philosophers closer to modern people"] on People Daily Online
# [http://english.cri.cn/4026/2007/03/03/[e-mail] "Yu Dan"] on the English version of the China Radio International (CRI) portal
# [http://www.womenofchina.cn/Profiles/Others/11285.jsp "Yu Dan: Words of Wisdom"] on the All-China Women's Federation site
# [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/arts/03stud.html?fta=y "Modern Gloss on China’s Golden Age"] on the New York Times site