Template:Did you know nominations/From the Soil

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Cwmhiraeth (talk) 07:17, 27 January 2017 (UTC)

From the Soil

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• ... that author Fei Xiaotong wrote From the Soil in order to teach Chinese people the unique characteristics of their society? "'He wrote the book for a Chinese audience to tell them about the distinctiveness of Chinese society, to tell them the reason Chinese society was so special,' Hamilton said." China Daily A quote from Gary G. Hamilton, a sociologist who has studied and translated Fei Xiaotong's works.
  • ALT1: ... that the publication of From the Soil in 1947 made author Fei Xiaotong famous within Chinese intellectual circles? Source: "When Fei published the serialized version of Xiangtu Zhongguo (From the Soil), the essays immediately attracted attention...became Fei's most widely read works in Chinese. In the few years until 1952 (when the Communist government abolished the discipline of sociology on the mainland), these books made Fei famous among educated Chinese and one of the best-known advocates in China for reform." pp. 1-2
    • Fei, Xiaotong (1992). From the soil : the foundations of Chinese society : a translation of Fei Xiaotong's Xiangtu Zhongguo. Translated by Hamilton, Gary G.; Zheng, Wang. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07796-2.

• Reviewed Bears Ears National Monument

5x expanded by Haha169 (talk). Self-nominated at 08:24, 8 January 2017 (UTC).

Substantial look on an important and underrated book, on good sources, no copyvio obvious. Sorry, I find both hooks too harmless. Banned from two countries, translated late, pioneer: find something more attractive, perhaps the image with the caption? I at least turn away when I read "in order to teach" or "made him famous" ;) - I fixed a bunch of cite error messages, - if you don't like the method, please find a different way. As I couldn't decide if "Fei" means the same book. I left those two. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:32, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

Thank you Gerda Arendt for the review! I have changed the two Fei references to match the others. My reason for differentiating is because the portions that I cited were written by different authors (the translation has a large introduction to the turbulent history of the book, obviously not written by Fei himself). I will, however, follow whichever way is conventional.

What about this as an ALT2: ... that the book From the Soil was banned in Mainland China shortly after its publication in 1947 for being "rightest", and in Taiwan for author Fei Xiaotong's perceived support of Communism? Source: "After the Communist government banned sociology in 1952, it began to attack Fei and other sociologists who remained in the People's Republic of China as "rightist," bourgeois, and anti- Marxist. Xiangtu Zhongguo and its companion volume, Xiangtu chongjian, went out of print and ceased to be readily available in the PRC. Across the Taiwan Straits, in Taiwan, where Chiang Kai- shek and his Guomindang armies fled in 1949, writers who remained in Communist territory and expressed loyalty to the new government had their works officially restricted. Fei's writings existed in a gray zone, not readily available in bookstores and yet not totally unavailable. His books were sold in street stalls without his name or with his name shortened to Fei Tong, and universities were not allowed to include them in officially approved reading lists." pp. 2

• Fei, Xiaotong (1992). From the soil : the foundations of Chinese society : a translation of Fei Xiaotong's Xiangtu Zhongguo. Translated by Hamilton, Gary G.; Zheng, Wang. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07796-2.

Thank you. I am not the greatest expert on referencing, but could imagine you write a separate second cite, using a title of a section, and put the book's title in |work=. - I like the ALT, perhaps we can trim it a bit. Suggestion:

ALT3: "... that Fei Xiaotong's book From the Soil was banned in China for being "rightest", and in Taiwan for the author's perceived support of Communism?

We only have to make curious to read the article, not say it all. Perhaps include sociology and topic a bit? Does "rightest" mean politically? If not a link would be good in this case. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:28, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

Which would be better, Anti-Rightist Movement or right-wing politics? The former is more accurate than the latter, but the former references a movement and not a political ideology per se. The topic wasn't persecuted for being "rightest", it was persecuted because it was a pre-1949 non-communist approved study. I can make a hook about Fei's famous water ripple metaphor, or about the book's turbulent history, but I can't figure out how to word both into one hook. --haha169 (talk) 09:27, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

ALT4: ...that author Fei Xiaotong wrote in From the Soil that Chinese society is like the ripples from a pebble hitting water, emphasizing the self-centered quality in how relationships are structured in Chinese society. Source: "Social relationships in China possess a self-centered quality. Like the ripples formed from a stone thrown into a lake, each circle spreading out from the center becomes more distant and at the same time more insignificant. With this pattern, we are faced with the basic characteristic of Chinese social structure..." Fei, pp. 65

I'd link to right-wing politics, just to make sure "right" is in the political sense, not as in "right or wrong".

ALT4 is poetic but a little wordy, - read loud "quality in how relationships are structured ". - Please rephrase and add the image if you want to go that path, which means telling the readers the essence on the Main page, so they will not click ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:08, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

What about this:

Surface waves

ALT5: "...that sociologist Fei Xiaotong wrote in From the Soil that Chinese social relationships have a self-centered quality, patterned like the ripples from a pebble hitting water (pictured)? Source: Same as above --haha169 (talk) 15:53, 21 January 2017 (UTC)

With File:2006-01-14_Surface_waves.jpg as an accompanying image? --haha169 (talk) 15:55, 21 January 2017 (UTC)

I like both ALT3 and ALT5 (I added the image), and leave it to the prep builder. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:02, 25 January 2017 (UTC)