melancholic tropics

The 60th anniversary of the publication of the original work, a new Chinese revised edition, the most important work in the life of Lévi-Strauss, the master of structuralist anthropology

Climb the Mato Grosso plateau, go deep into the jungle of the Machala River and follow the Longdong telegraph line, explore the responsibility and position of anthropology, and reveal that there is not even a thin line between civilization and barbarism.

"Melancholic Tropics" is the most important and influential work in the life of Claude Lévi-Strauss, the master of structural anthropology.

During his school days, Lévi-Strauss was immersed in left-wing political activities and was familiar with Marx's works. He was also inspired by Freud's subconscious theory and geological theory, so he focused on the relationship between "underlying structure" and "surface phenomena". Connections, ruptures and forms of interaction.

The young Levi-Strauss went to Brazil in the 1930s to help establish the University of São Paulo and taught sociology courses. He used his spare time to explore Indian communities many times and carried out two large-scale survey projects. He saw the original form of human society among primitive tribes deep in the jungle, and thus began an extensive and in-depth thinking process.

Lévi-Strauss adopts a brand-new research approach and puts these primitive tribes into the context of global human development. He cross-references the development patterns of civilizations in South Asia, India, the New World of America, and the Old World of Europe, and proposes fascinating comparative evidence. , with both an open vision and delicate observation, reflects on the paradoxes and absurdities of the entire history of anthropology, as well as the self-positioning difficulties of anthropologists, making this work transcend the scope of scientific research and become a fusion of anthropology and history. A masterpiece of science, literature and philosophy.

The book "Melancholic Tropics" is 330,000 words long. It starts with how Lévi-Strauss became an anthropologist, discusses the evolution of contemporary French ideological trends, analyzes the impact and significance of contact with different civilizations, and describes in detail what he visited and observed. of five South American Indian communities, and anthropologists’ reflections after returning from their expeditions. The book's high ideological density, profound critical reflection, graceful writing style, and seriousness without losing humor can be said to be unprecedented, and no one has been able to match it in the past sixty years.