The Dream Chasers: Selected Poems about Education

تعقیب رویاها

About the book

Zhu Yongxin is one of China's most influential education thinkers. As the founder of the "New Education Experiment" movement — which has been adopted by over 1,500 schools across China — he has dedicated his life to restoring the richness and completeness of human nature through schooling. A distinguished professor at Soochow University, a former deputy mayor of Suzhou, and the current Vice Chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Zhu Yongxin is also a prolific writer whose works have been translated into more than 28 languages, including English, Japanese, and Korean. This bilingual edition, Chasing Dreams, offers English-speaking readers an intimate and inspiring window into the heart of Zhu's educational philosophy. What makes this collection unique is its format. The book gathers over one hundred prefaces and postscripts written by Zhu Yongxin for other authors — friends, students, and fellow educators — over several decades. These are not detached academic essays; rather, they are spontaneous, heartfelt texts often written at the request of a friend or publisher, or simply because Zhu was deeply moved by someone's work or character. Within these short pieces, the reader discovers a wide array of themes: the importance of children's literature, the artistry of teaching, the power of reading, and the urgent need to reform China's examination system. Each preface or postscript is a gem of warmth, sincerity, and intellectual clarity. A central thread running through the collection is Zhu's core belief that the purpose of education is to help both teachers and students lead "a happy and complete life". In an age where education is increasingly reduced to test scores, competition, and economic utility, this book is a powerful reminder of education's deeper, more human dimension. The Poetics of Education is essential reading for anyone — educators, policymakers, parents, and students alike — who seeks to understand the soul of modern educational reform in China and the vision of one of its most passionate and influential advocates.

About the author

Professor Zhu Yongxin is a highly influential Chinese educator, scholar, and prominent political figure, widely recognized as the founder of the “New Education Initiative” (Xin Jiaoyu) in China. Born in 1958 in Dafeng, Jiangsu Province, he serves as a senior professor and doctoral supervisor at Soochow University. Throughout his distinguished career, Professor Zhu has held key academic and political positions, including Vice Mayor of Suzhou, Vice Chairman of the China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD), and Deputy Secretary-General of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has dedicated over three decades to transforming China’s educational landscape, passionately advocating for humanistic, joyful, and reading-centered learning environments.

In his celebrated collection, The Dream Chasers: Selected Poems about Education, Professor Zhu brilliantly blends his profound educational insights with the lyrical and expressive power of poetry. The book reflects his lifelong dedication to nurturing the minds and souls of students and educators alike, framing the pursuit of knowledge and dreams as a poetic and transformative journey. As the author of over 40 scholarly monographs and hundreds of research papers translated into multiple languages, his immense contributions have earned him global acclaim, including being honored as one of the “Top Ten Figures in China’s Education” and receiving prestigious international awards for his commitment to educational equality and literacy.

About the translator

Dr. Tahereh Ghotbi Karimi (born December 26, 1974) is a distinguished Iranian linguist, translator, and educator. Her academic journey began with a Bachelor’s degree in English Translation and a Master’s degree in General Linguistics, both from Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch. Driven by a deep passion for the intricacies of the Persian language, she earned her PhD in General Linguistics from Islamic Azad University, Qom Branch. Her master’s thesis examined deictic expressions in Persian, while her doctoral dissertation investigated derivational patterns in Persian word‑formation processes. Dr. Ghotbi Karimi has published scholarly articles in reputable journals, including studies on compensatory lengthening and deletion in the Kurmanji dialect, analyses of Persian derivational and inflectional morphology, and explorations of asymmetric derivational phenomena in Persian — all conducted within the framework of Word‑and‑Pattern Morphology. Beyond her academic achievements, Dr. Ghotbi Karimi brings extensive professional experience to her work as a translator. She has served as a commercial correspondence expert, applying her linguistic skills to the import and export of chemical, pharmaceutical, and food raw materials. Her translation portfolio includes collaborations with various agencies on academic and specialized texts. She has also worked with government and cultural institutions, including as secretary and editorial affairs officer for the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council, and as a translation specialist and senior expert in the Propaganda and Information Department of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, where she supervised the translation of foreign media articles, compared them with original sources, and monitored news from foreign outlets. In addition, Dr. Ghotbi Karimi is a dedicated teacher with twenty years of experience at universities such as Islamic Azad University and various branches of the University of Applied Science and Technology, teaching a wide range of English courses from general university English to specialized subjects like translation principles, linguistics, and phonetics. She also actively prepares doctoral students for the EPT examination. Her diverse expertise and deep knowledge of linguistics and translation make her an outstanding and trusted voice in the field.