Professors donate their latest book to university library

Professor of Art Yan Sun and his wife, Assistant Professor of Art Hong Yin,  have donated a book they co-authored to the university’s library.

Titled The Unity of Nature and Humanity - Chinese Mausoleum Stone Sculptures in the Tang Dynasty, the book is the result of years of research about the stone mausoleum sculptures of China, especially those of the Tang Dynasty. It is designed to help readers learn about Chinese sculptural art and Chinese culture through an analysis of Tang Dynasty mausoleum sculptures in the context of Chinese philosophical ideas, aesthetic ideals, burial customs and historical context. It is published by Sanqin Publishers, Shaanxi Publishing Group and is available in the Muskingum University bookstore.

In accepting the donation, Dr. Sheila Ellenberger said, "Yan and Hong both deserve highest accolades for this book, which is obviously a labor of love.  But more importantly, it is an extraordinary work on an important era in Chinese history.”  Dr. Ellenberger is the Henry S. and Katherine W. Evans Director and Distinguished Librarian at Muskingum. 

This is Sun’s sixth book.  In 2007, he wrote Yan Sun - Cross Culture, Cross Century, published by the Hayden Museum of American Art.  In addition to his work as an author, Sun is a prolific and widely recognized artist.  Most recently, he mounted a solo exhibition, Viewpoints and Vistas - Paintings by Yan Sun, at the Zanesville Art Museum. 

Sun is the Ruth Dorsey Neptune Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts at Muskingum.  He joined the faculty in 1997 after earning his bachelor’s degree from Northwest Normal University, his master’s degree from Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts and his master of fine arts degree from East Texas State University (now Texas A & M University – Commerce).

Yin received both her doctor of education and master of science degrees at Texas A & M University – Commerce. She also earned a master of arts degree with a major in Western art history from Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts and a bachelor’s degree in the fine arts from Northwest China Normal University. In 2006, Texas A & M – Commerce named her an “Alumni Ambassador.”  Her research interests focus on 19th century European art, contemporary art, Chinese mausoleum sculpture and graphic design.

In the photo: From left to right, Professor of Art Yan Sun, Library Director Dr. Sheila Ellenberger and Assistant Professor of Art Hong Yin.