Echoes from civilizations

Two scholars outline evolution of the arts from cave paintings to pop music, Yang Yang reports.

For thousands of years, people have searched for the meaning of life and tried to share it with future generations. They've passed down not just "how" to survive, but "why "we exist. These ideas are often found in art, buildings and stories, connecting people across time and cultures.

Yet in today's fragmented, hyperconnected world, where algorithms dictate trends and attention spans dwindle, how do we reclaim culture's enduring value and sense of belonging?

At Beijing's Times Art Museum on May 15, two scholars tried to answer the question at a book-sharing event about Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop by Martin Puchner, a professor of world literature and cultural history from Harvard University. The Chinese translation was published by Yilin Press in April.