Liang Shu-ming (October 18, 1893 – June 23, 1988), was a legendary philosopher, teacher, and leader in the Rural Reconstruction Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican eras of Chinese history. Liang was also one of the early representatives of modern Neo-Confucianism. Guy S. Alitto, associate Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC) at The University of Chicago, is author of, among other things, The Last Confucian: Liang Shu-ming and the Chinese Dilemma of Modernity, and is one of the most active and influential Sinologists in America. In 1980 and again in 1984, at Liang Shu-ming’s invitation, he conducted a series of interviews with Liang in Liang's Beijing home. This book of dialogues between the American sinologist and “The Last Confucian”, Liang Shu-ming, gives a chronological account of the conversations that took place in Beijing in 1980. In these conversations, they discussed the cultural characteristics of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and their representative figures, and reviewed the important activities of Mr. Liang’s life, along with Liang’s reflection on his contact with many famous people in the cultural and political realms – Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Chiang Kai-shek, Kang Youwei, Hu Shi, etc. Rich in content, these conversations serve as important reference material for understanding and studying Mr. Liang Shuming’s thoughts and activities as well as the social and historical events of modern China.

梁漱溟（1893-1988），原名焕鼎，字寿铭，又字漱冥，后以漱溟行世。生于北京，祖籍广西桂林，顺天中学堂毕业，其后自学。中国现代思想家、教授家、社会活动家、现代新儒家的早期代表人物之一。1917-1924年执教于北京大学哲学系，1930-1937年从事乡村建设活动。40年代抗日战争期间，为国事奔走，谋求国内团结。其主要著作包括：《东西文化及其哲学》、《乡村建设理论》、《中国文化要义》、《人心与人生》等。

艾恺（Guy Salvatore Alitto），1975年获美国哈佛大学哲学博士学位，现任芝加哥大学历史教授。著有《最后的儒家》、《南京十年的乡村建设》、《世界范围内的反现代思潮》等。

一耽学堂是致力于学习、体认和普及中国优秀传统文化、非赢利性的民间公益组织。2000年12月由北京大学、清华大学、中国人民大学、中央民族大学、北京师范大学、中国社会科学院研究生院等首都院校青年学子在京共同参与成立。主要致力于弘扬传统文化，振奋民族精神，改良社会风气，净化个体心灵，普及基础汉语，推介中文思想。