“Seeking Xu Chuanxian: From Shanghai to Beijing" (xun zhao xu chuan xian: cong shang hai dao bei jing) is a biography about Xu Chuanxian, a Chinese postal figure. The author Shi Nian Kan Chai analyzes and presents Xu Chuanxian's life within the context of the era and interpersonal networks. The book draws from historical records, archived documents, industry-related materials, and accounts from individuals who interacted with Xu Chuanxian. The author also conducted in-depth research at historical sites in Shanghai, Chongqing, Hunan, Beijing, Henan, and other places to faithfully explore Xu's life and work, providing a genuine, rich, and profound portrayal of the extraordinary and bittersweet life of a Chinese intellectual in the 20th century. Simultaneously, it bears witness to the development of China's postal system from weakness to strength, reflecting the life trajectory and era's destiny of a generation of intellectuals. The book aims to enable more people to understand the dedicated and upward endeavors of the unsung heroes in that era of significant historical transformations.

The book primarily revolves around Xu Chuanxian's activities from Shanghai to Beijing, with a secondary focus on his father, Xu Xichun (founder of the Qingpu branch of the Chinese Red Cross Society), to illustrate the choices and role of traditional families during the turbulence of the late Qing and early Republican periods, recognizing the significant impact of family and lineage in China's societal transformation. Moreover, the book reflects on the relationship between the "twin cities" of China – Shanghai and Beijing – over the past century and their crucial roles in the country's modern history. It delves into their interactions in areas such as power and capital, conservatism and innovation, introversion and extroversion, localization, and globalization, which reached a delicate balance influencing not only China but also the world. From this perspective, the book can also be viewed as Xu Chuanxian's "Tale of Two Cities," wherein the cultural differences and the relationship between Shanghai and Beijing are projected onto Xu Chuanxian's life.

Xu Chuanxian's life spanned three eras: he was born in 1908 during the late Qing Dynasty, spent most of his life in the tumultuous period of the Republic, and later transitioned into the era of the People's Republic. Proficient in three foreign languages (English, French, and Russian), he traveled extensively to numerous countries, making significant contributions to China's postal industry.

Since Xu Chuanxian joined the Shanghai Post Office as a postal trainee after dropping out from the first year of the Sino-French Institute of Technology in 1924, until his passing in Beijing in 1972, his entire career remained dedicated to the Chinese postal industry. Whether as a junior postal clerk at the Shanghai Post Office, representative of the Chinese Post Office in Vietnam and Myanmar, chief of lessons at the Chinese Post Office General Administration, later as director of the Shanghai Post Office, deputy chief and division chief of the Chinese Post Office General Administration, head of the East China Postal General Administration, Chinese representative to the Universal Postal Union Congress, and later, as deputy head of the International Relations Department of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and chief of the Chinese Post Office Liaison Bureau, where he attended an international conference as a representative of the People's Republic of China for the first time. Lastly, his role as a teacher at the Beijing Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (now Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications). Throughout the changing tides of the times, what remained unchanged was his professionalism and dedication to serving the Chinese postal industry