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A Thousand Pieces of Gold - A Memoir of China's Past Through its Proverbs (Paperback, New Ed) Loot Price: R358
Discovery Miles 3 580
A Thousand Pieces of Gold - A Memoir of China's Past Through its Proverbs (Paperback, New Ed): Adeline Yen Mah

A Thousand Pieces of Gold - A Memoir of China's Past Through its Proverbs (Paperback, New Ed)

Adeline Yen Mah

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Loot Price R358 Discovery Miles 3 580

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Adeline Yen Mah is so passionate about the Chinese proverbs learned from her beloved grandfather that she even dreams of them. In Watching the Tree she related them to Chinese philosophy, and here she sets them in their historical context. Proverbs are more highly valued and widely used in China than they are in the West. The author tells of Sima Qian, who first recorded these sayings at dreadful personal cost over 2000 years ago. The actual historical events from which they arose and more recent political examples are interwoven with snippets from Yen Mah's own traumatic past - documented more fully in her autobiography, Falling Leaves. Bite-sized sections focus on single proverbs - examples include 'Pointing to a Deer and Calling it a Horse' and 'When the Map is Unrolled, the Dagger is Revealed', and within the sections are snapshots of the life and times of the First Emperor (who unified China), his short-lived dynasty and the rivals who subsequently fought over his empire. You will read of the famous entombed terracotta army and how the Great Wall was built, and be guided through political and military intrigues more convoluted than the plot of a Le Carre spy novel. Without some background knowledge of ancient Chinese history, the narrative might leave your head spinning, but the tales, told with Yen Mah's irresistible enthusiasm, are immediately accessible, encompassing all of humanity. The characteristic honesty of her earlier works is repeated here, giving unsanitized glimpses of Chinese history rarely found elsewhere. Yen Mah aims 'to make [these proverbs] come alive, thereby explaining how the Chinese think, and why we think the way we do', and she succeeds triumphantly. (Kirkus UK)
The author of the international bestsellers Watching the Tree and Falling Leaves has always been fascinated by proverbs and their importance and use in China. Both her book titles are based on such proverbs. The majority of Chinese proverbs are drawn from the 1st century, when the First King of all China established his leadership over the whole country and its warring kingdoms. In ancient China, a scholar's conversation would be studded with appropriate sayings, and a man's status in society would be defined by his use and knowledge of proverbs. In modern China, much of this is still true, and proverbs are used daily. Adeline Yen Mah introduces us to the whole rich picture of the first century BC when after the long wars between states, China was finally united and the richness of the literature and art could flourish. She portrays the leaders, the plots and the counter-revolutions with great vividness and liveliness so that even those ignorant of Chinese history become absorbed. And as in all her other books, she relates the historical episodes and the proverbs derived from these to experiences in her own life. One of the major expressions of this age was of course the First King's tomb with its terracotta soldiers, of horses and carriages and the stones of the building. The re-finding of this monument - now open to us all - and Adeline Yen Mah's own experiences there, are extraordinary. A Thousand Pieces of Gold, following Watching the Tree and Falling Leaves, is a personal account by a much loved author, but it is also a lively history of the fascinating period of civilisation when Europe was barely out of the stone age.

General

Imprint: HarperCollinsPublishers
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Release date: May 2003
First published: May 2004
Authors: Adeline Yen Mah
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 23mm (L x W x T)
Format: Paperback - B-format
Pages: 400
Edition: New Ed
ISBN-13: 978-0-00-712451-0
Categories: Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Myths & mythology
Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Cultural studies > General
Books > Humanities > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General
Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Customs & folklore > Folklore
Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > General
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Myths & mythology
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LSN: 0-00-712451-1
Barcode: 9780007124510

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