More erudite history and eminently readable scholarship from Yale
Sinologist Spence (The Search for Modern China, 1990, etc.). Many
of these essays and reviews, previously published in both scholarly
and nonscholarly journals, were inspired by Western inquirers of
yore like 16th-century Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci and novelist
Andre Malraux, both subjects of essays in an opening section
entitled "Crossing the Cultures." In "Looking East: The Long View,"
Spence concedes that Western confusion about China began with
accounts by Ricci and other missionaries, but, still, he relishes
these reports' delicate balance and appreciation for culture. A
second, scholarly and vigorous group of essays, "The Confucian
Impulse," surveys a range of topics from the Mings to the Manchus.
Outstanding is Spence's recovery of the Ming painter Tao-chi,
member of a brilliant artistic circle that Spence brings to life
with remarkable color. A third section consists of a hodgepodge of
essays on topics from food to opium. While exhaustively detailing
Chinese culinary pleasures, Spence notes that, through much of
Chinese history, "it was the danger of famine that gave such
urgency to agriculture and such joy to eating." He describes the
crucial economic function of opium in late-19th-century China and
measures political swings in the country according to its use.
Other highlights include a penetrating analysis of Chinese director
Bai Hua's controversial 1980 film, Bitter Love, and an admiring
essay on eminent Harvard Sinologist John Fairbank. Spence conveys
vast knowledge with a style and grace unique in academic writing. A
pure pleasure cruise through the Middle Kingdom. (Kirkus Reviews)
Jonathan Spence has the art, as he amply demonstrates once again n
Chinese Roundabout, the collection of essays that the
Chicago Tribune praise as "surprising, entertaining, and inspired." From a "fascinating" exploration of opium in Chinese society and a "masterly" (
Newsday) and "beautifully evocative description" or Tienanmen Square and its place in history, to a "most entertaining" (
Boston Globe) piece on food and eating during the Qing dynasty, Spence's roundabout carries delighted readers on an adventurous tour of modern Chinese history and culture. For Spence's many avid readers, "there is a month of good reading in these 400 pages" (
Detroit Free Press).
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