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Gathered here are gems galore, which, while revealing much as to
the Chinese national psyche, highlight particular traits and
characteristics that span the globe. We all know Chairman Mau's
infamous 'It doesn't matter what colour the cat, as long as it
catches mice', but most of us would only recognize an approximate
English equivalent of 'A mighty dragon cannot crush a local snake'
or, 'A Phoenix might come out of a crow's nest'. The beasts and
birds of legend and folklore provide the inimitable Kathryn Lamb's
pen with a feast of hilarious subjects, not least a certain
revolution at one ill-fated dinner party...
Discover – or rediscover – the major achievements of Chinese
culture and civilization. Great Books of China offers concise
introductions – each of them accompanied by generous quotation
(in English) from the book in question – to sixty-six works in
the canon of Chinese literature. The books chosen reflect the
chronological and thematic breadth of Chinese literary tradition,
ranging from such classics as The Book of Songs and the Confucian
Analects, through popular dramas and novels (The Romance of the
Western Chamber; The Water Margin), twentieth-century political and
biographical works (Quotations from Chairman Mao, the autobiography
of the last emperor) and modern novels that are little known in the
West (Memories of South Peking, Six Chapters from a Cadre School
Life). Frances Wood presents a comprehensive, accessible and richly
informative primer for the uninitiated; a box of delights that
opens up an entire literary culture to the inquisitive reader.
We all ?know? that Marco Polo went to China, served Ghengis Khan
for many years, and returned to Italy with the recipes for pasta
and ice cream. But Frances Wood, head of the Chinese Department at
the British Library, argues that Marco Polo not only never went to
China, he probably never even made it past the Black Sea, where his
family conducted b
The Great War helped China emerge from humiliation and obscurity
and take its first tentative steps as a full member of the global
community. In 1912 the Qing Dynasty had ended. President Yuan
Shikai, who seized power in 1914, offered the British 50,000 troops
to recover the German colony in Shandong but this was refused. In
1916 China sent a vast army of labourers to Europe. In 1917 she
declared war on Germany despite this effectively making the real
enemy Japan an ally. The betrayal came when Japan was awarded the
former German colony. This inspired the rise of Chinese nationalism
and communism, enflamed by Russia. The scene was set for Japans
incursions into China and thirty years of bloodshed. One hundred
years on, the time is right for this accessible and authoritative
account of Chinas role in The Great War and assessment of its
national and international significance
We all "know" that Marco Polo went to China, served Ghengis Khan
for many years, and returned to Italy with the recipes for pasta
and ice cream. But Frances Wood, head of the Chinese Department at
the British Library, argues that Marco Polo not only never went to
China, he probably never even made it past the Black Sea, where his
family conducted business as merchants.Marco Polo's travels from
Venice to the exotic and distant East, and his epic book describing
his extraordinary adventures, "A Description of the World," ranks
among the most famous and influential books ever published. In this
fascinating piece of historical detection, marking the 700th
anniversary of Polo's journey, Frances Wood questions whether Marco
Polo ever reached the country he so vividly described. Why, in his
romantic and seemingly detailed account, is there no mention of
such fundamentals of Chinese life as tea, foot-binding, or even the
Great Wall? Did he really bring back pasta and ice cream to Italy?
And why, given China's extensive and even obsessive record-keeping,
is there no mention of Marco Polo anywhere in the archives?Sure to
spark controversy, "Did Marco Polo Go to China?" tries to solve
these and other inconsistencies by carefully examining the Polo
family history, Marco Polo's activities as a merchant, the
preparation of his book, and the imperial Chinese records. The
result is a lucid and readable look at medieval European and
Chinese history, and the characters and events that shaped this
extraordinary and enduring myth.
Lord Macartney's mission to open up China in 1792 failed, but it
did give the Western world its first glimpse of the secretive
Middle Kingdom, through the memoirs written by eight different
members of the embassy. But the most lively and accessible of the
books was that written by Aeneas Anderson, Lord Macartney's valet.
China scholar Frances Wood introduces Anderson's account of the
two-year adventure, which make clear that the valet was seeing far
more of China than his master was. His descriptions of life in
China and Manchuria in the late 18th century are a hugely valuable
and very readable resource, and Frances Wood is as insightful as
always.
Great Books of China invites readers to discover--or
rediscover--some of the major achievements of Chinese culture and
civilization. The literature of China remains largely unknown in
the West, yet it offers much insight into Chinese life. The long
continuity of Chinese culture means that texts created more than
two thousand years ago are still part of the education and
background of today's China. Great Books of China introduces
outstanding works of various genres, from fiction, drama, and
poetry to history, science, and travel; they were written by
philosophers and artists, government officials and scholars, by men
and women across many centuries and from every part of China. These
great books are presented in their historic, cultural, and social
context, with a focused summary of content and author. Beginning
with some of the Confucian and Daoist classics and ending with
modern fiction, Great Books of China features famous novels
including The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan), Journey to the West
(Xiyou ji), and Dream of the Red Chamber (Hongloumeng); celebrated
dramas such as The Story of the Lute (Pipa ji) and The Peach
Blossom Fan (Taohua shan); poetry from ancient times and the
"golden age" of the Tang to the last years of imperial China;
renowned historic manuals on Chinese painting, on the construction
of Chinese gardens, and on a carpenter's varied tasks; major texts
describing Chinese history, the military exploits of ancient
generals, and the legendary journeys of Buddhist monks; and works
by a number of modern writers including Lu Xun, Ding Ling, and Lao
She. Concise, provocative, and illuminating, Great Books of China
introduces the literature of one of the world's most significant
cultures and helps us understand the China of the present and the
past.
Title: Christmas Carol Leaflets from Raphael's pictures. With
borders and words by F. H. Wood.Publisher: British Library,
Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national
library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest
research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known
languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound
recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its
collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial
additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating
back as far as 300 BC.The FICTION & PROSE LITERATURE collection
includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The
collection provides readers with a perspective of the world from
some of the 18th and 19th century's most talented writers. Written
for a range of audiences, these works are a treasure for any
curious reader looking to see the world through the eyes of ages
past. Beyond the main body of works the collection also includes
song-books, comedy, and works of satire. ++++The below data was
compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic
record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool
in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library
Wood, Frances; Sanzio, Raffaello; null 8 . 011652.g.29.
In 1933, Shih-I Hsiung (1902-1991), a student from China, met with
Allardyce Nicoll, a Shakespearean scholar at the University of
London, to discuss his Ph.D. study in English drama. After learning
about Hsiung's interest and background, Nicoll suggested that he
should consider studying Chinese drama for his dissertation or
writing a play of a Chinese subject instead. Hsiung took the advice
to heart and set out to write Lady Precious Stream, a play based on
a classical Beijing opera. In six weeks, the writing was completed;
six months later, the manuscript was accepted for publication by
Methuen; and not long after, Little Theater in London agreed to
produce the play, which ran for 900 successive shows. The
phenomenal success turned Hsiung into stardom all at once: he
became the first Chinese to write and direct a West End play in
England; in 1936, the play had its Broadway premiere and subsequent
performances in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and other U.S. cities;
and it has been produced and staged in Europe, America, South
America, Africa, Asia, and Australia ever since. Following the
success of Lady PreciousStream, Hsiung translated into English the
Chinese classic The Romance of the Western Chamber; in addition, he
wrote the play The Professor from Peking, the novel The Bridge of
Heaven, and the biography The Life of Chiang Kai-shek, all in
English. Shih-I Hsiung: A Glorious Showman unfolds the
transnational and transcultural life experience of an extraordinary
showman: a literary master, a theatre man, and a social actor bold
and impassioned on socio-cultural stages. Hsiung introduced English
and American literature to readers in China through his translation
works in the 1920s and 1930s. Since1933, he began writing in
English for audiences not familiar with the Chinese culture. His
works were known for their originality, humor, and a deep sense of
cultural and historical engagement. Later in his life when he was
residing in Hong Kong, he was devoted to education and was also
active in Chinese literary and theatre circles.
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