Explicates early Chinese thought and explores the relationship between language and thought.

This book maintains that early Chinese philosophers, whatever their philosophical school, assumed common principles informed the natural and human worlds and that one could understand the nature of man by studying the principles which govern nature. Accordingly, the natural world rather than a religious tradition provided the root metaphors of early Chinese thought. Sarah Allan examines the concrete imagery, most importantly water and plant life, which served as a model for the most fundamental concepts in Chinese philosophy including such ideas as dao, the "way", de, "virtue" or "potency", xin, the "mind/heart", xing "nature", and qi, "vital energy". Water, with its extraordinarily rich capacity for generating imagery, provided the primary model for conceptualizing general cosmic principles while plants provided a model for the continuous sequence of generation, growth, reproduction, and death and was the basis for the Chinese understanding of the nature of man in both religion and philosophy.

"I find this book unique among recent efforts to identify and explain essential features of early Chinese thought because of its emphasis on imagery and metaphor". -- Christian Jochim, San Jose State University

No other book in history has wielded greater influence over a larger number of people over a longer period of time than "The Analects of Confucius." Since it was written about 2,500 years ago, it has been the essential text of Chinese scholarship: a man could simply not be considered enlightened if he had not read it.
The teachings of Chinese philosopher and thinker Confucius (BC 551-479) espouse the importance of education for moral development and celebrate qualities such as sincerity, piety, and virtue. It was in these pivotal writings that, for the first time, human behavior was put under the microscope.
The analects are not the work of just one man, but a collective effort; an anthology of words of and about Confucius, gathered by his loyal disciples. To this day, they remain deeply influential in shaping Eastern philosophy, politics and culture. Confucius provides a moral code by which each one of us should live, based on ideals and responsibility, respect, kindness and honesty--qualities as relevant and sought-after today as they were 2,500 years ago.

A lavishly illustrated book that offers an in-depth look at the cultural practices surrounding the tradition of collecting ancient bronzes in China during the 18th and 19th centuries In ancient China (2000-221 b.c.) elaborate bronze vessels were used for rituals involving cooking, drinking, and serving food. This fascinating book not only examines the cultural practices surrounding these objects in their original context, but it also provides the first in-depth study tracing the tradition of collecting these bronzes in China. Essays by international experts delve into the concerns of the specialized culture that developed around the vessels and the significant influence this culture, with its emphasis on the concept of antiquity, had on broader Chinese society. While focusing especially on bronze collections of the 18th and 19th centuries, this wide-ranging catalogue also touches on the ways in which contemporary artists continue to respond to the complex legacy of these objects. Packed with stunning photographs of exquisitely crafted vessels, Mirroring China's Past is an enlightening investigation into how the role of ancient bronzes has evolved throughout Chinese history. Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago Exhibition Schedule: The Art Institute of Chicago (02/25/18-05/13/18)

"How do you think it feels to recognize...the damned?"

Jennie Raeburn has spent most of her life apart from reality, in and out of asylums for the insane, and her granddaughter Maegen has returned home to find out why. From childhood memories to an old diary written entirely in French, Maegen digs deep into the past of a woman who has lost not her mind, but her soul.

With only the diary and the evocative portrait of an unfamiliar man to guide her, she searches for the answer to her grandmother's descent into madness, and learns the story of a forbidden love that divided an entire community.

Can Maegen pick up the pieces of Jennie's shattered life before she is put away forever? Or will Jennie silently waste away, lost to the world...and to herself?

"How do you think it feels to recognize...the damned?"

Jennie Raeburn has spent most of her life apart from reality, in and out of asylums for the insane, and her granddaughter Maegen has returned home to find out why. From childhood memories to an old diary written entirely in French, Maegen digs deep into the past of a woman who has lost not her mind, but her soul.

With only the diary and the evocative portrait of an unfamiliar man to guide her, she searches for the answer to her grandmother's descent into madness, and learns the story of a forbidden love that divided an entire community.

Can Maegen pick up the pieces of Jennie's shattered life before she is put away forever? Or will Jennie silently waste away, lost to the world...and to herself?

The first major publication in English on the bamboo slips excavated from a late fourth century B.C. Chu-state tomb at Guodian, Hubei, in 1993. The slip texts include both Daoist and Confucian works, many previously unknown. Thie monograph is a full account of the international conference held on these texts, at which leading scholars from China, the United States, Europe, and Japan analyzed the Laozi materials and a previously unknown cosmological text. In addition, the contents include nine essays on topics such as the archaeological background of the discovery, conservation of the slip-texts, and the relation of the Guodian Laozi materials to the received Laozi text. An annotated edition of the Guodian Laozi materials and the cosmological text are included, as well as a critical bibliography with summary of Chinese scholarship on the Guodian texts in the year following the conference.