Xu Xiake (1587-1641)

Xu Xiake (1587-1641)

Author: Julian Ward

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9780700713196

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Sheds new light on the importance of the diaries of Xu Xiake (1587-1641), a compulsive traveller who spent a lifetime visiting and writing about China's 'beauty spots'.


Xu Xiake (1586-1641)

Xu Xiake (1586-1641)

Author: Julian Ward

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-12-16

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1136840486

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In this, the first full-length study in English of China's best-known travel writer, new light is shed on the importance of the diaries of Xu Xiake (1587-1687) a compulsive traveller who spent a lifetime visiting and writing about China's 'beauty spots'. The general view of his work, that he brought a sober, analytical approach to a genre previously the domain of the dillentante and that his writing was 'utilitarian' and lacking in literary merit is cast aside, revealing Xu to be a figure of his age, his concerns perfectly in tune with the exuberant tastes of other late Ming literati. Essential background is provided with a survey of the history of Chinese travel writing in general with particular emphasis given to the late-Ming period and a resume of Xu Xiake's life. The core of the work examines the wealth of new information to be found in a longer version of Xu's account of his great journey to southwest China, rediscovered in the 1970s. Detailed study of Xu's use of language serves to underline the breadth of achievement of a man who utilised traditional and contemporary Chinese poetic language in order to express an emotional response to the landscape through which he passed. This is reinforced by a complete annotated translation of a deeply personal essay, written towards the end of Xu's life. The book covers a broad spectrum of voguish sinological subjects relating to late Ming China ranging from the huge growth in all forms of geographical writing to the anthropological analysis of the non-Han peoples of southwest China. This book will interest both seasoned sinologists and anyone who has spent time travelling in China or is interested in the art of travel writing.


An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture

An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture

Author: Qizhi Zhang

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-04-15

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 3662464829

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This book breaks with convention and provides an overview of Chinese history in the form of special topics. These topics include the major issues of “A Scientific Approach to the Origins of Chinese Civilization,” “Ancient Chinese Society and the Change of Dynasties,” “The Golden Ages of the Han, Tang and Qing Dynasties: a Comparative Analysis,” “Transportation Systems and Cultural Communication in Ancient China,” “Ethnic Relations in Chinese History,” “The Systems of Politics, Law and Selecting Officials in Ancient China,” “Agriculture, Handicraft and Commerce in Ancient China,” “The Military Thought and Military Systems of Ancient China,” “The Rich and Colorful Social Life in Ancient China,” “The Evolution of Ancient Chinese Thought,” “The Treasure House of Ancient Chinese Literature and Art,” “The Emergence and Progress of Ancient Chinese Historiography,” “Reflection on Ancient Chinese Science and Technology,” “New Issues in the Modern History of China,” and “A General Progression to the Socialist Modernization of the People’s Republic of China.” The book is based on current literature and research by university students. The modern history section is relatively concise, while the topics related to ancient Chinese history are longer, reflecting the country’s rich history and corresponding wealth of materials. There is also an in-depth discussion on the socialist modernization of the People’s Republic of China. The book provides insights into Chinese history, allowing readers “to see the value of civilization through history; to see the preciseness of history through civilization.” It focuses on the social background, lifestyle and development processes to illustrate ideologies and ideas.


Routledge Handbook of Revolutionary China

Routledge Handbook of Revolutionary China

Author: Alan Baumler

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-08-12

Total Pages: 487

ISBN-13: 1317235886

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The Routledge Handbook of Revolutionary China covers the evolution of Chinese society from the roots of the Republic of China in the early 1900s until the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. The chapters in this volume explain aspects of the process of revolution and how people adapted to the demands of the revolutionary situation. Exploring changes in political leadership, as well as transformation in culture, it compares the differences in experiences in urban and rural areas and contrasts rapid changes, such as the war with Japan and Communist ‘liberation’ with evolutionary developments, such as the gradual redefinition of public space. Taking a comprehensive approach, the themes covered include: • War, occupation and liberation • Religion and gender • Education, cities and travel. This is an essential resource for students and scholars of Modern China, Republican China, Revolutionary China and Chinese Politics.


Karst Hydrogeology and Human Activities: Impacts, Consequences and Implications

Karst Hydrogeology and Human Activities: Impacts, Consequences and Implications

Author: David Drew

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-05

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1351436120

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One quarter of the world's population lives in karst terrains, yet karsts are highly vulnerable to stresses caused by human activity. This book surveys human impact on karst water, showing that the increasing pollution of the environment has, to a great extent, spoiled sensitive karst ecosystems. This text examines such consequences and offers proposals for future solutions and strategies. Part One provides an overview of the functioning of karsts and of human interaction with karst environments over several millennia. Part Two consists of a systematic examination of the major areas of human activity affecting karst waters, such as agriculture, industry, mining and water exploitation. Finally, Part Three views the effects on karst groundwater within a broader societal and legislative perspective and considers possible changes of methodology and approach.


AJi'an Literati and the Local in Song-Yuan-Ming China

AJi'an Literati and the Local in Song-Yuan-Ming China

Author: Anne Gerritsen

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9004156038

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Drawing on largely local sources, including local gazetteers and literati inscriptions for religious sites, this book offers a comprehensive examination of what it means to be 'local' during the Southern Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties in Ji'an prefecture (Jiangxi). It argues that 'belonging locally' was important to Ji'an literati throughout this period. How they achieved that, however, changed significantly. Southern Song and Yuan literati wrote about religious sites from within their local communities, but their early Ming counterparts wrote about local temples from their posts at the capital, seeking to transform local sites from a distance. By the late Ming, temples had been superseded by other sites of local activism, including community compacts, lineage prefaces, and community covenants.


China's Route Heritage

China's Route Heritage

Author: Gary Sigley

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-09

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1000217884

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China’s Route Heritage examines the creation, development and proliferation of the route heritage discourse of the Ancient Tea Horse Road (Chamagudao), in the People’s Republic of China. Examining the formation of the tea-horse road as a concept, its development as a platform for cultural branding, and its most recent interactions with the policy of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the revival of the discourse on the Silk Roads, the book demonstrates that the tea-horse road is an important part of the discourse on Chinese modernity. Describing the route heritage of the tea-horse road as a ‘mobility narrative’, whereby an ancient route is used to form a narrative of ethnic unity and cooperation, the book demonstrates that the study of such heritage offers unique insights into issues that are of concern to the wider field of critical heritage studies. Sigley also shows how the study of alternative route heritage enables us to gain a broader sense of route heritage discourse and its implications for the discussion of historical, present and future forms of mobility and connectivity within China and beyond its borders. China’s Route Heritage should be of interest to researchers and postgraduate students who are engaged in the study of heritage, China, the Silk Roads and the BRI, politics, international relations and tourism.


How to Read Chinese Prose

How to Read Chinese Prose

Author: Zong-qi Cai

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2022-02-01

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 0231555164

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This book offers a guided introduction to Chinese nonfictional prose and its literary and cultural significance. It features more than one hundred major texts from antiquity through the Qing dynasty that exemplify major genres, styles, and forms of traditional Chinese prose. For each work, the book presents an English translation, the Chinese original, and accessible critical commentary by leading scholars. How to Read Chinese Prose teaches readers to appreciate the literary merits, stylistic devices, rhetorical choices, and argumentative techniques of a wide range of nonfictional writing. It emphasizes the interconnections among individual texts and across eras, helping readers understand the development of the literary tradition and what makes particular texts formative or distinctive within it. Organized by dynastic period and genre, the book identifies and examines four broad categories of prose—narrative, expository, descriptive, and communicative. How to Read Chinese Prose is suitable for a range of courses in Chinese literature, history, religion, and philosophy, as well as for scholars and interested readers seeking to deepen their knowledge of the Chinese prose tradition. A companion book, How to Read Chinese Prose in Chinese, is designed for Chinese-language learners and features many of the same texts.