Product Description
This lavishly illustrated book surveys China's immense wealth of arts, architecture, and artifacts from Neolithic and Bronze Age China to the era of the Tang Dynasty. It is the first in a major three-volume series on the arts of China. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Terribly edited, good illustrations
This book is finely illustrated - good choice of items, and good-quality photographs (at least for objects still extant). Its companion book, by the same author, covers the history of Chinese Art to 1620. The third book in the series has not been published yet (2010 update: it is out now).
The text uses pinyin transliteration throughout, a big plus since this is what is used in mainland China today; for example, it makes things easier if you plan to travel to see some of the objects described.
The shortcomings, however, are significant. First of all, the location of the objects illustrated is not always stated, nor is this information provided in a separate list. Second, the style of the writer is appaling! Sentences are so twisted, they sound like a machine translation from Chinese! I had to read sentences twice or three times to figure out their meaning. The editors of the series should really have invested a lot more in revising the language for clarity.
Last, the book does not seem to pay much attention to the implications of recent archaelogical discoveries.
I would suggest Michael Sullivan's "The Arts of China" to the non-specialist looking for an introduction; the volume in the Oxford History of Art series seems very good too.

... Read more

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A reissue with a foreword and supplement, of a modern classic published in 1960. The invention of the mechanical clock was one of the most important turning points in the history of science and technology. This study revealed six centuries of mechanical clockwork preceding the first mechanical escapement clocks of the West of about AD 1300. Detailed and fully illustrated accounts of elaborate Chinese clocks are accompanied by a discussion of the social context of the Chinese inventions and an assessment of their possible transmission to medieval Europe. For this revised edition, Dr Joseph Needham has contributed a new foreword on recent research and perceptions. In a supplement John H. Combridge details a modern reconstruction of Su Sung's timekeeping device, which together with textual studies modifies our understanding of this important early technology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

History of Astronomical and Water Clocks in China
Needham's work is unmatched. Heavenly Clockwork is a scientific research book on the origin of clock building in China with emphasis put on Su Sung's Astronomical Water Clock. Needham, however, does more than give a historical and scientific account of water clocks and astronomical devices in ancient China; he puts China's clockwork into historical perspective, discussing the subject in other regions of the world, including Greece, Egypt, and Korea. For those who are looking for material that looks beyond the Western bias when ancient science and technology are discussed, this is a great book to pick up and enjoy.

Su Sung's great masterpiece astronomical clock
book review _Heavenly clockwork_
HEAVENLY CLOCKWORK the great astronomical clocks of medieval china
by Joseph needham

I read the book because of a statement made in a online discussion group: "the chinese emperor suppressed the knowledge of clockmaking."
This did not fit into my understanding, as i have seen very old water clock diagrams on the walls of bell and drum towers in China, in particular, the drum and bell towers in Beijing had a very complete set of sketches of massive water clocks. Although i could not read the legends i understood that the purpose of the drum and bell towers throughout China was to keep time in a very public way.

Now choosing this particular book was not an accident, i have wanted to get into the massive corpus of Needham's work on China, and this was an opportunity to have a minor need driven learning curve. I was not at all disappointed in the book. It is literally an excellent example of how to do science, how to investigate a historical question, how to marshall facts and prove a difficult point.

But the book is not for the faint of heart, or the mildly interested in horology, it is complete, tedious and not a Sunday afternoon light reading. Nor should it be, it is just as the author intended it, a scientific research book on the origin of clock building in China.

From the introduction: " It is generally allowed that the invention of the mechanical clock was one of the most important turning-points in the history of science and technology. Not only was it the earliest complex device, heralding a whole age of machine-making, but also its regular imitation of the natural motion of the sun and heavens fascinated men and exerted no small influence on their philosophy and theology." The key text which is studied throughout is _New Design for a Mechanised Armillary Sphere and Celestial Globe_ written in 1090AD by Su Sung. The clock was built, a high astronomical clock-tower more than thirty feet high, with sky observation points, moving globes and rings that would be analogous to the same object in the movie "Dark Crystal" with the planets in their various orbits whizzing around the sun.

"To sum up the matter, it is quite clear that one of the reasons why the early Jesuit missionaries were so much welcomed by the Chinese was for their interest in clocks and clock-making, hardly less indeed than for their skill as mathematicians and astronomers. ... In Ricci's time the Jesuit order was capable of attracting for its overseas mssions some of the best minds of Europe. It was a mobilisation of oecumenical idealism something like that which the League or the United Nations have now and then commanded in our own time." pg. 145

It is the 9th chapter: "General History and Transmission of Astronomical Clocks" that i personally found the most fasinating, where Needham takes the details and builds the connections to general thinking and social structures. "Such devices of scientific technology have exercised not a little influnce on the idea that the universe was a great mathematical machine whose workings could be comprehended by exact reasoning. Since astronomy and graphic representation are two of the most ancient of man's arts, it is no wonder that he should want to hold the cosmos in his hand by making a model of it--" pg 179 "This is no accidental feature of mechanical design, but an inherent part of the format of Chinese astronomical theory."pg 180 "The question is also linked closely with the different modes of astronomy in the Hellenistic and Chinese cultures. In the West, a series of happy accidents occurred soon after the arithmetically minded Babylonians had communicated their astronomy to the geometrically strongly-developed Hellenic scientists. These accidents of physical fact and mathematical structure had the effect of directing the best period of genius towards the mathematical analysis of planetary motions rather than to any other part of astronomy." pg 181

I understand that the big question for Needham was why did science develop in the West and not China, given the Chinese invention of all the pieces of what we consider the enabling technology. This book is my first study into the Needham body of writing and i look forward to working through the 12 volume set on Chinese science.

thanks for reading the review, and i hope it inspires you to at least skim the first chapter and chapter 9.

Clockmaking in Ancient China
Needham investigates a 11th C Chinese clock ... Read more

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Translated by Henry Yule. This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1866 edition by the Hakluyt Society, London. ... Read more

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The Tang Dynasty (618-907), traditionally regarded as the golden age of China, was a time of patricians and intellectuals, Buddhist monks and Taoist priests, poetry and music, song and dance. In China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty, Charles Benn paints a vivid picture of the lifestyle behind the grandeur of the Tang culture. All aspects of day-to-day life are presented, including crime,entertainment, fashion, marriage, food, hygiene, dwellings, and transportation. Attend an ancient feast to celebrate an imperial birthday, where ale was served in elaborate pitchers before a meal of fourteen hors d'oeuvres and twenty-three courses. Learn which colors concubines used for their eye makeup and beauty marks, and what jealous wives did to discourage such enhancement. See the similarities between today's pubs and the Tang alehouses, where women were hired to dance and sing to encourage patrons to stay longer and spend more money. Decide for yourself why Yangzhou, a city on the Grand Canal close to the Yangtze River, was considered one of the greatest cities in the Tang Dynasty. Benn translates and paraphrases his classical Chinese sources from the Tang era with fresh and polished prose. He also includes his own illustrations of everything from tools and hairstyles to musical instruments and courtyard dwellings. A history of the rise and fall of the dynasty is presented, as is a look at the societal structure of the aristocracy, bureaucracy, eunuchs, clergy, peasants, artisans, merchants, and slaves. This thorough explanation provides fascinating insight into a culture and time that is often misunderstood by Westerners and brings alive both the everyday routine and the timeless splendor of this intellectually and artistically powerful epoch. Enjoy your journey in China's Golden Age, and come back to the present with a greater understanding of this amazing time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Messed up Book
The book i got back was totally messed up. It started on page 9 with no intro or anything in the beginning. It also began with page 9 and other pages spread throughout the book in no particular order. Would have sent it back but was to late on the return policy.

Great History Book, Quite Enjoyable
If ancient Chinese history is more in your interest, I suggest reading this book.Benn does a thorough investigation of Tang Dynasty life, encompassing religion, household life, and the aristocracy.This is a must read if you find this era of Chinese history fascinating...I enjoyed his section about how the Daoist and Buddhist were constantly trying to lure people into their churches, and also how positions within the Buddhist church could be bought- and people think Catholics were bad!

Interesting, but Lightweight
This is an interesting, but lightweight read. Benn doesn't provide notes or a bibliography, just a suggested readings list (which is excellent). For the causal reader of history or Chinese culture, this is entertaining and easy-to-read book. For the serious scholar or those wanting something more to sink their teeth into, I recommend skipping straight to the suggested readings list.

Easy, informative reading

A light, easy to read rendition of Tang history. Focuses on the everyday aspects of Tang society. The subject matter is neatly presented in chapters labeled Society; Cities and Urban Life; Clothes and Hygiene; Food and Feasts; or Leisure and Entertainment. I appreciated the book's drawings, especially of Tang hairstyles and clothing, which heavily influenced Japanese traditional clothing thereafter. Overall, a peek into Tang commoners' daily life is a refreshing change from usual history material.

Unfortunately, I have to deduct 1 star here because the author, for unknown reason, kept referring to sixth Tang emperor Xuanzong by his anglicized moniker "Illustrious August", which casts a fortune cookie feel over an otherwise enjoyable read.

China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty
A very informative publication of life in the Tang dynasty.
Well written (although sometimes meandering) and an easy read. ... Read more

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A vivid portrait of the culture of a provincial military society in China's early medieval period and its interactions with the southern imperial court. ... Read more

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This book argues that the Mongol invasion of China in the thirteenth century precipitated a lasting transformation of marriage and property laws that deprived women of their property rights and reduced their legal and economic autonomy. It describes how indigenous social change combined with foreign invasion and cultural confrontation to bring laws more into line with the goals of the radical Confucian philosophers, who wished to curtail women's financial and personal autonomy. This book provides a reevaluation of the Mongol invasion and its influence on Chinese law and society, and presents a new look at the changing position of women in premodern China. ... Read more

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The first comprehensive survey of the spectacular art produced in China during a pivotal era in its history

From the fall of the Han dynasty at the turn of the third century to the eventual reunification of the country under the Sui at the turn of the seventh century, China experienced a tumultuous and fascinating political and cultural history. The political fragmentation that occurred between the dynasties and the massive migration of nomadic peoples into China resulted in contact with people from every part of Asia and the introduction of foreign ideas, religion, art forms, and motifs. Out of this grew the magnificent art of Tang China in the early eighth century.

This book is the first comprehensive survey of Chinese art during this complex era. Lavishly illustrated and produced, the volume presents more than three hundred recent archaeological finds: including gold artifacts made by the nomadic peoples from Mongolia, luxury articles of glass and precious metals from Western and Central Asia, early Chinese Buddhist sculptures, and spectacular works in every medium from the Tang period. Essays by distinguished scholars provide a historical background, discuss the various media, and trace the changes in art styles over a period that saw a radical modification of Chinese civilization.

In the great tradition of publications on Chinese art from the Metropolitan Museum, China: Dawn of a Golden Age will become an essential text for years to come.

•This book is the catalogue for a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (October 5, 2004 to January 23, 2005).

James C.Y. Watt is Brooke Russell Astor Chairman, Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Masterpieces of Chinese Art from the Early Middle Ages (200–750 AD)
James C. Y. Watt

Published to coincide with and complement the major exhibition catalogue China: Dawn of a Golden Age (200–750 AD), this book is an accessible introduction to the art of this period. Included is James C. Y. Watt’s informative introductory essay, along with descriptive texts and color illustrations for a selection of the art in the exhibition: eighty objects chosen for their beauty and importance.

... Read more

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The four centuries of the Han dynasties from 206 BC to AD 220 witnessed major developments in the ideas of sovereignty. Michael Loewe traces these changes along with some of their religious aspects, including the techniques used by emperors and others to forecast the future or to divine the present. Both mythology and the tradition of learning affected the growth of the imperial ideal that, despite its failings, was of major importance both for the Han and China's subsequent dynasties. ... Read more

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The remains of Tai Fu's lost collection Kuang-i chi ("The Great Book of Marvels") preserve three hundred short tales of encounters with the other world.Through the eyes of an official, the picture emerges of a complex lay society, served by a mixed priesthood of ritual practitioners.This study develops a style of close reading through which the tales give access to the lives of individuals in eighth-century China, a society embarking on fundamental change. ... Read more

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This is one of a pair of volumes by Paul Kroll (the companion volume deals with medieval Taoism and the poetry of Li Po). Collecting eleven essays by this leading scholar of Chinese poetry, the volume presents a selection of studies devoted to the medieval period, centering especially on the T'ang dynasty. It opens with the author's famous articles on the dancing horses of T'ang, on the emperor Hsuan Tsung's abandonment of his capital and forced execution of his prized consort, and on poems relating to the holy mountain T'ai Shan (with special attention to Li Po). Following these are detailed examinations of landscape and mountain imagery in the poetry of the 'High T'ang' period in the mid-8th century, and of an extraordinary attempt made in the mid-9th-century to recall in verse and anecdote the great days of the High T'ang. The second section of the book includes two articles on birds (notably the kingfisher and the egret) in medieval poetry, and four of Kroll's influential studies focusing on the verse-form known as the fu or 'rhapsody,' especially drawing from the 3rd-century poet Ts'ao Chih and the 7th-century poet Lu Chao-lin. ... Read more

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This comprehensive history of the northern frontier of China through the first millennium B.C. details the formation of two increasingly distinct cultural areas: the sedentary Chinese and the northern nomads.Nicola Di Cosmo explores the tensions existing between these two worlds as they became progressively more polarized, with the eventual creation of the nomadic Hsiung-nu empire in the north, and of the Chinese empire in the south. Di Cosmo investigates the origins of the antagonism between early China and its "barbarian" neighbors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Solid scholarship
This is not a book for the casual reader nor somebody seeking a shallow introduction into the field. However, if this is your area of interest then this tome should satisfy you. It is very well researched and the hypotheses are very well argued.

The book is divided into four parts that are roughly chronological. The first part is primarily based on archeology. It was a bit of a chore to read as the author listed items to explain how the different designs showed different cultural aspects. Unfortunately, it was like walking blind through a museum with a very knowledgeable guide telling you what you saw. This approach was essential as it set up the evidence for the early part of the book. Di Cosmo posits that the nomadic tribes might not have been behind settled tribes along the developmental spectrum, indeed nomadic tribes may have been capable of evolving into nomadic peoples becausee they had undergone a sedentary period in their development.

One of di Cosmo's most interesting theories is his view that the original walls of 'The Great Wall' were not marks of a defensive posture against aggressive nomads but rather the bases for the Chinese to exercise hegemonic authority over the tribes along the frontier. The wall was not borne of fear but of a desire for conquest. This is not necessarily controversial as the Romans appreciated that walls could designate a border and also allow Roman influence to cross into barbarian lands from a firm base.

If you are looking for arguments connecting the Huns to the Hsiung-Nu, you will be disappointed because di Cosmo understandably avoids that debate as not being connected with his central hypotheses. He does, however, devote many pages to discussing the Hsiung-Nu's emergence and their rocky relationship with China.

I would strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in this field for its solid research. The book has convincingly pushed back the mists of mythology from the physical borderlands of China's historical narrative.

Thoughtful Combination of History and Historiography
This thoughtful book is an interesting combination of historical analysis and historiography.Di Cosmo's primary objective is to reveal the complexities of the relationships between the early Chinese states and the their northern nomadic neighbors.In particular, Di Cosmo wants to debunk the traditional dualistic opposition between Chinese civilization and predatory Central Asian nomads.Di Cosmo points out that the traditional approach was largely formulated by Confucian oriented Chinese historians, especially the great Han historian Ssu-ma Chi'en (Sima Qian), and adopted more or less uncritically by westerners working in early Chinese history.

Di Cosmo begins with a survey of the archaeology of East Asian steppe regions and the surrounding regions to the north and south.By the middle of the first millenium BC, pastoral nomadic cultures were established leading wholly nomadic lives, with sophisticated metallurgy, powerful bows, and practicing effective cavalry warfare.Di Cosmo points out as well that these cultures interacted with a variety of other cultures, some agro-pastoral, some agricultural, and some hunting based.Northern China, the steppe regions, and surrounding regions are reconstructed as a complex patchwork of interacting societies with different features with pastoral nomads on the steppes and the emerging Chinese states to the south.

In Di Cosmo's historical reconstruction, the growth of the central Chinese states led not only to the Imperial unification of the Chin period but also to considerable expansion of the Chinese states into what is now Northern China, resulting in direct conflict with steppe nomads.Di Cosmo argues that Chinese state expansionism, particularly the aggression of the Chin state, led to social reorganization of at least one steppe nomad people, the Hsiung-Nu.Under the pressure of Chinese expansionism, the Hsiung-Nu developed the first steppe empire with a single charismatic leader, more centralization of authority, and a militarized society quite capable of defeating the Chinese armies in battle.After the collapse of the Chin state and the assumption of power by the Han dynasty, the Chinese state was not powerful enough to defeat the Hsiung-Nu and entered into a tributary relationship with the Hsiung-Nu.The Hsiung-Nu empire, however, required a constant infusion of external resources to maintain its political equilibrium.This led to constant demands for tribute and raiding of Han China.Over time, the Han state underwent internal consolidation and grew in power. With the adoption of effective cavalry and ability to marshal considerable resources, the Han were eventually able to confront the Hsiung-Nu successfully, though only at great expense.Di Cosmo's reconstruction is based on a careful reading of the existing texts, use of archaeological data, and some appeal to ethnographic data.It makes a lot of sense.

Di Cosmo concludes with thoughtful historiographic section on Sima Qian and how this powerful intellect developed the traditional model of Chinese-nomadic opposition.

This book is written well and Di Cosmo's analyses are thought through well.It certainly provides a new perspective on early China and by extension, the role of central Asian nomads.

Dense, not for the average reader.
This reads like a PhD thesis, so dense and wordy that it's exhausting to read it. I finally got through it and can say that I was it was very enlightening by the end. I guess for content I would rate it worth four stars, but I'm pretty sure that it could have been more accessible and fun to read, so it loses a star.

A carefully researched and superbly presented history
Ancient China And Its Enemies: The Rise Of Nomadic Power In East Asian History by Nicola Di Cosmo (Senior Lecturer in Chinese History at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand) is a carefully researched and superbly presented history of the northern frontier of China from 900 to 1000 B.C., combining both Chinese historical texts and archaeological evidence. From the rise of pastoral nomadism in Eurasia, to the first contacts between horse-riding nomads and Chinese states, to a large-scale political shift in China from appeasement to military engagement, Ancient China And Its Enemies is a fascinating, detailed, scholarly, and very strongly recommended historical survey and analysis. ... Read more

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Throughout Chinese history mountains have been integral components of the religious landscape. They have been considered divine or numinous sites, the abodes of deities, the preferred locations for temples and monasteries, and destinations for pilgrims. Early in Chinese history a set of five mountains were co-opted into the imperial cult and declared sacred peaks, yue, demarcating and protecting the boundaries of the Chinese imperium.

The Southern Sacred Peak, or Nanyue, is of interest to scholars not the least because the title has been awarded to several different mountains over the years. The dynamic nature of Nanyue raises a significant theoretical issue of the mobility of sacred space and the nature of the struggles involved in such moves. Another facet of Nanyue is the multiple meanings assigned to this place: political, religious, and cultural. Of particular interest is the negotiation of this space by Daoists and Buddhists. The history of their interaction leads to questions about the nature of the divisions between these two religious traditions. James Robson’s analysis of these topics demonstrates the value of local studies and the emerging field of Buddho-Daoist studies in research on Chinese religion.

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This book traces the history of the Chinese concept of "Warm diseases" (wenbing) from antiquity to the SARS epidemic. Following wenbing from its birth to maturity and even life in modern times Marta Hanson approaches the history of Chinese medicine from a new angle. She explores the possibility of replacing older narratives that stress progress and linear development with accounts that pay attention to geographic, intellectual, and cultural diversity. By doing so her book integrates the history of Chinese medicine into broader historical studies in a way that has not so far been attempted, and addresses the concerns of a readership much wider than that of Chinese medicine specialists.

The persistence of wenbing and other Chinese disease concepts in the present can be interpreted as resistance to the narrowing of meaning in modern biomedical nosology. Attention to conceptions of disease and space reveal a previously unexamined discourse the author calls the Chinese geographic imagination. Tracing the changing meanings of "Warm diseases" over two thousand years allows for the exploration of pre-modern understandings of the nature of epidemics, their intersection with this geographic imagination, and how conceptions of geography shaped the sociology of medical practice and knowledge in late imperial China.

Speaking of Epidemics in Chinese Medicine opens a new window on interpretive themes in Chinese cultural history as well as on contemporary studies of the history of science and medicine beyond East Asia.

Marta E. Hanson is Assistant Professor in the Department of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, USA. 

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"The reprinting in 2006 of a book originally produced nearly fifty years earlier (and based on a doctoral dissertation begun in the early 1950s) is not merely a publishing event. It constitutes a milestone in the academic study of early Chinese Buddhism that shows at once both how far the field has progressed in the past half-century as well as how fundamental the book remains." (From the new Introduction.) At the repeated request of many scholars and students here is a new edition of E. Zurcher's groundbreaking "The Buddhist Conquest of China". In his extensive introduction Stephen F. Teiser (D.T. Suzuki Professor in Buddhist Studies, Princeton University) explains why the book is still the standard in the field of early Chinese Buddhism. The introduction, newly written for this edition, analyzes the development of the field from the 1950s to the present. This edition is also updated by utilizing Pinyin (rather than the Wade-Giles system of the first two editions) for the transcription of Chinese and by including a thorough bibliography of E. Zurcher's more recent work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Indispensible
I have been using this book in the course I am taking on Chinese Buddhism at Hong Kong University, and I have to say that the depth of research involved in compiling this book is outstanding and despite being originally published more than three decades ago. This current reprint is as useful as ever in its analysis of early Buddhism in China. It also builds on previous research and shows how prior theories such Liang Qichao's theory of Buddhism being disseminated from the south, through the maritime ports is no longer tenable.

The book makes good use of the textual analysis and also balances it with a good understanding and depiction of the historical period and the political events that characterized each period, which helps place the Buddhism in context as one can start to get lost in the large number of monks and their translations. The part on the period of the three kingdoms was especially good, with the author dealing with each kingdom in turn, and this shed additional light on some of the characters that one may have been acquainted with from the romance of the three kingdom novels - like Cao Cao and Sun Quan and the Sima family.

The book is also very useful in that it includes the Chinese characters for all the names and difficult concepts within the text, unlike some books where you have to flip backwards and forwards to a glossary at the back of the book.

Reprint edition in the works!
Still not yet replaced and often cited in contemporary works, it is good news that Brill has decided to republish the 1972 edition (a reprint of the original 2 volume, 1959 edition with "additions and corrections") of this work, with a new, additional introduction by Stephen Teiser, and perhaps combining the text and notes as a single volume.The anticipated publication date is Autumn 2006. ... Read more

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This new entry in the Longman Library of World Biography series offers the compelling story of Wu Zhao - one woman’s unlikely and remarkable ascent to the apex of political power in the patriarchal society of traditional China.

Wu Zhao, Woman Emperor of China is the account of the first and only female emperor in China’s history. Set in vibrant, multi-ethnic Tang China, this biography chronicles Wu Zhao’s humble beginnings as the daughter of a provincial official, following her path to the inner palace, where she improbably rose from a fifth-ranked concubine to becoming Empress. Using clever Buddhist rhetoric, grandiose architecture, elegant court rituals, and an insidious network of “cruel officials” to cow her many opponents in court, Wu Zhao inaugurated a new dynasty in 690, the Zhou. She ruled as Emperor for fifteen years, proving eminently competent in the arts of governance, deftly balancing factions in court, staving off the encroachment of Turks and Tibetans, and fostering the state’s economic growth.

Customer Reviews (1)

A probing study of power, politics, and gender
Behind this fabulous tale of the rise of the daughter of a lumber merchant to the first and only female emperor of China is a probing study of power, politics, and gender.I was particularly enthralled by Rothschild's explanation of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism in the Tang Dynasty and the ways in which they were variously used to invent a new language of symbols--indeed, to create a new political reality.This book is a tour de force filled with gruesome lore worthy of a historical novella by Tanizaki.

... Read more

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The first comprehensive survey of Chinese environmental history, this book crystallizes a new field of scholarship that studies the creation of distinct environments as a result of the interaction of human social systems with the natural world.Pioneering essays explore new methodologies of historical environmental research, comparisons of China with the West and Japan, and the impact of the early modern ecological transformation on the spread of disease.An indispensable book for those trying to understand the foundations of modern China or the origins of many of contemporary China's most daunting challenges. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Afterlife Comes Alive
I had no idea that so much fascinating information about death and the afterlife could be gleaned from ancient Chinese manuscripts.The author does an amazing job of reconstructing actual religious practice.Also makes great connections to Buddhist philosophy and rituals that are important everywhere in the Buddhist world. ... Read more

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The Southern Tang was one of China’s minor dynasties and one of the great states in China in the tenth century. Although often regarded as one of several states preceding the much better known Song dynasty (960-1279), the Southern Tang dynasty was in fact the key state in this period, preserving cultural values and artefacts from the former great Tang dynasty (618-907) which were to form the basis of Song rule, and thereby presenting the Song with a direct link to the Tang and it traditions.

Drawing mainly on primary Chinese sources, this is the first book in English to provide a comprehensive overview of the Southern Tang, and full coverage of military, cultural and political history in the period.  It focuses on a successful, albeit short-lived, attempt to set up an independent regional state in the modern provinces of Jiangxi and Jiangsu, and establishes the Southern Tang dynasty in its own right. It follows the rise of the Southern Tang state to become the predominant claimant of the Tang heritage and the expansionist policies of the second ruler culminating in the occupation and annexation of the two of the Southern Tang’s neighbours, Min (Fujian) and Chu (Hunan). Finally the narrative describes the decline of the dynasty under its last ruler, the famous poet Li Yu, and its ultimate surrender to the Song dynasty.