Treasures of China: The Glories of the Kingdom of the Dragon Review

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Treasures of China: The Glories of the Kingdom of the Dragon ReviewI'm not sure if China is THE ONLY ancient civilization to have survived to the present. (Doesn't India count, too?) But she's definitely one of the very, very few to have done so -- and this book shows you the best she has to offer.
Forget for a while the depravities (or weaknesses if you prefer) of the current communist regime. This large-format hardcover takes you back in time to a glorious and magnificent China of the past, celebrating the cultural and artistic achievements of this ancient and proud civilization. Page after page of large full-color photos of the best and most beautiful specimens of Chinese painting, architecture, bronzeware, porcelain, embroidery, lacquerware etc are presented, from every premodern dynasty. Many pages are printed in gold and vermillion, generating a feeling of sheer Oriental opulence. There is a two-page photo of a real lovely Chinese screen. Four pages are devoted to the Temple of Heaven and six to the Forbidden City, its palaces and interiors. It's as if Kublai Khan held you by the hand for a tour of his Pleasure Dome in Xanadu. :) Leafing through the book I almost found myself trying not to touch the pages as I turn them (just their edges) for fear of committing the heinous crime of smudging them with my fingerprints.
The written content, which covers the premodern dynasties from the near-prehistoric Shang right down to the Qing, is on the whole sympathetic to and appreciative of the Chinese tradition, but could be a little more comprehensive. China's achievements in science and technology could be elaborated a little more, as could her mythology. Also, I find it unsatisfactory that the Han Dynasty thinker Wang Chong should be discussed but not Dong Zhongshu, an even more important Han thinker. (He's responsible for making Confucianism premodern China's official state ideology.) Likewise, the Ming thinker Li Zhi is mentioned but not Wang Yangming, perhaps the most important philosopher of the Ming Dynasty, who was virtually alone in coming up with ideas with enough substance to pose a serious challenge to the orthodox doctrines laid down by the arch-philosopher Zhu Xi from the earlier Song Dynasty. Also, among the Tang poets, I don't seem to find Li Bai and Du Fu being mentioned, though Wang Wei is. Finlly, the book says nothing at all of China after the collapse of the last Dynasty, the Qing.
But I suppose that's being a bit demanding on my part. This is after all presumably meant to be a tour of ancient China for the casual reader rather than the scholar. An excellent book on the whole. (Hopefully there'll also be a TREASURES OF INDIA from the same series. :))Treasures of China: The Glories of the Kingdom of the Dragon Overview

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