Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization Review

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Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization ReviewA fabulous book! I'd give it 10 stars!
For the record, I am educated, very interested in archaeology, but not a professional archaeologist. I found this book to be clearly written and informative, but not overwhelming with abstruse detail.
Content-wise, these bronze heads and masks are weird and wonderful, alien, unlike typical Chinese bronze finds--unlike anything else in the world really. Somewhat reminiscent of Aztec or Olmec heads. The composite bird-human figures are intriguing, the google-eyed-trunk-antenna human(?) masks totally awesome.
I would have liked more definite identification of "core-materials," types of stone, and black paint (on eyebrows and eyes of masks and heads) more maps to show where the gold, lead and casting materials came from. It would be really interesting to see a map showing possible related art styles/influences to the Sanxingdui site (text p. 32).
The photography is brilliant, and the adjacent, clearly drawn illustrations of different views and details of the objects are terrific. The layout of the text and illustrations: with notes in the second column, diagrams, and photos all together on the same spread makes it easy to get all the information. (No flipping back and forth to the back of a book for details and asides.)
I would love to see a publication relating what was happining in adjacent contemporary culures to the Sanxingdui bronze head culture. For instance, did any army have headgear similar to the bronze head on p. 95? Is there nothing left of the material that was slotted through the back of this and other heads (dna analysis?)?
All in all a great book.Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization Overview

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Summit Of Treasures: Buddhist Cave Art Of Dazu, China Review

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Summit Of Treasures: Buddhist Cave Art Of Dazu, China ReviewAlthough the best-known cave-temples in China are located at Longmen and along the Silk Road (Dunhuang, etc.), the impressive cave reliefs in Sichuan are less visited and have been comparatively neglected. The beauty of the Song-dynasty sculptures at Dazu is matched equally by their interest as a fascinating amalgam of many different strands of Buddhist belief: Esoteric, Pure Land, Chan (Zen), and more.
Angela Falco Howard's book, with its excellent color photographs and thoughtful text, gives us Dazu in all its beauty, together with her own significant contributions to the scholarship about the site. Tourists and casual visitors will appreciate her clear identification and explanation of every major and minor personage and scene on the reliefs; students and scholars will spend many happy hours delving into the bibliography, notes, and intricacies of her interpretations.
The major criticism I have of this book, is that it presupposes that the reader already understands some quite obscure details of medieval Buddhist philosophy and sects (Huayan/Kegon, etc.) It's all very well to inform us that "the Bodhisattva to the right of Vairocana is Samantabhadra," but if you don't know who Samantabhadra is, you'll probably still be left scratching your head. A glossary is not provided, but would certainly have been welcome.
Readers who are not very familiar with Mahayana Buddhist deities may want to read an intro like "Buddhism," by Louis Frederic, before tackling Howard's book. Regardless, "Summit of Treasures" belongs in the backpack of anybody visiting Dazu, and in the library of any enthusiast of Chinese cave-temple art.
Postscript: I think it is appropriate here to add a plug for the publisher, Weatherhill, who with this book has produced, once again, a great book about Asian art. I'm not affiliated with them at all, but over the years I can't help but noticing how many of their volumes are finding their way into my library. Weatherhill seems to combine the best authors with superb editing (it is almost impossible to find a typo in their books) and to-die-for production, with durable books and copious full-color photography. I'm almost to the point where I'll buy anything with the Weatherhill Mark on it, and I can't really say that about any other publisher, except maybe for Yale. This paragraph is my thank-you to them, for the quality of their books and for all the knowledge and enjoyment that they give us - scholars, tourists, and everybody in-between.Summit Of Treasures: Buddhist Cave Art Of Dazu, China Overview

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A Social History of the Chinese Book: Books And Literati Culture in Late Imperial China (Understanding China: New Viewpoints on History and Culture) Review

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A Social History of the Chinese Book: Books And Literati Culture in Late Imperial China (Understanding China: New Viewpoints on History and Culture) ReviewTo tell the whole story of the 3500 years since printing was invented in China would be too much to ask. This book narrows the subject down to 'only' 800 years from 1000 to 1800 and to only one region, the lower Yangzi delta, and on the one type of reader we know the most about, the literati.
This period encompasses the time when Chinese printing was changing from manuscript to an imprint culture. It also covers four Chinese dynasties: Song (960-1279), Yuan (1232-1367), Ming (1368-1644), Qing (1644-1911).
This book represents a considerable amount of original research into the earliest records of Chinese publishing from Chinese, Japanese and Western records. Dr. McDermott is a lecturer in chinese at Cambridge University.A Social History of the Chinese Book: Books And Literati Culture in Late Imperial China (Understanding China: New Viewpoints on History and Culture) Overview

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