Product Description
This study examines law enforcement within the context of Sung society. Professor McKnight shows that the group of criminals who were the core of the habitual criminal group in Sung China were young unattached males with few lifeskills. What became of the criminal after capture and conviction is also an important aspect of this study, which addresses basic questions in Chinese punishment. This work is the first comprehensive study of law enforcement in traditional China. The depth and rigour to which the subject is treated would make it most appropriate for scholars in legal history and East Asian studies. ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1931. None of the manuscripts which have come down to us represent the original form of Marco Polo's narrative, but it is clear that certain texts are closer to the lost original than others. Entrusted with the task of preparing a new Italian edition of Marco Polo, Benedetto discovered many unknown manuscripts. He carefully edited the most famous of the manuscripts (the Geographic text) and collated it with the other best known ones.
· An invaluable index has been added to Aldo Ricci's of Benedetto's text, which includes all the identifications made in the Geographic text and also later editions by Marsden (1818), Pauthier (1865) and Yule (1871).
· The difficulty of following Polo on his many journeys has also been simplified by the process of distinguishing between those places on his main route to China and his return journey by sea to Persia and those places which he visited during his stay in China and those he never visited at all.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Kindle edition lacks navigation
The kindle edition lacks any navigation features. There's no table of contents, no links to notes, no index.It's a large book, and the kindle edition doesn't allow casual reading.

Kindle Edition
This book is not good on the Kindle.First it took about 10 minutes of hitting Next Page in order to get through all the introductions.Second this edition has 2 pages of footnotes for every page of the actual book. The text and notes are the same font so it is hard to distinguish between them.Maybe it is of interest to an academic but to a casual reader it is a bit annoying.It was only 99 cents so I guess it is worth the inconvenience.

The Travels of Marco Polo
The Travels of Marco Polo was an extremely educational novel. I chose to read this book because my AP World History class was to read a book and then write a review over it, and I needed all the help in reviewing the course as I could get before the AP exam. Reading this book helped to teach me how life along the silk road was by connecting with because I could relate to the actual feelings of the author. This book was written by Marco Polo himself, which allowed him to contribute the real thoughts of the traveler, instead of having a hitory book format where the content in emotionless and simply rambles details. With text books, the information goes in one ear and right out the other for me, however by reading this book I was actually able to comprehend the information provided.
The Travels of Marco Polo contained bits of info on things such as Africa and India and their culture, China in all its wealth, along with the Mongol empire. When reading this book, you may want to watch exactly what you believe because although it may be true, there are many facts Polo provides that may very well be untrue. This book is great for reading if you want to learn a lot without the dullness of text book like writing, however I don't think it's very good for a pleasure read unless you're really into history.

horrible edition
This is perhaps the worst edition of any book that I have ever encountered.It is a scan of an older edition, but the mis-scanned bits have not been touched up or corrected in any way.The headers and notes are indecipherable from the body of the text, there are incomplete sentences, and at one point the text bleeds off the page.The one benefit of this text is that it allows students to see what a truly bad edition looks like, making them realize, in real time, the importance of using a good edition of something.

I was hoping to get an inexpensive version of Polo's Travels for my great books class, and ended up with the Modern Library Classics version.

Negative five stars!

Made someone happy
The book arrived in good condition and in time to give on Christmas.The recipiant was very happy to receive it. ... Read more

Product Description
The Heian period (Heian jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-ky?, or modern Kyoto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic family who had intermarried with the Emperor of Japan. Heian means "peace and tranquility" in Japanese. ... Read more

Product Description
The Far East comes alive in this activity book centered on Marco Polo's journey to China from Venice along the 13th-century Silk Road. Kids will join Marco as he travels by caravan through vast deserts and over steep mountain ranges, stopping in exotic cities and humble villages, until at last he arrives at the palace of the Kublai Khan. Woven throughout the tale are 21 activities that highlight the diverse cultures Marco encountered along the way. Activities include making a mythical map, creating a mosaic, fun with Feng Shui, making paper, and putting on a wayang-kulit (shadow-puppet play). Just for fun, kids will learn a few words of Turkish, Persian, Mongol, Hindi, and Chinese. A complete resource section with magnificent museums and their Web sites invites kids to embark on their own expedition of discovery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

We love these books!
This series is great for kids--lots of great information and hands-on science and art activities that are easy to do around the house.The reading content is somewhat difficult--more for the 4th grade and up.Even my 8th grader likes to read them!

FIVE STARS & then some!!
This has to be one of the best activity / history combinations I have yet seen.I used this book as curriculum for my homeschool, 4th, 5th & 7th grades.My two highschool age kids have even joined in the fun.

There are fairly complex activities, such as weaving a wall hanging, and less complex ones as well, such as making yogurt.My children have thoroughly enjoyed this unit on Marco Polo.

Ms. Herbert truly makes Marco Polo's journey come alive with pertinent activities, stories, tidbits, and asides.I also love how she starts with the perpective of one individual, on a personal basis, then leans out further into history, drawing the interest of the child further & further along, to a much broader perspective, then back to one on one with Marco Polo again.Most importantly, she does NOT leave God out of the equation; rather she dances about with it, allowing parents to delve into the religious aspects as they please, to the extent they please.While religion is not an overwhelming factor, it IS taken into consideration, and I believe any religion would feel comfortable with how she has tastefully addressed it. ... Read more

Product Description
Every general account of the development of Chinese thought makes mention of Tung Chung-shu (195-105 BCE) as one of the pivotal philosophers of the Han.His Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn established the first state-sponsored Confucian orthodoxy, and created a view of the ruler and his role in government that was focal in political discussion for two thousand years. The author has carefully scrutinized this text for authenticity, and her book represents the most systematic account yet of Tung Chung-shu's importance in Chinese philosophy and religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent account of Dong Zhong Shu's work
Professor Queen's informative treatise on the hermaneutics of the Confucian Spring and Autumn is a relatively concise text, though the level of language and jargon is very high. Useful as a text or a resource forresearch. ... Read more

Product Description
China at the Court of the Emperors presents almost two hundred masterpieces, various in form and rich in beauty, coming from thirty-two museums and institutes in Shaanxi, Henan, Gansu, and Jiangsu provinces, many of them never seen in the West before.It examines the vast period from the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) through the Tang (618–907), during which Chinese civilization underwent radical transformation. As a matter of fact, Tang China synthesized foreign and indigenous elements that had been present for centuries, thus creating a new, distinctive, and extraordinary cosmopolitan civilization, made possible by tolerance—a message as important today as it was 1,500 years ago.The book includes essays by some of the foremost experts in the field, including Roderick Whitfield (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), Felix Schoeber (University of Westminster, London), Lillian Lan-ying Tseng (Yale University), Nicola di Cosmo (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton), Stefano Zacchetti (Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice), and Chao-Hui Jenny Liu (New York University). ... Read more

Product Description
This is a study of landholding, taxation and social structure in one county of central China that became famous in the Ming and Ch'ing periods for producing great officials and remarkable intellectual traditions. The primary aim of the author is to investigate the composition, organisation and economic basis of the local elite, in particular the role played by large kinship groups and among her sources are local gazetteers and lineage genealogies. The importance of the book is that it looks at the elite in a local context, rather than focusing on the national elite of top degree-holders and officials. As an in-depth case study of the history of elite families and lineages, social structure and social mobility and also economic history in one locality over five centuries or so the book, is unique and will be of interest to anthropologists as well as sociologists and historians. ... Read more

Product Description
A study of the 15 1/2 foot handscroll of the "Classic of Filial Piety" by Li Kung-Lin, the pre-eminent figure painter of eleventh century China. ... Read more

Product Description
Taoism, the Most Popular among a Thousand Religions; Tao-Teh King, or Book of the Virtues of the Tao; The "Divine Classic" of Chuang-Tze, the popularizer of Taoism; Later Taoist Texts; Yin Pu King; The Imperial Mandate Raising Lao-Tze to Godhood; Thai-Shang, the most popular Taoist Book; The Works of Mencius the Founder of Confucianism as the State Religion, plus more! ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive study of the Hongzhou school of Chan Buddhism, long regarded as the Golden Age of this tradition, using many previously ignored texts, including stele inscriptions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good reference, not much more.
If you want a history lesson, written in the style of an academic, with endless foot notes and references, this is the book for you.If you however are a layman seeking Chan information, I would pass.It was interesting, with a lot of history, but my search is far more personal so I walked away from it rather disappointed.The author has done his homework, but it is rather a boring read, It's more of a text book, and not a very interesting one at that.

"But you shall shine more bright in these contents than unswept stone..."
What are the chances that two excellent books on the Hongzhou School would be published within months of each other? So it is, though. Jinhua Jia's "The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism" and Mario Poceski's "Ordinary Mind as the Way" (Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism) both add much to our knowledge of this otherwise relatively understudied but immensely influential aspect of Chan/Zen Buddhism in Tang China, and both came out just recently in 2007. Independently and spontaneously, no less, according to the inscrutable operations of some scholarly zeitgeist. Both too are indispensable in their own ways.

By rights I should be focusing more on Jia's book here. As happenstance would have it, though, I just finished reading Poceski's book about a week ago or so, and my impressions are still too fresh to make this anything but a rather comparative evaluation. Like Poceski, Jia convincingly undercuts the eccentric and iconoclastic images of Mazu, Baizhang, and the Hongzhou school, showing through careful and judicious use of reliably datable texts that they were very much conservatively monastic monks with a thorough grounding in the Buddhist scriptural canon. Jia's method is much more rigorously and thoroughly philological, and she leads the reader along in an intricate process of uncovering different layers in the encounter dialogues (sources ruled out by Poceski), bits of which seem to be authentic historically according to her. Sometimes this seems tedious at first, but then when Jia marshals all the details and makes her points, it all falls into place and the reader's patience is rewarded.

Also like Poceski, Jia first establishes what can be known historically about Mazu and his school, and then goes on to examine their characteristic religious doctrines and practices. In Jia's case, though, she gives more focus to the Hongzhou School's later attempts to achieve orthodoxy and explores within that process its supposed schism with the Shi-tou School [please pardon the hyphen], arguing in conclusion that this split was a retrospective narrative cooked up considerably later for clear polemical reasons. She also succeeds in shedding fascinating new light on an old tangle, the authorship of the monastic regulations attributed to Baizhang which supposedly initiated Chan's institutional independence. Jia compellingly examines the existing sources (including a few previously overlooked ones) and demonstrates clearly that these rules are neither the creation of Baizhang Huaihai himself as per the standard normative narratives nor a Song Dynasty invention from scratch as per the academic debunkers--and, a surprise for both sides, far from freeing Chan from reliance on the Vinaya rules, they originally reinforced that reliance.

If there is one thing that's annoying about this fine study, it's that Jia sometimes speaks in terms perhaps a bit too categorically certain--that something MUST be a forgery or MUST be authentic. Surely, despite Jia's considerable acumen here, we are dealing with high probabilities rather than absolutes. That said, I imagine few have done the requisite textual homework to call her bluff. In the end, too, it is highly instructive to read this book soon after Poceski's: both take off from very similar starting points and reach similar overall conclusions, and yet the details in their discussions diverge and their investigations branch off in differing directions. If nothing else, lots more interesting work awaits in this area, but a good start has been made with these two pivotal studies. Jia's is not nearly as smooth a read, but it makes up for that in methodological brass tacks. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
A groundbreaking work that treats writing as a ritual practice and texts as ritual objects. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Writing of Weddings in MiddlePeriod China
The authoris deeply versed in his texts and has wonderful fluidity in his use of them.Unfortunately he seems far too impressed with himself and unwilling to acknowledge the contributions of those who came before, often dismissing their work by name. This both gives the book an unpleasant gestalt and leads the author to overstate the importance of his insights, which might otherwise make an important contribution to an existing discourse. ... Read more

Product Description
Homo erectus is an extinct species of the genus Homo, which originated in Africa and spread as far as China and Java. Depending on the definition of the species, it is considered to be either a direct ancestor of modern humans, or a separate species which co-existed with the distinct Homo neanderthalensis and a third branch which is a direct ancestor of modern humans. H. erectus originally migrated from Africa during the Early Pleistocene, possibly as a result of the operation of the Saharan pump, around 2.0 million years ago, and dispersed throughout much of the Old World. Fossilized remains 1.8 and 1.0 million years old have been found in Africa and Europe Vietnam, and China ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Tan Kah Kee(October 21, 1874 - August 12, 1961) was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore, and eventually a respectable Communist leader in the People's Republic of China.Tan Kah Kee was born in Jimei, Tong'an County, Fujian Province, China (present-day Jimei District in Xiamen City), and went to Singapore in 1890, when he was 16 years old, to work for his father's rice store. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
Matteo Ricci (1552-1616), an Italian Jesuit, entered China in1583 to spread Catholicism in the largely Confucian country. In orderto make a persuasive argument for the educated Chinese to abandontheir traditional faith for the new one he was carrying, Riccirealized that he would have to prove the general superiority ofWestern culture. He did so by teaching young Confucian scholars tricksto increase their memory skills--an important advantage in a nationwith countless laws and rituals that had to be learned by heart. Ricciattracted numerous students with this method; more important, Riccicame to have a sympathetic understanding for China that hecommunicated to Rome, and thence to the European nations atlarge. Spence's portrait of Ricci is a gem of historicalwriting. --Gregory MacNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Memorable
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci uses a Chinese-language treatise by Ricci on the mnemonic arts as a guide to the story of his mission to China. Ricci was the first Christian missionary to be able to establish residence in Beijing, in 1601. His story is as remarkable - Ricci was able to learn Chinese well enough to translate books and debate points of theology with local scholars, and his capacity for memorisation appears to have been exceptional - as it is poignant. It also offers rich comment on mutual European and Chinese Renaissance-era prejudices. Indeed, Spence makes a very entertaining job of digging up colourful cultural details from both sides, and in painting the mission's political, economic, and religious context.

The memory palace was a system by which information was placed within the rooms of an imaginary palace, in this case a single room peopled with statues conjured for their association value with Chinese characters. Spence's book uses the palace images as its own guide, and he also analyses four religious prints published, with brief commentaries by Ricci, in a contemporary Chinese collection of graphics. The book is loosely chronological as well as thematic, following its protagonist from Macerata in Italy to Rome, Goa, Macau, and through various provincial cities to Ricci's death in Beijing. This is both an original and an insightful historical work, with wide relevance in spite of its specialised topic.

Stranger in a Strange Land
Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit priest, lived in China for 27 years, from 1582 to 1610, working towards the conversion of the Chinese.Do you think he bit off more than he could chew ?Maybe so.At any rate, he gave it his best.Why he was inclined to do so, and how he went about doing it, are the basic topics of this most interestingly constructed book.I would say there are several levels to consider.First, the training and background of such a missionary figure in that time, including the works of philosophy and religion that influenced him.The hardships of being a missionary are not neglected. Second, the Chinese society of that time and why Ricci's mission was basically "Mission Impossible". Third, a study in contradictions: the misunderstanding of each "side" of the other's longterm goals, the contradictory images of other faiths (Buddhism, Judaism, Islam), the clash between trade and faith in Europe, and the different concepts of morality.While globalization had begun, it had a long, long way to go.A fourth theme might be more literary: how a scholar like Spence could construct such a literary approach to history, making it sparkle and shine in ingenious ways for a reader.I was fascinated by this process.I would say that for anyone interested in history per se, this would be a five star book.However, if you are primarily concerned with China, this study is more about Europe and perhaps, "Europe meets China in the late 16th century".If you are more interested in Europe, there are probably more central works for you.Readers interested in what a `memory palace' might be are advised to obtain a copy of the book.It's a fascinating read if not the easiest.

An enlightening history
As I grow older, I worry sometimes about the aging 'muscle' in my head.I had noticed that Thomas Harris mentioned this book in the back of his novel Hannibal, so I ordered it;Not to be like the fictional Dr. Lecter, but rather to develop my memory and keep it honed.
This is book about history, about discipline, about a passion.Spence knows his stuff, to be sure, but I find his style to be aggravating--the research is phenomnal and very much appreciated, but there are times when it interrupts the flow of the read.This is the only reason I give it four stars instead of five.Otherwise, it is a Five-star. I like the book immensely, and I am learning.

A book Sinophiles and European Historians will Love
Not being interested in Christian missionary work in China, I had resisted reading this book for years. That was a terrible mistake and another example of how you can't judge a book by its cover or title. The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci is not so much a book about Matteo Ricci or missionaries as it is a look at the two continents of Europe and Asia in the late 1500's to 1610 (when Matteo Ricci died). It covers subjects such as crusades, plagues, theology, the arts, travel, China leading up to the fall of the Ming (1644), corruption, punishments, dress, the role of Buddhism in Chinese society, slavery, sodomy, food and so much more.

Yes, it is a book for historians or those interested in historical times, especially the Inquisition and Christianity's outreach to foreign shores, but its breadth of topics is so unusual, and its treatment of these subjects through the eyes of one man who left his native Italy to travel to Rome, Portugal, Goa, and eventually China so detailed, that the rewards of reading this book were wholly unexpected and thus a wonderful surprise--like opening a tin to discover a jewel box.

Train of Consciousness...
This book had some wonderful nuggets about Ricci and China, but there were so many tangents and mind-numbing details that it was challenging to read.The main issue is that the book is thematic in nature rather than chronological.On one page Spence is talking in detail about China in 1582 and the next he's talking in detail about Portugal in 1567.He flips back and forth across the decades and the continents enough that it's very difficult to get a picture of Ricci's life.A lot of Spence's content seems pulled from history books on Europe, having little or nothing to do with either Ricci or China.If you want a random, panoramic view of life in the late 1500's this book is for you.If you're looking for a comprehensive, orderly look at Ricci or China or his memory system you may be disappointed.It's worth the read, but with appropriate expectations. ... Read more

Product Description
The periodbetween the fall of the Tang dynastyin 907 and the establishment of the Song in 960 is often dismissed as a bleak chapter in Chinese history, a half-century of national disunity and anarchy. However, while it is true that the north during this time was continually ravaged by attacks from Khitans and Turks, the southenjoyed a time of peace, economic prosperity, and cultural growth. This engaging study by the eminent Sinologist Edward H. Schafer examines the so-called Empire of Min, centered in the coastal and semi-tropical present-day province of Fujian. Professor Schafer describes the geography, government, and political structure of Min, as well as its economy, arts, literature, and religion. As those familiar with the work of Professor Schafer might expect, the interesting economic and political issues of the day are made clear, and its colorful characters and their various machinations come alive. This limited reprinted work incorporates the corrigenda compiled by the author. ... Read more

Product Description
This well-researched and lavishly illustrated book, by renowned photographer Michael Freeman and writer and academic Dr. Selena Ahmed covers the production of tea, its history, culture and the arduous journey through some of the world's most spectacular landscapes and traditional cultures, including Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet, northern Burma and Assam ... Read more

Product Description

The history of Chinese medicine hinges on three major turning points: the formation of canonical theory in the Han dynasty; the transformation of medicine via the integration of earlier medical theories and practices in the Song dynasty; and the impact of Western medicine from the nineteenth century onwards. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the crucial second stage in the evolution of Chinese medicine by examining the changes in Chinese medicine during the pivotal era of the Song dynasty.

Scholars often characterize the  Song era as a time of change in every aspect of political, social, intellectual or economic life. More specifically it focuses on three narratives of change:

• the emperor's interest in medicine elevated the status of medicine in the eyes of the elite, leading to an increased involvement of intellectuals and the literary elite in medicine
• government officials systematically revised, printed, and promulgated earlier heterogeneous medical manuscripts belonging to various traditions
• the government established unique imperially sponsored medical institutions to handle public health and other aspects of medicine.

As the first book to study the transformation medicine underwent during the Song period this volume will appeal to Sinologists and scholars of the history of medicine alike.

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3301 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description

For those to whom "Taoism" is the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu, nothing could seem more foreign to Taoism than bureaucracy. In these two classics, the Way (tao) is everything that bureaucracy is not: it is nonhierarchical, undifferentiated, ineffable, spontaneous. The bureaucratic spirit pertains rather to stuffy Confucians, who foolishly imagine that the way to fulfill human potential is through service in officialdom.

If, however, we turn from ancient literature to the Taoist religion, a different picture emerges. During the second century CE, Taoism appeared as an organized religion--the Way of the Celestial Master, a recognizable social entity with a priesthood, special rituals, registered parishioners, a messianic eschatology, and other features of an institutionalized faith. The Celestial Masters based their organization on procedures used by the state administration. Thus, from the very beginning, the Taoist religion was inseparably linked to bureaucratic forms and usages. This study focuses on several of early Taoism's most bureaucratized aspects--its social organization, healing ritual, and cosmology--and applies its findings to an analysis of Taoism's relationship to popular religious traditions, particularly spirit-mediumism, exorcism, divination, and cults to local deities. Early Taoism's affinity for bureaucracy, the author argues, was a formative influence on the complex relationship between Taoism and popular religion that continued to evolve for centuries thereafter--still shaped by those early medieval patterns.