The Last Days Of Old Beijing

Download or read book The Last Days of Old Beijing written by Michael Meyer and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-07-23 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journalist Michael Meyer has spent his adult life in China, first in a small village as a Peace Corps volunteer, the last decade in Beijing--where he has witnessed the extraordinary transformation the country has experienced in that time. For the past two years he has been completely immersed in the ancient city, living on one of its famed hutong in a century-old courtyard home he shares with several families, teaching English at a local elementary school--while all around him "progress" closes in as the neighborhood is methodically destroyed to make way for high-rise buildings, shopping malls, and other symbols of modern, urban life. The city, he shows, has been demolished many times before; however, he writes, "the epitaph for Beijing will read: born 1280, died 2008...what emperors, warlords, Japanese invaders, and Communist planners couldn't eradicate, the market economy can." The Last Days of Old Beijing tells the story of this historic city from the inside out-through the eyes of those whose lives are in the balance: the Widow who takes care of Meyer; his students and fellow teachers, the first-ever description of what goes on in a Chinese public school; the local historian who rallies against the government. The tension of preservation vs. modernization--the question of what, in an ancient civilization, counts as heritage, and what happens when a billion people want to live the way Americans do--suffuse Meyer's story.

Download or read book Midnight in Peking written by Paul French and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the CWA Non-Fiction Dagger from the author of City of Devils Chronicling an incredible unsolved murder, Midnight in Peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a British schoolgirl in January 1937. The mutilated body of Pamela Werner was found at the base of the Fox Tower, which, according to local superstition, is home to the maliciously seductive fox spirits. As British detective Dennis and Chinese detective Han investigate, the mystery only deepens and, in a city on the verge of invasion, rumor and superstition run rampant. Based on seven years of research by historian and China expert Paul French, this true-crime thriller presents readers with a rare and unique portrait of the last days of colonial Peking.

Download or read book Peking Story written by David Kidd and published by Eland Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A haunting and delicately observed description of the last days of Mandarin culture before the revolution, 'Peking Story' is a testimony to a way of life, a culture, an aesthetic and a civilisation which has since completely disappeared.

Download or read book In Manchuria written by Michael Meyer and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-02-17 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the change most of rural China is undergoing via the story of a privately held rice company that has built new roads, introduced organic farming, and constructed apartments for farmers in exchange for their land rights.

Download or read book Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass written by M. A. Aldrich and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-02 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass is the first book in the English language that takes the visitors to an in-depth exploration of the capital of Mongolia. In the first section of the book, M. A. Aldrich paints a detailed portrait of the history, religion, and architecture of Ulaanbaatar with reference to how the city evolved from a monastic settlement to a communist-inspired capital and finally to a major city of free-wheeling capitalism and Tammany Hall politics. The second section of the book offers the reader a tour of different sites within the city and beyond, bringing back to life the human dramas that have played themselves out on the stage of Ulaanbaatar. Where most guide books often lightly discuss the capital, Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass: A Guide to the Capital of Mongolia reveals much that remains hidden from the temporary visitor and even from the long-term resident. Writing in a quirky, idiosyncratic style, the author shares his appreciation and delight in this unique urban setting—indeed, in all things Mongolian. The book finally does justice to one of the most neglected cultural capitals in Asia. ‘Combining history, ethnography, architecture, city planning, and folklore with a delightful dash of irony and personal opinion, Michael Aldrich’s Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass is an authoritative introduction to Mongolia’s capital city. For first-time visitors or long-term academics, this is quite simply the best book available on Ulaanbaatar.’ —Jack Weatherford, author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World ‘The charm of this superb guide to Mongolia’s mysterious capital is the exuberance and love the author bestows on his subject. Michael Aldrich’s erudition is profound and all embracive, and he is as comfortable discussing abstruse aspects of Buddhism, as he is the city’s history from its pastoral and feudal origins through Manchu suzerainty to Soviet communism to the wild capitalism of the present day. He never misses the opportunity for a colourful and amusing anecdote or tidbit of scandal, to relish an obscure custom, to delight in the spice in a local dish or to pause and admire the beauty of a particular artwork, building or monument. The prose rings with his idiosyncratic personality: knowledgeable, urbane and sceptical (sometimes downright cynical), but always passionate and committed. Carrying this book through Ulaanbaatar’s streets, or curling into its pages on a sofa at home, he is the perfect companion—squeezing stories out of ancient stones, conjuring ghosts and elegantly baring the city’s soul. Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass will become as great a classic of travel literature for Central Asia as J. G. Links’s Venice for Pleasure was for Europe.’ —Adam Williams, author of The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure ‘Destined to become the quintessential introduction to Ulaanbaatar, not only in terms of the wealth of information but also in terms of the sympathetic understanding and humour the author shares with the reader. Genghis Khan would have loved it.’ —Bill Porter, author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits and Finding Them Gone: Visiting China’s Poets of the Past ‘Michael Aldrich’s guide to Ulaanbaatar reveals a city of religion, of revolution and, latterly, of bold new experiment. It is both a journey through the city of today as well as an imagining of the historical city now lost to development.’ —Paul French, author of The Old Shanghai A–Z ‘This is an interesting and illuminating book, providing fascinating details on the history and evolution of Mongolia’s capital and largest city. It should definitely be included on the essential reading list for anyone living or working in Mongolia.’ —Jonathan Addleton, Executive Director of American Center for Mongolian Studies; former US Ambassador to Mongolia; author of Mongolia and the United States: A Diplomatic History

Download or read book Rethinking the Relationship between China and the West through a Focus on Literature and Aesthetics written by Qingben Li and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The multi-dimensional model of cross-cultural research was put forward as an alternative to the model of Sino-western dualism which sees China and the West as two entirely different entities. In order to break with this dualistic model, the spatial dimension should be separated from the temporal dimension, allowing the words “China” and “the West” to recover their original meaning of spatial dimensions. This, in turn, reconceptualises the equal relationship between China and the West, and seeks the possibilities and pathways of cross-cultural understanding and dialogue in a global context. This book is composed of two parts: the spatial dimension of cross-cultural research and the temporal dimension of cross-cultural research. The first discusses globalization and China’s cultural identity; cross-cultural literary research between China and the West; a circular model of cross-cultural research focusing on literary adaptations; integrating Chinese literature into world literature; appreciating Chinese poetry from a cross-cultural perspective; and the three models of nature appreciation. In part two, the book explores the Book of Changes (周易) from the perspective of modern aesthetics; original Confucianism, literary theory and aesthetics; the Han dynasty’s Confucianism, literary theory and aesthetics; New-Confucianism, literary theory and aesthetic; Beijing city’s culture; and China’s short film and socialistic cultural productions.

Download or read book Of Mice and Men written by Nandita Batra and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2020-07-13 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of Mice and Men: Animals in Human Culture is a book-length collection of essays that examines human views of non-human animals. The essays are written by scholars from Australia, East Asia, Europe and the Americas, who represent a wide range of disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Addressing topics such as animal rights, ecology, anthropocentrism, feminism, animal domestication, dietary restrictions, and cultural imperialism, the book considers local and global issues as well as ancient and contemporary discourses, and it will appeal to readers with both general and specialized interests in the role played by animals in human cultures.