More Books

CHINA
More Books

1421, The Year China Discovered America • Gavin Menzies HISTORY • 2004 • PAPER • 336 PAGES Former submarine commander Menzies' provocative argument that the largest fleet of ships the world had ever seen, navigated by the Chinese, discovered America 70 years before Columbus. Discredited by most scholars, it is nonetheless interesting reading. (CHN216, $15.95)
About Face: A History of America's Curious Relationship With China • James Mann HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 464 PAGES Written by a journalist who lived in China in the late 1980s, this book follows and analyzes the course of Chinese-American associations through the 20th century. While political ideologies split these two nations, they are inevitably linked in the world of international trade and power struggles. (CHN111, $17.95)
The Analects of Confucius • D. C. Lao • Confucius RELIGION • 1979 • PAPER • 160 PAGES A popular and acclaimed modern translation of the writing of Confucius, an essential introduction to the man and his thoughts. Includes explanatory notes. (CHN123, $12.00)
Anthology of Chinese Literature, Volume II: From the 14th Century to the Present Day • Cyril Birch ANTHOLOGY • 1988 • PAPER • 476 PAGES An excellent collection of representative verse, song, stories, essays and excerpts from classic novels, a sampling of Chinese writing over the last 700 years with an introduction by the editor. It includes Ghosts and other Marvels, Red Chamber Dream and writing by masters little known in the West. This volume follows Birch's well received anthology of writings from ancient China, a banquet of love stories, operatic plays, drinking poems and other traditional Chinese writing. (CHN14, $16.50)
Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana • Stephanie Elizondo Griest BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2004 • PAPER • 416 PAGES The offbeat memoirs of a native Texan who spent four years as a volunteer in Moscow, a propaganda officer in Beijing, and a belly dancer in Havana. You may have come across Griest's distinctive voice in a collection of Travelers' Tales, where she is a regular contributor. She's young, a witty observer with a way with words, and utterly passionate about travel. This is her first book, as much memoir as travel account, spanning four years and three continents. (RUS242, $14.95)
The Arts of China • Michael Sullivan ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2008 • PAPER • 352 PAGES A comprehensive survey of Chinese visual arts -- and culture -- through the ages. It's a lively overview, thoroughly illustrated and accessible, covering bronzes, lacquer, ceramics, painting and architecture, from the Neolithic to the modern. With 380 illustrations, half in color. This is the fourth edition of Sullivan's popular textbook, equally appropriate for the serious traveler or general reader. (CHN16, $39.95)
Asian Values and Human Rights, A Confucian Communitarian Perspective • William Theodore de Bary CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2000 • PAPER • 208 PAGES (ASA29, $23.50)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress • Sijie Dai • Ina Rilke LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 208 PAGES A charming, unexpectedly witty, tale of two teenage boys in China sent off to the countryside during Mao's Cultural Revolution. This slim novel celebrates the power of stories and literature and the imagination. (CHN159, $13.95)
Before the Deluge, The Vanishing World of the Yangtze's Three Gorges • Deirdre Chetham CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2004 • PAPER • 306 PAGES A vivid portrait of the Three Gorges region of the Upper Yangtze River by the Director of the Asia Center at Harvard -- and veteran lecturer on study trips to China. Chetham offers a personal, detailed glimpse into the daily life along the river, its spectacular natural beauty and checkered history. She also considers the recent efforts to tame the river, culminating with the massive Three Gorges dam. Highly recommended. (CHN132, $25.00)
Beijing Map • Borch Maps 2007 • MAP This laminated, folded map of the city center of Beijing, at a scale of 1:24,000 notes 2008 Olympic venues, attractions, a map of the metro and ddetailed inset maps of key attractions. With an index and Chinese characters for key place names, very useful for getting around by taxi. Two Sides. 20 X 35 inches. (CHN199, $8.95)
Beyond the Stone Arches, An American Missionary Doctor in China, 1892-1932 • Edward Bliss, Jr. BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2001 • HARD COVER • 256 PAGES A memoir of the author's physician father and his work in China at the turn of the 20th century by the broadcast journalist Edward Bliss. (CHN95, $24.95)
Big Dragon, The Future of China • Daniel Burstein • Arne de Keijzer HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 416 PAGES An overview of China's culture, economy, and emergence as a superpower. The authors focus on future prospects and the increasingly important foreign relations with the U.S. Burstein, an investment banker, focuses on opportunities for engagement and trade. (CHN208, $26.95)
Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain Around the World • John Carswell ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • HARD COVER • 224 PAGES This beautifully illustrated and scholarly survey shows the development and history of Chinese Blue and White porcelain, developed for trade during the height of the Medieval Mongol Empire and, thus, transported throughout Asia to the Mediterranean world. Carswell brings to the book an artist's eye and his knowledge of 13th to 16th-century trade routes. In looking at the exchange between China and the rest of the world over this period, he traces the impact of Islamic and other influences on Chinese potters and European fascination with chinoiserie. With 130 color reproductions from museums and private collections, including the British Museum (which originally published the book). Carswell was curator of the Oriental Institute Museum and director of the Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Chicago. (CAS95, $65.00)
Bones of the Master, A Journey to Secret Mongolia • George Crane TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2001 • PAPER • 304 PAGES An odd, captivating biography of a 75-year-old Zen monk who escaped Inner Mongolia in the wake of China's Great Leap Forward in 1959, and the tale of his unlikely journey back to China with next-door-neighbor, friend and poet George Crane. It's a powerful story and not a bad introduction to Chinese history and Ch'an Buddhism. (CHN96, $17.00)
Born Red, A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution • Yuan Gao BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1987 • PAPER • 380 PAGES The memoir of a young man, the son of a government official in northern China, who joins the Cultural Revolution against the wishes of his family. (CHN255, $29.95)
Bound • Donna Jo Napoli LITERATURE • 2004 • HARD COVER • 192 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS A retelling of the Cinderella tale, infused with Chinese myth and history. Napoli includes all the familair elements of the original -- evil stepmothers, servitude and lost slippers -- but roots them firmly in 14th century China. The well-told tale has much historical and cultural detail, especially on the topic of gender. Xing Xing, the headstrong independent protagonist, will appeal to young adults. (CHN236, $16.99)
Bridge of Birds • Barry Hughart LITERATURE • 1990 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A novel of whimsy and fantasy set in ancient China, following the fantastic and humorous quest for the Great Root of Power, the only cure for a town overrun by illness. (CHN117, $7.99)
Buddha • Demi RELIGION • 1996 • HARD COVER • 48 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) Beautiful, intricately detailed, full-color illustrations make this life of the Buddha an excellent choice for children. Demi tells the story of the sheltered upbringing of Indian prince Siddhartha, his first encounter with death and human suffering, and his subsequent search for enlightenment. Intended for children age 7-10. (ASA17, $21.99)
Buddha • Karen Armstrong RELIGION • 2004 • PAPER • 240 PAGES A concise, thought-provoking biography of the Buddha in the Penguin Lives series, written by one of the foremost experts on world religions. A member of the Association of Muslim Social Services in Jerusalem, Karen Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who teaches Judaism. Her many books include: A History of God; Islam, a Short History; and Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths. She has also written a biography of Mohammed. (REL09, $14.00)
Buddha Stories • Demi RELIGION • 1997 • HARD COVER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) Intended for ages 4 to 8, this book tells 10 of the author's favorite "jakatas," or moral tales of the Buddha. She has sumptuously illustrated the volume in gold printed on deep, dark blue (in the tradition of an ancient Buddhist text). Gorgeous (at least in very good light!), and a compelling introduction to Buddhism for children. (ASA16, $23.99)
Buddhism in Chinese History • Arthur F Wright RELIGION • 1983 • PAPER • 144 PAGES This standard short survey by a leading scholar of premodern China is a popular required text for university courses on Chinese history and religion. Originally published in 1959 and conversational in tone, the book is based on six lectures on the transformation of Chinese culture by Buddhism. With a small section of black-and-white photogaphs. (CHN131, $24.95)
Buddhism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places • Malcolm David Eckel RELIGION • 2002 • HARD COVER • 112 PAGES A concise introduction to the theology and social practice of Buddhism. Eckel, a professor of East Asian religion at Boston University, uses short primary sources to help readers understand Buddhism in its own words. (CHN248, $17.95)
Buddhist Art and Architecture • Robert Fisher ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1993 • PAPER • 216 PAGES A wide-ranging, illustrated survey of Buddhist art, architecture and iconography in the excellent World of Art series. It includes examples from throughout Asia. (ASA30, $19.95)
Cave Temples of Mogao, Art and History on the Silk Road • Roderick Whitfield • Susan Whitfield • Neville Agnew ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 138 PAGES • COMING IN A magnificently illustrated portrait of the ancient Buddhist monastery on the Silk Road. With fine color photographs of hundreds of murals, statues, and manuscripts of the Dunhuang (or Mogao) caves, a series of 500 grotto temples carved into the cliffs on the edge of the Gobi desert in northwest China. (CAS60, $29.95)
Central China Map • Nelles 2007 • MAP An excellent shaded relief map in the regional series by Nelles, at a scale of 1:1,500,000. It's an attractive map at a much-better-than-usual scale which covers from Shanghai west across the country, including Xian, Three Gorges and other popular destinations. Two Sides. 20x40 inches. (CHN65, $13.95)
Chasing the Panda • Michael Kiefer TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • HARD COVER • 230 PAGES • COMING IN Subtitled: How an Unlikely Pair of Adventurers Won the Race to Capture the Mythical "White Bear", this engaging book unearths the spellbinding tale of a charismatic young Chinese American and American socialite Ruth Harkness, and their successful expedition into remote Sichuan in 1936 to recover a panda bear. The panda cub (though it lived only 16 months in the Brookfield Zoo) caused a sensation. The author, who had originally intended to write about Harkness, interviewed the elderly Quentin Young and his brother Jack for the book. (CHN166, $24.95)
China Adventure Map • National Geographic 2011 • MAP A double-sided, full-color map of China, at a useful scale of 1:4,375,000, which shows roads and cities. Printed on tear- and water-reistant paper. Two Sides. 39x27 inches. (CHN06, $11.95)
China Men • Maxine Hong Kingston LITERATURE • 1989 • PAPER • 308 PAGES A novel of three generations of Chinese men adjusting to life in America, drawn from experience and traditional Chinese stories. (CHN118, $15.95)
China North Map • Nelles MAP A detailed travel map of North China at a 1:1,750,000 scale. It covers Xinjing to Beijing, with city maps of Tianjin and Beijing and inset maps of the areas around Beijing and Xi'an. Two Sides. 20x40 inches. (CHN40, $13.95)
The China Reader, The Reform Era • Orville Schell • David Shambaugh HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 553 PAGES This sourcebook on contemporary China includes first-hand material by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, along with insightful essays by several scholars on the culture and politics of China over the last 25 years. Dean of the graduate school of journalism at Berkeley and a China scholar, Schell is also the author of Mandate of Heaven and Virtual Tibet. Co-editor and contributor David Shambaugh, professor at George Washington University, is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. (CHN224, $17.95)
China South Map • Nelles 2005 • MAP A detailed travel map of Southern China, from Taiwan to Hong Kong and the Yunnan Province, at a 1:1,500,000 scale. With city maps of Hon Kong, Macau and Guilin. Two Sides. 20x40 inches. (CHN27, $13.95)
China Wall Map • 1997 • MAP A wall map of China from the cartographers at National Geographic, at a scale of 1:7,800,000. Price includes priority shipping in a sturdy cardboard tube. One Side. 24x30 inches. (CHN197, $14.99)
China's Bravest Girl: The Legend of Mu Lan • Charlie Chin • Tomie Arai LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 30 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) The classic legend of Mu Lan is retold for readers ages 6 to 10 in this bilingual edition. As you probably remember from the Disney animated feature, Mu Lan disguises herself as a man and fights for her family's honor. Narrated in rhyme, it's perfect for reading aloud. Chinese characters are integrated into the full color illustrations. (CHN261, $18.40)
China, A True Book • Dennis Brindell Fradin CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1997 • PAPER • 48 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) A slim, illustrated introduction to China for younger readers (ages 6-8). With a color map and nice selection of photographs showing the landscapes, cities, people, and monuments of China. (CHN135, $6.95)
China, Its History and Culture • W. Scott Morton HISTORY • 2004 • PAPER • 368 PAGES A concise survey of Chinese history, people and culture from the Neolithic to present times. Morton, who wrote a similar book on the history of Japan, weaves together politics, culture and history, and includes selections from literature and arts, anecdotes and illustrations. Aimed at the college student, the book is also appropriate for the traveler. (CHN22, $19.95)
The Chinese • Jasper Becker CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2002 • PAPER • 304 PAGES An insightful, up-to-date account of the contradictions, diversity and potential in contemporary Chinese society and economy, by a veteran journalist and astute observer. (CHN97, $24.99)
Chinese Art • Mary Tregear ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1997 • PAPER • 216 PAGES A quick, but surprisingly thorough survey of Chinese art, including calligraphy and painting, sculpture and ceramics, as well as garden design, architecture, and various crafts. Part of the "World of Art" series, it is illustrated throughout. (CHN153, $19.95)
Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies • Moss Roberts LITERATURE • 1980 • PAPER • 258 PAGES • FAMILY Moss Roberts combed 2,500 years of the Chinese folk tradition for this anthology of one hundred short Chinese tales. Decorated with woodcut illustrations throughout, this is another volume in Pantheon's excellent folklore series. (CHN146, $16.95)
Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era • Deborah Davis • Stevan Harrell HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 400 PAGES A collection of scholarly essays on contemporary Chinese family structures, both rural and urban, intellectual and working class, contributed by eleven experts. (CHN203, $37.95)
The Chinese Garden: History, Art and Architecture • Maggie Keswick NATURAL HISTORY • 2003 • HARD COVER • 240 PAGES An oversized illustrated survey of Chinese gardens, updated and expanded in this third edition by Alison Hardie. First published 25 years ago, the book is a classic survey of the symbolism, meaning and beauty of Chinese gardens. With 120 color photographs, 82 black-and-white photographs and 23 illustrations. (CHN198, $39.95)
The Chinese Have a Word for It, The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture • Boye Lafayette De Mente CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2000 • PAPER • 506 PAGES De Mente introduces readers to the history and culture of China through a study of the country's language. Over 300 words and phrases from ai (love) to zuxian (revering your ancestors) are analyzed for their cultural significance. More than a linguistic study, this book is also a practical companion for any traveler to China hoping to avoid cultural faux pas. (CHN185, $17.95)
The Chinese Kitchen • Eileen Yin-Fei Lo FOOD • 1999 • HARD COVER • 452 PAGES An authoritative and delightful book about food and cultural practices in a very food-oriented culture. "Have you eaten yet?" the Chinese traditionally ask each other when they meet by chance in the street, and here Eileen Yin-Fei Lo has written a cookbook which doubles as an introduction to China itself. It's a compendium not only of recipes (of which there are hundreds, all authentic, all clearly explained), but also of lessons in Chinese history, folkloric tales, and reminiscences of the author's childhood in Guangdong province, where she learned to cook at her grandmother's side. With chapters on Chinese tea and how to stock a Chinese pantry, plus a recipe for the 28-ingredient feast dish known as "Buddha Jump over the Wall", this is a book -- in English! -- that any Chinese cook would want. (CHN134, $39.95)
Chinese Poetry, An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres • Wai-Lim Yip LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 360 PAGES Wai-Lim Yip combs the literature for the finest and more unusual examples of poems from Chinese traditions. (CHN174, $26.95)
Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide • Lee Allane GUIDEBOOK • 1994 • PAPER • 144 PAGES A guide to the history, techniques and variety of carpets produced throughout China, including typical motifs and materials. It features a practical guide to price and quality for the prospective buyer. (CHN30, $15.95)
Conquering the Desert of Death, Across the Taklamakan • Charles Blackmore • Peter Hopkirk EXPLORATION • 2008 • PAPER • 268 PAGES An account of Major Blackmore's extraordinary two-month-long, 780-mile trek across the high dunes of remote Xianjiang, first published in 1995. His Anglo-Chinese expedition was the first to cross the full length of the Tarim Basin. The sole woman in the team, Carolyn Ellis, was one of two expedition members to walk the entire route without once riding a camel. (CAS68, $16.95)
Cowboy on the Steppes • Yi Nan Zhang • Song Nan Zhang CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1997 • HARD COVER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) Artist and children's book author Song Nan Zhang here illustrates his brother Yi's journal of a year among the Mongolian cattle herders. In 1968 Yi Nan Zhang requested the Chinese government's permission to work as a cowboy. His brief diary entries, wonderfully illustrated by Song, conjure up a rough-and-ready world. Children of all ages will find something to love about this short book. (MGL34, $15.95)
Culture Shock! China • Iris Wong Po-Yee • Kevin Sinclair GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 240 PAGES Written for the businessman, resident or traveler, this guide is a lively introduction to modern Chinese culture and manners. Its focus is on customs and business etiquette. (CHN204, $15.95)
Daughter of the River, An Autobiography • Hong Ying BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2000 • PAPER • 288 PAGES Originally titled "Daughter of Hunger," this ia a thoroughly engaging, inspirational autobiography of a young woman writer coming of age during the Great Famine of China. Hong Ying provides a vivid account of growing up on the banks of the Yangtze River amongst severe impoverishment, political oppression and intense familial strain. This is an honest story of a woman's struggle for civil liberation in a land whose river symbolizes, for her, the spirit and unity of her people. Translated from Chinese by Howard Goldblatt. (CHN240, $14.00)
The Death of Woman Wang • Jonathan Spence LITERATURE • 1978 • PAPER • 169 PAGES The turbulent saga about a runaway wife who is murdered by her husband, set in 17th century China and written by one of the foremost western scholars on China. (CHN58, $14.00)
Did Marco Polo Go to China? • Frances Wood EXPLORATION • 1998 • PAPER • 208 PAGES A critical look at the manuscripts and evidence regarding this most famous of journeys, Wood's book raises fascinating questions as to the authenticity of the travel journals written while Marco Polo was in prison in Genoa. (CAS28, $38.00)
Dragon Lady, The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China • Sterling Seagrave BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1993 • PAPER • 601 PAGES Reappraises the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi and portrays a strong, complex woman struggling to keep her country from unraveling. (CHN229, $19.95)
Dream of the Red Chamber • Chi-Chen Wang • Tsao Hsueh-Chin LITERATURE • 1958 • PAPER • 329 PAGES An ill-fated affair between two doomed lovers is the basis for China's most loved novel. Written in the 18th-century, the stunning and engaging story is a wonderful introduction to China at that time. The beauty of the tale is captured by Wang's careful yet abridged translation -- in Chinese, the work is three times the size. As much a part of Chinese collective consciousness as Romeo and Juliet is for Western readers, the story is the basis for a popular television series and theme park in China. (CHN192, $15.95)
Emperor's Silent Army, Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China • Jane O'Connor HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 48 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) Visually engaging and informative, this book introduces the Terracotta Army of the first Qin emperor to readers ages 9-12. (CHN182, $17.99)
Empire of the Sun • J. G. Ballard LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 279 PAGES Ballard's widely acclaimed novel of an English boy in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, drawn from his own experiences. It's a powerful tale of the upheaval and trauma of war. The book was also made into a film. Originally published in 1984. (CHN265, $14.00)
Empress Orchid • Anchee Min LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 346 PAGES A novel of the glorious, decadent last days of 19th-Century Imperial China. Min (Red Azalea, Becoming Madame Mao) combines her tale of a young girl from the provinces who marries an emperor -- and then improbably becomes the Last Empress -- with a lovingly re-created portrait of life in the Forbidden City. Pearl Buck told a much more romanticized tale of the same remarkable woman in Imperial Woman. (CHN267, $14.00)
The Empty Pot • Demi LITERATURE • 1991 • PAPER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) A Chinese emperor announces that his successor will be the child who grows the most beautiful flowers from the seeds the emperor distributes. Ping, a Chinese boy who can make anything grow, is disappointed when nothing comes up in his pot. Ignoring the blossoms brought by other children since he had secretely distributed cooked seeds that would not grow, the emperor rewards Ping for his honesty. Exquisitely illustrated by Demi, this story is geared for readers ages 4-7. (CHN106, $17.99)
Eyewitness Guide China • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 672 PAGES A hefty, richly illustrated guide to sites, attractions and places throughout China. With excellent maps and hundreds of full color photographs and site diagrams. A 50-page appendix covers where to stay, eat, draink and shop. The guide covers all China from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to Sichuan, Yunnan, Zinjiang and Tibet. (CHN242, $30.00)
Farewell My Concubine • Kaige Chen 1993 • DVD The moving story of a fifty-year friendship between two men who meet as children in the Peking Opera. Their friendship continues against the backdrop of China's tumultuous political history, as their roles as king and concubine become widely recognized throughout the region, and as a beautiful woman almost comes between them. (CHN226, $14.99)
Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet • Koon-chiu Lo • Lotta Carswell Hume LITERATURE • 2001 • HARD COVER • 120 PAGES • FAMILY A highly recommended collection of 19 Chinese and Tibetan tales, collected and retold by an American doctor's wife who lived in Hunan province from 1906 to 1928. The illustrations (including 12 full-color plates) by Hong Kong-based artist Lo Koon-chiu practically leap off the page. This is a great read for all ages. Originally published in Japan in 1962 (CHN93, $18.95)
A Field Guide to the Birds of China • John MacKinnon • Karen Phillipps FIELD GUIDE • 2000 • PAPER • 586 PAGES A comprehensive field guide to the birds of China, featuring 128 color plates illustrating 1,300 species of birds, with introductory chapters on the history of ornithology in China, biogeography and conservation. Range maps are organized on adjacent pages to the illustrations. The book also includes a list of endemic, threatened and endangered species. Principal author John MacKinnon has also written "Wild China", "A Photoguide to the Birds of China" and "A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali." (CHN85, $124.00)
Five T'ang Poets • David Young LITERATURE • 1990 • PAPER A collection of T-ang poetry, chosen, edited and translated by David Young, by Li Shang-yin, Wang Wei, Li Po, Tu Fu and Li Ho. (CHN157, $15.95)
Flashman and the Dragon • George MacDonald Fraser LITERATURE • 1995 • PAPER • 320 PAGES The eighth entry in Fraser's popular series of 19th-century adventures starring Harry Flashman, the womanizing rogue and international troublemaker. This book, set in 1860s China, is rich in historical detail -- and comedy. Fraser helpfully includes maps of Shanghai and the Yangtse, Peking, Canton and Macau, all of which feature prominently in the text. Our reluctant hero is hoodwinked into joining the Teiping Rebellion, participates in the Seige of Nanking and ends up as a plaything of the Dowager Empress at the Summer Palace. (CHN116, $15.00)
Fodor's Beijing • Emmanuelle Morgen • Deborah Kaufman GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 272 PAGES A practical, frequently revised guide to Beijing and Shanghai featuring hundreds of annotated listings of where to eat, stay and shop. (CHN253, $19.99)
Fodor's Hong Kong's 25 Best • Fodor's GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A shirt-pocket guide to Hong Kong, this slim book includes an excellent map of the center of the city and essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing -- all in a slipcover. (HKG09, $11.99)
The Forbidden City, Center of Imperial China • Gilles Beguin • Dominique Morel HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 144 PAGES This slim volume is packed with maps, archival photographs and illustrations. A surprisingly effective overview of Beijing's Imperial Court, with a useful chronology, and a carefully chosen selection of writings over the ages. Part of the acclaimed "Discoveries" series of references that fit in your pocket, for travelers it's an indispensable and handy guide to the Forbidden City and the history of Imperial China. (CHN32, $15.95)
A Fortune-Teller Told Me, Earthbound Travels in the Far East • Tizanio Terzani TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 371 PAGES Grounded for a year, the peripatetic journalist (Italian-born, writing in German, and based in India) sets off by any other means to complete his rounds through Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Mongolia, China, Japan and other far-flung destinations. The result is this warm, anecdotal account of the character of the region. It's got to be the book most recommended to us on contemporary Asia. (SEA35, $16.00)
Frommer's China • Peter Neville-Hadley GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 884 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide in the popular series, focusing on attractions, restaurants and accommodations. An excellent planning tool, it also features useful language and menu guides. (CHN207, $25.99)
Frommer's Shanghai • J.D. Brown GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 328 PAGES A practical guide in the popular series, strong on where to eat, sleep and shop. (CHN220, $19.99)
Frontiers of Heaven, A Journey to the End of China • Stanley Stewart TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2006 • PAPER • 232 PAGES A British journalist with wanderlust and a way with the pen, Stewart recounts his rough journey halfway across Asia from Shanghai to Xinjiang along the Great Wall. He mixes descriptions of his travels and encounters with history, geography and wit. Winner of the 1996 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. (CHN237, $14.95)
Fruitful Sites, Garden Culture in Ming Dynasty China • Craig Clunas HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 240 PAGES This book will appeal to serious students of garden history and landscape art. Written by an art historian who teaches at the University of Sussex, it's a study of Ming-era (1450-1650) gardens in the Jiangnan Valley of the Yangtze, especially in wealthy Suzhou and to a lesser extent in Hangzhou. With 48 illustrations. (CHN175, $26.95)
Gardens in China • Peter Valder NATURAL HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 400 PAGES A gorgeous book featuring over 500 color photographs of Chinese gardens in 11 provinces. The Australian horticulturalist Peter Valder first traveled to China in 1980, his imagination fired by 19th-century plant hunters' accounts of adventure. He discusses gardening in Yunnan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, as well as on Hainan island. (CHN176, $59.95)
The Gate of Heavenly Peace, The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895-1980 • Jonathan Spence HISTORY • 1982 • PAPER • 516 PAGES Jonathan Spence, a prolific scholar of Chinese history at Yale, delivers a portrait of Chinese revolution, combining straightforward political history with an intriguing selection of materials by poets, artists and intellectuals. With notes, bibliography and index. (CHN195, $18.00)
The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention • Robert Temple • Joseph Needham HISTORY • 2007 • PAPER • 288 PAGES An abridged popular edition of Needham's original, monumental Science & Civilization in China, organized by invention and illustrated throughout with color photographs, diagrams and drawings. (CHN82, $29.95)
Giant Pandas in the Wild, Saving an Endangered Species • Lu Zhi NATURAL HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 128 PAGES • COMING IN In this important new book, Dr. Lu Zhi offers an indepth portrait of the giant panda and international conservation efforts to protect the panda and its habitat in China. A researcher since 1985 and former coordinator of WWF's panda program in China, Dr. Zhi chronicles the social lives and population dynamics of 20 individuals in a number of reserves, both in text and photographs. With a foreword by Claude Martin, Director General of WWF-International, and excellent color photos by George Schaller and Lu Zhi. (CHN173, $35.00)
The Ginger Tree • Oswald Wynd LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 336 PAGES The best-known work of the Japanese-born Scot Oswald Wynd (1918 -1998), in which a na�ve 20-year-old Scots girl at the turn of the century sails to China to marry a military attache in Peking � only to get mixed up with a handsome young Japanese aristocrat and horrify the British community. The novel, which was the basis for a popular Masterpiece Theatre miniseries, follows Mary MacKenzie's adventures with love and life in early 20th Century China and Japan. Originally published in 1977. (JPN125, $12.99)
The Girl Who Played Go • Shan Sa • Adriana Hunter LITERATURE • 2004 • PAPER • 320 PAGES An accomplished novel set in a Manchurian city in the war-torn 1930s, where a spirited 16-year-old Chinese girl and a young Japanese soldier find peace in a game of Go. Winner of the 2004 Kiriyama Prize, the novel captures the turmoil of the changing fortunes and war in the region. Sa Shan, who was born in Beijing, has lived in France since 1990. This is her first novel to be translated into English. (CHN214, $15.95)
God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan • Jonathan Spence HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 430 PAGES (CHN178, $18.95)
The Golden Days • Cao Xueqin • David Hawkes LITERATURE • 1974 • PAPER • 544 PAGES Volume One of The Dream of the Red Chamber, an epic family tale first published in 1793, (still one of China's favorite novels) beautifully translated, edited and with an introduction by David Hawkes. The Golden Days is the first book in a five-volume masterpiece which follows the fate of the Jia family and the magical stone of the title. It's an absorbing romantic tale, often called the greatest of Chinese novels, as interesting for its commentary on culture, aethestics, religion and world view as for the story. (CHN223, $17.00)
The Good Earth • Pearl Buck LITERATURE • 1994 • PAPER • 379 PAGES The second of Buck's more than 70 books, The Good Earth has shaped American attitudes toward China and its people for many years. A modern classic presented in this edition with critical notes and a long introduction, it won her the Pulitzer Prize upon its publication in 1931. Drawing heavily on her personal experience as a young newlywed in rural China, it is the plainly told story of a poor farmer and his stalwart wife. The book captures the daily life of China's poorest people, very different from the usual exotica that most writers of her day were producing on the "inscrutable Chinese." (CHN15, $15.00)
The Good Women of China, Hidden Voices • Xinran Xue CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2003 • PAPER • 256 PAGES An oral history of women and their experiences in modern China, drawn from hundreds of anonymous voices heard on a popular radio call-in show. (CHN256, $16.00)
Governing China, From Revolution Through Reform • Kenneth Lieberthal HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 461 PAGES A scholarly political history of China in the 20th century, detailed and informative. (CHN112, $28.50)
The Great Railway Bazaar • Paul Theroux TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2006 • PAPER • 384 PAGES Theroux's vintage 1970s journeys across Asia by train display all his talent for portraiture, ego and the dismissive aside. It's great fun. He takes every two-bit train he can find from London across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, India, Japan and China, returning home via the Trans-Siberian Express. (ASA40, $14.95)
The Great Wall of China • Leonard Everett Fisher HISTORY • 1995 • PAPER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) In brief text and bold black-and-white illustrations that any age could enjoy, this storybook recounts the construction of the Great Wall of China for young children. (CHN103, $7.99)
The Great Wall of China from History to Myth • Arthur Waldron HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 314 PAGES In this classic scholarly history, Waldron debunks the myth of the wall as an ancient -- and impregnable -- barrier. Waldron focuses on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when much of the defensive structure was conceived and built. He looks too at the reality of Ming-Mongol relations.With maps and black-and-white photographs. (CHN130, $36.99)
A Great Wall, Six Presidents and China • Patrick Tyler HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 512 PAGES An investigation of Chinese-American relations by the former Beijing bureau chief of the New York Times. It's a readable account full of anecdote and supported by numerous interviews with key leaders and recently declassified documents. Tyler examines how presidents from Nixon to Clinton have responded to China over the past three decades. (CHN238, $19.95)
A History of Chinese Civilization • Jacques Gernet HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 780 PAGES An informed and scholarly cultural history of China from ancient times, updated for this second edition. Translated from the French by Translated by J. R. Foster and Charles Hartman. (CHN211, $47.99)
Homesick, My Own Story • Jean Fritz BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • PAPER • 163 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A memoir of growing up in turbulent 1920s China, where the author's father was director of the YMCA. It's a candid, wonderfully written account of the country, told from a little girl's perspective. A Newbery Honor book, suitable for ages 9 to 12. (CHN141, $5.99)
Hong Kong Map • Nelles MAP A detailed, colorful folded map of Hong Kong, scale 1:22,500. Two Sides. 20x40 inches. (HKG15, $13.95)
House of Sixty Fathers • Meindert De Jong • Maurice Sendak LITERATURE • 1987 • PAPER • 189 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) This classic children's novel is set in China during the Japanese invasion as a young boy makes a journey to reunite with his family. It's a plucky, humane tale that commemorates a terrible episode in Chinese history. A Newbery Honor Book, illustrated by Maurice Sendak and written for kids ages 9-12. (CHN119, $5.95)
Hungry Ghosts, Mao's Secret Famine • Jasper Becker HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 352 PAGES After digging through academic studies and incorporating survivor accounts, Jaspar Becker has produced the definitive work on the devastating famine that overtook China in the 1950s and 1960s. Brought about by the Mao's attempt to redistribute food, this mass starvation caused the death of tens of millions. (CHN99, $21.99)
The Importance of Living • Lin Yutang RELIGION • 1998 • PAPER • 462 PAGES Lin Yutang uses ancient Chinese texts to illustrate his path to a satisfying life, which he believes can be found through relaxation, friendship and the simple enjoyment of everyday existence. It's an optimistic book, full of short proverbs, anecdotes and witty asides on the enjoyment of travel, nature, culture and other aspects of human existence. Originally published in 1937. (CHN121, $16.99)
In the Land of the Blue Poppies • Frank Kingdon-Ward • Tom Christopher • Jamaica Kincaid ANTHOLOGY • 2003 • PAPER • 242 PAGES An anthology of the plant hunting adventures of the intrepid Frank Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958) as presented by Tom Christopher. The collection communicates all Kingdon-Ward's excitement of discovery at the turn of the century in Tibet, China, Burma and Southeast Asia. A geographical explorer as well as horticulturist, Kingdon Ward writes of the people, landscapes and experiences trekking in the Himalayas. (ASA35, $19.00)
In the Red: On Contemporary Chinese Culture • Geremie R. Barme CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2000 • PAPER • 512 PAGES Focusing on the years since the 1989 Tiananmen protest, Barme examines the dialectic between official culture produced by the Chinese government and the popular "unofficial" culture and counterculture of the urban population. (CHN88, $32.50)
The Inner Chapters • Chuang Tzu • A. C. Graham LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 304 PAGES The oldest pieces of Taoist writing, by one of its greatest philosophers, Chuang Tzu. From the fourth-century B. C. (CHN244, $18.00)
Insight City Guide Shanghai • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 328 PAGES This well-illustrated guide in the popular series features essays on culture and history, excellent local maps and good information on attractions. (CHN219, $19.99)
Insight Guide China • Manfred Morganstern GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 411 PAGES In its hallmark style, this Insight Guide combines short essays on the history, politics and culture of China with hundreds of color photographs. It's a short whirlwind introduction to the country. The book begins with a brief history of the Middle Kingdom, then ventures out into the countryside and through the halls of the Forbidden City. The second half presents each region of China with pages on each of the major sites, then concludes with some practical travel information and listings. (CHN05, $24.99)
Insight Pocket Guide Beijing • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 92 PAGES This convenient, slim volume features color photographs, many maps (including a handy fold-out map of the city), good short descriptions of major points of interest, and other practical information. (CHN26, $13.95)
Into the Teeth of the Tiger • Donald S. Lopez Jr. HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 272 PAGES The lively, illustrated memoirs of a World War II pilot in Asia. (ASA39, $17.95)
Iron and Silk • Mark Salzman TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1990 • PAPER • 211 PAGES Salzman gets himself to Changsha in the mid-1980s on the pretext of teaching English to Chinese doctors. His real mission, however, is to become a kung fu master. In this wonderfully readable travelogue he conveys a sense of contemporary life, its realities and frustrations -- and of his growing understanding of an alien culture. A major subplot is his ongoing relationship with Pan, the mentor to this awkward and overly enthusiastic American martial arts student. (CHN52, $15.00)
K: The Art of Love • Hong Ying BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2002 • PAPER • 262 PAGES A story of the true-life love affair between Virginia Woolf's nephew Julian Bell and famed Chinese woman writer Ling Shuhua. Ying uses truth of fiction and truth of fact to portray this tragic tale of love and desire in 1930s Beijing. In 2003, Ling Shuhua's daughter brought suit against Ying for "defaming the dead" and, sadly, K has been banned in China. This is the first time in China that anyone has had to pay compensation for crimes committed in a book. (CHN260, $14.95)
Kowloon Tong, A Novel of Hong Kong • Paul Theroux LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 248 PAGES Betty Mullard, representing the old guard in Hong Kong, receives an offer from Mr. Hung on his family business. With its strong sense of place and contemporary setting in Hong Kong at a time of transition, this fast-paced novel is an illuminating and imaginative look at the city. (HKG12, $15.95)
Last Chance to See • Douglas Adams • Mark Carwardine NATURAL HISTORY • 1992 • PAPER • 222 PAGES Sponsored by BBC radio, Douglas Adams and Mark Cowardine traveled to Zaire, New Zealand, China, Mauritius and other far-flung places in search of endangered animals. (CON04, $16.00)
The Last Emperor • Bernardo Bertolucci HISTORY • 1987 • DVD Bernardo Bertolucci's rendering of the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last emperor of China's Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film begins at Pu Yi's involuntary initiation as emperor in 1908 at age three, and continues through his entire reign in the Forbidden City until his death in 1967. Pu Yi witnesses the dynamic changes of the modernizing empire, experiences the temptations of ultimate power, and is seduced by the Western lifestyle of his Scottish tutor (Peter O'Toole). The film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. (CHN225, $29.95)
The Last Panda • George Schaller NATURAL HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 291 PAGES The great naturalist George Schaller spent almost five years in the wild in Sichuan province studying the panda in the 1980s. This book is both his description of the great panda in nature, and an eloquent plea for how to save the species in the wild. With 16 color plates. (CHN24, $17.50)
Legacies, A Chinese Mosaic • Betty Bao Lord HISTORY • 1991 • PAPER • 242 PAGES A memoir of contemporary China, especially interesting for its critical perspective on Chinese society and culture during the "China Spring" of 1989. Bao incorporates interviews and testimonies of friends and colleagues in her narrative. Dedicated "For The Chinese People," the novelist author born in China (who also wrote Spring Moon) is unstinting in her criticism of Chinese policies and practices. Wife of a former American ambassador to China, the author now lives in the United States. (CHN84, $19.00)
Letters to Henrietta • Lisa Chubbuck • Isabella Bird BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • PAPER • 356 PAGES This eye-opening collection of letters back home, nicely selected by Lisa Chubbuck with an intrridction and notes, reveals the tenacity, self-promotion and verve of the Victorian maiden aunt of modern travel writers. An unlikely candidate for adventure, Bird's ill health propelled her to the Colorado Rockies, Hawaii, China, and Japan -- and into the confidence of Queen Victoria, the King of Hawaii, and William Gladstone. She also carried on with a one-eyed trapper and fended off many other more suitable suitors. That's quite a transformation for a middle-aged spinster from the Isle of Mull. Travel does a person good. With 32 illustrations, maps, notes, and bibliography. In two parts: The first world tour, 1872-3 (the sea Australia, Hawaii, Colorado); The second world tour, 1878-9 (Japan and the way thither, China, Malay Peninsula). (WLD39, $24.95)
Life and Death in Shanghai • Nien Cheng HISTORY • 2010 • PAPER • 560 PAGES Ultimately an inspiring tale of strength of character and determination, this powerful book is a plainly told account of the horrors that took place during the Cultural Revolution in Shanghai. The author was a political prisoner for six years. (CHN42, $17.95)
Little Green, Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution • Chun Yu BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2005 • HARD COVER • 128 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A poetic reflection on China's Cultural Revolution told from a child's perspective. It's a good introduction to China's recent history for young adults or mature middle readers. Helpfully, the author includes an epilogue that puts her family story in historical context along with small family photographs. (CHN239, $15.95)
Living With China • Ezra F. Vogel CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1997 • PAPER • 336 PAGES A scholarly examination of the major policy issues facing US engagement with China. (CHN160, $21.95)
Lon Po Po, A Red-Riding Hood Story from China • Ed Young LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) This powerfully illustrated Chinese variant on the story of Red Riding Hood features three sisters who outsmart Lon Po Po, or Granny Wolf, who is disguised as the girls' grandmother. Resembling the look of Chinese decorative panels, Young's outstanding watercolor and pastel illustrations cleverly convey the terror of this favorite folktale. Winner of the 1990 Caldecott medal. For readers ages 5-9. (CHN102, $6.99)
Lonely Planet Beijing • Damian Harper GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 272 PAGES In its hallmark style, this practical guide to Beijing by Lonely Planet features maps, an overview of culture, history and nature, and a good deal of nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. There's even a section on the locally spoken dialect of Mandarin. With color photographs and excellent travel information. (CHN47, $19.99)
Lonely Planet Cantonese Phrasebook • Kam Y. Lau LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2008 • PAPER • 260 PAGES A handy, palm-sized guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler in Hong Kong or Southern China. (HKG19, $8.99)
Lonely Planet Discover China • Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 448 PAGES Focusing on must-see and memorable places and experiences, this all color guide by the discerning editors at Lonely Planet, featuring hundreds of color photographs and maps, includes suggested tours and itineraries along with not-to-be-missed places to stay, eat, shop and see. (CHN674, $27.99)
Lonely Planet Hong Kong & Macau City Guide • Nicko Goncharoff • Damian Harper GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 380 PAGES A practical, comprehensive guide to Hong Kong, with maps, a Chinese language section and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. Written for independent travelers. (HKG14, $21.99)
Lonely Planet Shanghai • Bradley Mayhew GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 276 PAGES A practical guide to Shanghai featuring maps and detailed information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With a few color photographs and excellent travel information. (CHN91, $21.99)
Lonely Planet Taiwan • Andrew Bender GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 392 PAGES A travel guide to Taipei and Taiwan noteworthy for its attention to practical detail on food, accommodations and excursions. (CHN67, $26.99)
Look What Came From China! • Miles Harvey CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1999 • PAPER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) A slim guide to China, its products, animals, food, tools, crafts and inventions, with color photographs and accompanying text. For children ages 4-8. (CHN155, $6.95)
Looking for Chengdu, A Woman's Adventure in China • Hill Gates TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1999 • PAPER • 272 PAGES Anthropologist Hill Gates sets off on a series of excursions through the inland province of Sichuan in search of a deeper understanding of the Chinese people. A feminist, Gates is especially curious to learn how the economic boom has effected the women of Sichuan, which was the birthplace of Chinese economic reforms in the 1970s. Along the countryside she meets scholars, sailors, patrons of a Tibetan dance-hall and women running family firms. It's a travelogue rich in anecdotes and perceptive observations of contemporary China. (CHN74, $26.95)
Man's Fate • Andre Malraux LITERATURE • 1990 • PAPER • 356 PAGES A suspenseful, psychologically complex novel set during the early days of the Chinese revolution and inspired by actual events. First published in 1934. (CHN188, $16.00)
Mao Zedong • Jonathan Spence BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2006 • PAPER • 192 PAGES A masterful short biography in the "Penguin Lives" series, this text by Chinese historian Jonathan Spence tracks the life of the enigmatic Chinese ruler from his provincial upbringing to his powerful reign. Spence incorporates much new information in this portrait. (CHN66, $14.00)
Mao's China and After, A History of the People's Republic • Maurice Meisner HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 587 PAGES A popular text, now in its third edition. Meisner, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, is a fair-minded, insightful -- and lucid -- guide to the tumultuous history of China since the Chinese Communists came to power in 1949. (CHN165, $36.95)
Mao: A Biography • Ross Terrill BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • PAPER • 571 PAGES A no-holds-barred biography of the Chinese leader and his times -- well written, scholarly and authoritative. Terrill, a sinophile, combines journalism, history and anecdote to create a lively portrait of the man and his country. Originally published in 1980 and revised for this edition, the book has sold more than a million copies in China. Terrill is also the author of Madame Mao: The White-Boned Demon." (CHN51, $33.95)
Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World • John Larner EXPLORATION • 2001 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A scholarly, insightful study of Marco Polo's famous travel account -- and its impact on European ideas and politics, particularly its influence on cartographers and explorers. The author looks too at the circumstances of Marco Polo's life and travels, arguing that Marco Polo really did visit China -- and that he must have had a highly talented co-author in Rustichello da Pisa. (EXP22, $21.00)
Marco Polo for Kids, His Marvelous Journey to China • Janis Herbert HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 144 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) This is a great activity book introducing kids to the cultures and terrain of Central Asia. Following "The Travels" from Venice to China, we meet the nomadic peoples of the steppes, learn Persian and ancient Mongol, practice qigong and yoga and much more. With 21 activities, a well-written narrative and nice archival illustrations, it's a great book for kids ages 9-12. (CHN189, $16.95)
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci • Jonathan Spence HISTORY • 1994 • PAPER • 368 PAGES A brilliant piece of historical scholarship by the Yale historian and Sinologist Jonathan Spence. The book is like a "portrait of the age," revealing fascinating connections between Eastern and Western history and thought via a life of Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1616), one of the early Catholic missionaries to China and a theorist on the art of memory. (CHN262, $16.00)
Monkey, A Journey to the West • David Kherdian LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 224 PAGES The 16th-century Chinese epic of adventure and pilgrimage on the Silk Road, brilliantly retold by David Kheridan. It's the wild tale of a rogue-trickster and his travels to India via Central Asia in the company of a Buddhist pilgrim -- and a classic allegory on the nature of spirituality. Famously popular in China, the story is the also the source for many very odd movies and television programs. (ASA32, $16.95)
Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats • Leslie Swartz • Nina Simonds • Meilo So CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2002 • HARD COVER • 80 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) With this book of activities, recipes and stories, any day can be a Chinese festival day -- and actual festival days can be more festive. Included are directions for making moon cakes (essential to the Moon Festival), paper lanterns (for the Lantern Festival), dragon boats (the Dragon Boat Festival) and much more. Ages 4-8. Co-written by a cookbook writer and an educator and published by the Boston Children's Museum. (CHN183, $21.00)
Mountain of Fame, Portraits in Chinese History • John Wills HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 424 PAGES An intriguing, novel approach to Chinese history. Instead of marching through the dynasties, Wells illuminates themes and continuities within Chinese tradition through 20 representative personalities. His book is a series of biographies, wonderfully told, of statesman, poets and philosophers through the ages. He tells of great events through the lives of individual Chinese. It's an excellent, immediately accessible approach to history. (CHN10, $29.95)
Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha • Dorothy Gilman MYSTERY • 1988 • PAPER Grandma Pollifax, the CIA agent, is at it again, hot on the trail of jewel thieves, drug dealers and murderers in the city of Hong Kong. Part of the popular series, this mystery is great fun. (HKG17, $6.99)
My Life as an Explorer • Sven Hedin • Anthony Brandt EXPLORATION • 2003 • PAPER • 546 PAGES • COMING IN A bestseller in the 1920s, this classic memoir by the great Swedish adventurer is an amazing account of hardship, adventure and exploration over three decades through the lands of the Silk Road. He journeyed by caravan to Tibet, the Gobi Desert, and India. Mapping uncharted rivers, discovering long-lost cities, revealing the splendor of now-vanished civilizations, and recording encounters with the various characters he met along the way, the author also illustrated the book with his own drawings. (CAS06, $16.00)
National Geographic China • Damian Harper GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 400 PAGES A generously illustrated guide to China with the usual National Geographic attention to maps and photographs, covering the big cities and the Yangtze, as well as southern, western and northeastern China in unusual depth. Harper writes with authority in a lively, opinionated style; no surprise, since he is also the co-author of three guides on the region for Lonely Planet. With a 50-page appendix of practical travel information. (CHN163, $27.95)
Nature: Pandas: Pandas of the Sleeping Dragon, The Panda Baby • Nature NATURAL HISTORY • 2003 • DVD A double-feature from the award-winning Nature series: Pandas of the Sleeping Dragon narrated by George Page and filmed in the bamboo forests of Wolong; and The Panda Baby, the story of the first panda cub born and reared in captivity. (CHN263, $19.99)
News from Tartary • Peter Fleming TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1999 • PAPER • 384 PAGES A rousing, ironic account of Fleming's 3500-mile trek in the 1930s from Peking to the province of Sinkiang and onwards to India. (CAS46, $18.95)
Noble House • James Clavell LITERATURE • 2009 • PAPER • 1376 PAGES Another Clavell novel set in Asia, this one finds Russian, Chinese and English businessmen and intelligence agents caught up in a struggle to control the largest trading house in 1960s Hong Kong. Though the action only covers about one week, the book is an enormous one, filled with Clavell trademarks: adventure, romance and historical detail. (HKG16, $18.00)
Northeastern China Map • Nelles MAP A double-sided map of the northeastern section of China (including portions of the Russian Far East) at a 1:1.5 scale. Two Sides. 20x40 inches. (CHN172, $13.95)
Northwest China Map • MapLink 2002 • MAP A map of northwestern China, covering much of the Silk Road at a scale of 1:2,000,000. Entitled Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the map takes in the region from Dunhuang west across the Taklamakan to Almaty, Bishkek and the Pamirs. With full color shaded relief, archaeological sites, roads, tracks and paths, railroads and trade routes. An index is printed on the reverse with entries for China (mostly) along with bordering regions of Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. A Maplink map with cartography by Gizimaps. Two Sides. 32x39 inches. (CHN202, $9.95)
Oasis Identities, Uyghur Nationalism Along China's Silk Road • Justin Jon Rudelson HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Rudelson draws on extensive fieldwork in the oasis of Turpan in this scholarly study of the movement for a pan-Uyghur identity in Xinjiang. Rudelson, executive director of the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs at the University of Maryland and an anthropologist, is also the author of the Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook as well as the Hebrew Phrasebook and Mandarin Phrasebook. (CAS92, $29.50)
Odyssey Guide Beijing & Shanghai • Bill Mooney GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 600 PAGES • COMING IN AUGUST A comprehensive, illustrated guide to the two cities, jammed with photographs, maps and great information on culture and history. (CHN228, $27.95)
Odyssey Guide China • Charis Chan • Peter Neville GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 440 PAGES A handsomely illustrated compact guide with suggested activities in both China's major cities and some remote provinces. With chapters on the pronunciation of Chinese names, Chinese opera, calligraphy, and art. With 15 maps, hundreds of photographs -- and featuring all 31 World Heritage Sites in China. (CHN87, $19.95)
The Open Empire, A History of China to 1600 • Valerie Hansen HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 458 PAGES A scholarly account of traditional Chinese civilizations for a university audience. Hansen depicts the empire as heterogeneous, vibrant, and open to the outside world. It eschews the more conventional histories, which orient themselves around the dynasties. (CHN138, $57.00)
Original Tao: Inward Training and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism • Harold D. Roth RELIGION • 2004 • PAPER • 275 PAGES Harold D. Roth reinterprets the origins of Taoism through a fourth-century B.C. text. Poetic and philosophical, Inward Training teaches about our relationship to nature and the cosmos through breath meditation. Roth is professor of East Asian Studies at Brown. (CHN245, $26.50)
The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, Volume 1: The Contradictions among the People 1956-1957 • Roderick MacFarquhar HISTORY • 1974 • PAPER • 439 PAGES The first volume in a trilogy of works tracing Mao's Great Leap Forward from 1956 to 1966. This book looks at the first two years, when the stage was set for the radical changes that would follow. (CHN115, $33.50)
Pandas • Heather Angel NATURAL HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 72 PAGES A series of photographs of pandas, taken in their natural habitat. Most of the book is concerned with the Giant Pandas of Wolong, but a short section on the red panda is also included. Information on natural history is included, but the book's real strength is its gorgeous color images. (CHN137, $17.95)
Passions of the Cut Sleeve, The Male Homosexual Tradition in China • Bret Hinsch LITERATURE • 1992 • PAPER • 256 PAGES A well written, scholarly survey of the traditions of same-sex male love across 3,000 years of Chinese literature -- much livlier than the title would indicate. Hinsch draws from dynastic histories, erotic novels, popular Buddhist tracts, love poetry, legal cases, and joke books in this fascinating overview. (CHN167, $26.95)
Peking Story • David Kidd BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • PAPER • 208 PAGES A wry tribute to a lost way of life and time in Beijing. Kidd writes with humor and sweet nostalgia of the privileged and eccentric Lu family into which he marries in grand style, a last vestige of a crumbling way of life in Peking. Originally published in 1988, Kidd describes his return to China many decades after the revolution in the last third of the book. With an introduction by John Lanchester, whose most recent novel is Fragrant Harbor. (CHN264, $15.95)
Popular China, Unoffical Culture in a Globalizing Society • Paul G. Pickowicz • Richard P. Madsen • Perry Link CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2002 • PAPER • 336 PAGES A reader on manifestations of popular culture in contemporary China, including chapters by both Chinese and western contributors. A typical essay is entitled "The Rich, the Laid-off, and the Criminal in Tabloid Tales: Read All about It!" Other topics addressed include obsession with basketball, music, sexuality, and domestic violence. (CHN259, $34.95)
Precious Records, Women in China's Long Eighteenth Century • Susan Mann HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 368 PAGES Respected scholar Mann seeks to give voice to the underrepresented women of Qing China. (CHN139, $27.95)
The Private Life of Chairman Mao, The Memoirs of Mao's Personal Physician • Dr. Li Zhisui BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1996 • PAPER • 682 PAGES 22 years in the life of Mao Tse Tung (and communist China), as seen through the eyes of his doctor. Dr. Li Zhisui offers insight into his own life, Mao's life and the state of China from the 1950's to the 1970's in this historical memoir. (CHN100, $22.95)
The Promise of the Revolution • Daniel B. Wright CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2003 • PAPER • 216 PAGES Subtitled "Stories of Fulfillment and Struggle in China's Hinterland," this book depicts the hardships and few economic triumphs of the people of Guizhou, a severely impoverished region of China. (CHN258, $29.95)
Red Dust, A Path Through China • Ma Jian • Flora Drew TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 324 PAGES An astounding, thoughtful memoir of an urban poet, painter and writer on the road to Tibet in the mid-1980s. At low ebb personally, and censured by his propaganda work unit, 30-year-old Ma Jian abandons his disintegrating life in Beijing for a remarkable three-year trek south and west to Guizhou province, Burma and Tibet. This first-rate account offers a vibrant portrait of Deng's People's Republic of China, and an extremely useful testimonial to the plight of Chinese artists therein. With kudos by Barbara Crossette, Jonathan Spence and others, this first book by Jian, who now lives in London, is drawing a lot of attention. (CHN150, $16.00)
Red Scarf Girl, A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution • Ji-Li Jiang • David Henry Hwang BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • PAPER • 285 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS An engrossing memoir of Ji-Li Jiang's experiences as a teenager during Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution. A personal narrative of the atrocities committed during Cultural Revolution, it's also a suspenseful story of Ji-Li's bravery and loyalty to her family when they are humiliated because her deceased grandfather was once a landlord. For readers ages 12 and up. (CHN104, $6.99)
Red Star Over China • Edgar R. Snow HISTORY • 1973 • PAPER • 543 PAGES A classic history of communism in China by the groundbreaking journalist who reported from Asia for most of his career, originally published in 1938. Snow, who was the first western reporter to meet Mao, delivers a personal account of the early days of communism and its leaders. (CHN201, $16.50)
The Retreat of the Elephants, An Environmental History of China • Mark Elvin NATURAL HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 564 PAGES A comprehensive history of environmental change and its impact upon Chinese culture and politics. Mark Elvin has written prolifically on China, and in this book he focuses on the damage done to China's environment through war, modernization and technological developments, including a farming method which drove the elephant out of its natural habitat. Elvin draws on diverse literature to trace changes over the course of 3,000 years. (CHN221, $24.00)
Rice • Howard Goldblatt • Su Tong LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 270 PAGES • COMING IN A twisted yet intriguing tale of 1930s provincial China. Tong's raw writing infuses his protagonist's story of starvation and sex with violent emotion as he explores the depths of human depravity. Throughout the novel Tong subverts and plays with the symbolism of rice. (CHN194, $14.00)
Riding the Iron Rooster • Paul Theroux TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2006 • PAPER • 528 PAGES An account of utterly exhausting, exasperating travels mostly by rail throughout China for an entire year. Not surprisingly, this is one of Mr. Theroux's testier books. He does, however, travel to every corner of the huge country, including memorable passages on Mongolia, Xinjiang, Manchuria and Tibet (where he ended his journey). Theroux combines offhand observation, telling detail, interviews and snatches of history. Once you get past the lack of heat and hygiene, seedy hotels and Theroux's grumbling, this book is a finely detailed portrait of the diversity of Chinese landscapes and people. (CHN133, $15.95)
The Rise of Modern China • Immanuel C.Y. Hsu HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 976 PAGES A comprehensive, scholarly history of China from the 17th century through the present. Hsu examines economic and social institutions, internal and international affairs, and political and intellectual movements. (CHN62, $74.95)
The River at the Center of the World • Simon Winchester EXPLORATION • 2004 • PAPER • 410 PAGES • FAVORITE In this wide-ranging journalistic overview of the Yangtze (it's a great river of a book itself) veteran journalist Simon Winchester travels upstream into the heartland of China. He and his guide log 4,000 miles over many months, interviewing peasants and politicians throughout the region. It's a remarkable, wonderfully written portrait: an excellent introduction to the great river that is at the symbolic and literal heart of China. Long based in Hong Kong and a frequent commentator on things Asian, Winchester writes about the character of the river itself, and the people and places along its banks, with an easy grace. First published in 1996. (CHN31, $16.00)
River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze • Peter Hessler BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2006 • PAPER • 432 PAGES Hessler's compelling, personal account of life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, where foreigners are a curiosity, explores the culture, traditions and ideas of an isolated world. Fuling is located on the Yangtze in Sichuan, which was partially submerged with t (CHN125, $14.99)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Volume I • Lo Kuan-Chung • C.H. Brewitt-Taylor LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 992 PAGES First published in the 14th-century, this epic saga is a compilation of fact and fiction based on ancient storytelling traditions. It's a fantastic tale of heroes and villains, monsters and wizards, fighting for the control of China during the last days of the Han Dynasty (150 AD). Much of the action centers on the middle and upper Yangtze -- and some familiarity with the rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu will much enhance your appreciation of a voyage along its banks. You know you are in for an epic saga when the 1,250-page story kicks off with this sentence: "Empires wax and wane; states cleave asunder and coalesce." Volume II is also available (CHN213). (CHN212, $28.00)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Volume II • Lo Kuan-Chung • C.H. Brewitt-Taylor LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 992 PAGES The second book in the epic tale of the collapse of the Han Empire in 220 A.D. Volume I is also available (CHN212). First published in the 14th-century, this saga is a compilation of fact and fiction based on ancient storytelling traditions. It's a fantastic tale of heroes and villains, monsters and wizards, fighting for the control of China during the last days of the Han Dynast). Much of the action centers on the middle and upper Yangtze -- and some familiarity with the rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu will much enhance your appreciation of a voyage along its banks. (CHN213, $35.95)
Rough Guide Beijing • Rough Guide GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 216 PAGES A compact, practical guide to the city, jammed with maps, site plans, suggested sightseeing and recommended restaurants and hotels. With a front-of-the-book introductory color overview and not-to-be-missed attractions, glossary and listings. (CHN234, $27.50)
Rough Guide China • Simon Lewis • David Leffman GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 1284 PAGES A no-nonsense, opinionated travel guide in the British series aimed at independent-minded travelers. In addition to detailed travel infomration, the handbook includes maps, a 60-page cultural and historical overview and a great bibliography. (CHN78, $29.99)
Rough Guide Mandarin Chinese Phrasebook • Rough Guide LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2011 • PAPER • 256 PAGES Whether you want to reserve a hotel room, hire a bicycle or pay the restaurant bill a The Rough Guide Mandarin Chinese Phrasebook will help you all the way. The A-Z English to Mandarin and A-Z Mandarin to English translations will have you speaking the language even before you step off the plane. Practice your pronunciation with 16-pages of additional scenario material; available as downloadable audio files, the scenarios have been recorded by native Mandarin speakers and are compatible to either your computer or iPod. This thoroughly-revised third edition includes a detailed grammar section and a helpful menu and drinks list reader to ensure you always choose the right dish. With this phrasebook in your pocket you are sure to have a great trip! (CHN149, $8.99)
The Sand Pebbles • Richard McKenna LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 624 PAGES Life aboard U.S. Navy gunboat on the Yangtze River in the early 20th century is the focus of this reprint of a now-classic novel; it follows mate Jake Holman, stationed on said gunboat. Steve McQueen starred as Holman in the terrific 1966 movie. (CHN147, $24.95)
Search for Ancient China • Corinne Debaine-Francfort ARCHAEOLOGY • 1999 • PAPER • 160 PAGES With information on everything from jewelry to emperors' tombs, this pocketsize, illustrated encyclopedia covers a wide scope of discoveries in China from prehistory to the dazzling 400-year Han empire. The concise text is complemented by 150 illustrations, most in color.The book includes sections on the Great Wall, terracotta warriors (not discovered in Xi'an until 1974!) and other well known monuments. (CHN69, $15.95)
Selected Stories of Lu Hsun • Hsun Lu • William Lyell LITERATURE • 1975 • PAPER • 255 PAGES A collection of 18 stories by an important modern Chinese writer (1881-1936), including "A Madman's Diary." (CHN122, $15.95)
The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World • Chris Scarre ARCHAEOLOGY • 1999 • HARD COVER • 304 PAGES A comprehensive, illustrated overview of the great monuments of the ancient world, much expanded from the original seven wonders to include other significant structures. With a dual focus on the monuments themselves and how they were built, the book includes among others: Petra, the Giza plateau, the Parthenon, Abu Simbel, Nazca, Easter Island, and the Great Wall. With maps, "fact files," diagrams, and photographs. (GEN92, $40.00)
Shanghai Map • Periplus Maps MAP A map of Shanghai, at a scale of 1:15,000. Main streets shown in both English and Chinese (good for directing taxis!). Two Sides. 20x28 inches. (CHN90, $8.95)
Shanghai Modern, The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China, 1930-1945 • Leo Ou-Fan Lee HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 416 PAGES A scholarly look at Chinese urban culture in pre-war Shanghai. Analyzing the literature, cinema, art and architecture of the period, Lee creates an insightful portrait of Chinese modernity. (CHN64, $34.00)
Shanghai, The Rise and Fall of the Decadent City 1842-1949 • Stella Dong HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 318 PAGES An entertaining, well researched history of the personalities, backroom shenanigans, drug-dealing, prostitution of what was once "the most pleasure-mad, rapacious, corrupt, strife-ridden, licentious, squalid and decadent city in the world." (CHN128, $15.99)
The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 1 • Joseph Needham • Colin A. Ronan HISTORY • 1978 • PAPER • 337 PAGES The first entry in a multi-volume history of science and engineering in China, covering up through the medieval period. This is an abridged version of the original text, but it still provides a detailed overview. (CHN120, $75.00)
The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang • Sally Wriggins TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2003 • PAPER • 352 PAGES A nicely illustrated account of an extraordinary, 16-year trek from Xi'an to India by way of Central Asia in search of the origins of Buddhism by Xuan-Zang, the famous 7th-century Chinese monk. Modern travelers will find the descriptions of Buddhist sites and shrines of much interest, including the original accounts of Dunhuang, Samarkand the now-obliterated Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. With maps and photographs. (ASA31, $25.00)
Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road • Luce Boulnois • Helen Loveday HISTORY • 2011 • PAPER • 575 PAGES • COMING IN JULY A history and guide to the Silk Road, organized chronologically, and featuring a nice selection of contemporary photographs. It's a compact overview of diverse geographies and cultures, focusing on the interchange of goods and ideas over the centuries. (CAS111, $27.95)
The Silk Roads, A Route and Planning Guide • Paul Wilson GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 447 PAGES A compact, practical guide to the network of ancient trade routes extending from Turkey and the Mideast across Central Asia to China. With 50 maps and town plans. Excerpts from the book and others in the British series are online at www.trailblazer-guides.com. The book is a revised and expanded version of Silk Route by Rail. (CAS21, $24.95)
A Single Pebble • John Hersey LITERATURE • 1989 • PAPER • 181 PAGES The most famous novel set on the Yangtze. Pulitzer Prize-winner Hersey writes with deceptive simplicity of an American engineer traveling on the Great River in search of a dam site. In this short, controlled novel, the river itself is as much of a character as the Chinese trackers who haul a traditional Yangtze junk up the river through rapids, floodwater and narrow gorges. Think of Hemingway on the Yangtze. It's a haunting, prophetic book that evokes a traditional way of life. (CHN03, $14.00)
The Small Woman • Alan Burgess BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1996 • HARD COVER • 221 PAGES A biography of Gladys Aylward, a missionary responsible for leading more than 500 children over the mountains of northern China to safety during the Japanese occupation of World War II. (CHN77, $35.95)
The Soong Dynasty • Sterling Seagrave HISTORY • 1986 • PAPER • 560 PAGES The epic story of the Soong family, one the most powerful and influential in 20th-century China. This well researched book often reads more like fiction than history, as it peels back layers of political and familial intrigue. (CHN114, $18.99)
South of the Clouds, Exploring the Hidden Realms of China • Seth Faison BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2004 • HARD COVER • 288 PAGES Faison covers people, events, discoveries and experiences from his first visit to China as a student in 1984 to the Tiananmen Square massacre and his time as NY Times bureau chief in Shanghai in this candid, personable and informative memoir. He sets his own tale of discovery and development as a reporter and person against the backdrop of China. One can only imagine that the hidden realms of the title include Faison's forays in gay and transgendered China. Nominated for the Kiriyama Prize (CHN241, $25.95)
South of the Clouds, Tales from Yunnan • Lucien Miller ANTHOLOGY • 1997 • PAPER • 342 PAGES Featuring memorable tales from throughout the Yunnan Province, this book showcases 54 wonderfully insightful and entertaining stories. The collection also includes an overview of the places and people of Yunnan. It is an excellent introduction to the province. (CHN45, $32.95)
Spring Moon, A Novel of China • Bette Bao Lord LITERATURE • 1994 • PAPER • 592 PAGES A big, multi-generational saga of late 19th and 20th century China. The turmoil of the era is seen through the eyes of Spring Moon, the pampered yet headstrong daughter of an aristocratic family. (CHN187, $7.99)
The Story About Ping • Marjorie Flack • Kurt Wiese LITERATURE • 1971 • PAPER • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) For readers ages 4-7, this classic tale, first published in 1933, tells the story of a duckling's adventures along the Yangtze River. With delightful illustrations. (CHN101, $5.99)
Streetlife China • Michael Dutton ANTHOLOGY • 1999 • PAPER • 320 PAGES A scholarly collection of essays about the realities of living in modern-day China. The book covers a wide range of social, cultural and political subjects, and its focus lies in the changing concept of human rights and how it differs in the Eastern and Western societies. By examining such minute phenomena as the advent of tattoos in Chinese popular culture and broader issues like the effects of Mao Zedong on modern life, the book presents a comprehensive picture of the contemporary society told from a multitude of perspectives. (CHN222, $36.00)
Taiwan and Taipei Map • ITMB 2000 • MAP A full color travelers map with the city of Taipei on one side and all of Taiwan on the other at a scale of 1:386,000. One Side. 39x27 inches. (TWN03, $12.95)
Taiwan, A New History • Murray A. Rubinstein HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 576 PAGES Rubenstein and academic colleagues from North America, Europe, and Asia cover the geographic setting, politics, society and culture of Taiwan, and especially its relationship to China, in a series of related essays in this scholarly history. (TWN01, $45.95)
Tales of a Chinese Grandmother • Malthe Hasselriis • Frances Carpenter LITERATURE • 1991 • PAPER • 261 PAGES Stories within stories, this engaging book is not quite a novel, nor quite a collection of folktales. Written in 1937 by a westerner who had traveled throughout China, the book details daily life in the Ling household "many years ago, before new ways came to the Flowery Kingdom of China". Presiding over the household is Grandmother Ling, who tells her grandchildren the 27 folktales which form the bulk of this book. Forgive the author's somewhat antiquated ethnographic tendencies, and you'll find this a charming, attic treasure of a read. (CHN156, $8.95)
Tao Te Ching • D. C. Lao • RELIGION • 1985 • PAPER • 131 PAGES Fourth-century B. C. classic by the Taoist poet Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching has been translated more than any other work, and D. C. Lao's stark, lyrical poetry renders both the complexity and simplicity of the original thought. (CHN243, $10.00)
The Tarim Mummies, Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West • J.P. Mallory • Victor H. Mair ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2008 • PAPER • 190 PAGES A provocative, magnificently illustrated account of the Tarim mummies, the Bronze Age inhabitants of the Taklamakan Desert along the Silk Road. The authors discuss in depth what is known of the culture, genetics, textiles, language and, most interestingly, the cultural affinities of these tall, blue-eyed people. (CAS58, $36.40)
Three Kingdoms, A Historical Novel • Lo Kuan Chung • Moss Roberts ANTHOLOGY • 1990 • PAPER • 500 PAGES First published in the 14th-century, this epic saga is a compilation of fact and fiction based on ancient storytelling traditions. It's a fantastic tale of heroes and villains, monsters and wizards, fighting for the control of China during the last days of the Han Dynasty (150 AD). Much of the action centers on the middle and upper Yangtze -- and some familiarity with the rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu will much enhance your appreciation of a voyage along its banks. This abridged edition is translated and edited by Moss Roberts, who also translated the full three-volume edition. (CHN57, $28.95)
Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting • Richard Barnhart • Yang Xin ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2002 • PAPER • 400 PAGES An oversize, nicely illustrated survey of Chinese art traditions with contributions by leading specialists and 300 well chosen color illustrations. Wu Hung, a professor at the University of Chicago, contributed the chapter on the earliest period, including a good overview of the caves at Dunhuang. (CHN152, $55.00)
Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China • Arthur Waley RELIGION • 1982 • PAPER • 216 PAGES An elegantly written, classic introduction to traditional Chinese philosophy. Waley, who provides lyrical translations, discusses three great threads in this slim book: Daoism, Realism and the writings of Meniscus (closely related to Confucianism). Originally published in 1953, Waley's entertaining anecdotes, evident humor and aphorisms, enliven the text. The first section is entitled In the Realm of Nothing Whatever. (CHN164, $18.95)
Thunder from the East, Portrait of a Rising Asia • Nicholas Kristoff • Sheryl WuDunn CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2000 • PAPER • 377 PAGES From the pens of a husband-and-wife team of Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondents for the "New York Times," comes a study of the changing face of Asia's economy and culture. It's an ambituous book, organized thematically with alternating chapters by Kristoff and WuDunn. The book combines interviews, newspaper-style profiles, statistics and anecdote. (ASA24, $15.95)
Thunder Out of China • Theodore H. White • Annalee Jacoby • Harrison Salisbury HISTORY • 1980 • PAPER • 331 PAGES A classic account of the revolutionary developments in China in the years surrounding World War II, highly readbale and illuminating. Originally published in 1946. (CHN113, $16.50)
To the Edge of the Sky • Anhua Gao BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • HARD COVER • 398 PAGES This jolting memoir will make you wonder about the pasts of the people we meet in China: the bathroom attendants, clerks, or teachers -- where did they spend the 1960s and 70s? What have they survived? Anhua Gao offers her own story as a clue to millions of other, unrecorded lives. She tells of her life in Nanjing, beginning with her privileged but too few early years as the daughter of two "revolutionary martyrs", continuing through disillusionment, imprisonment and worse, up to her emigration to England in middle age. Some of the book's events are familiar from histories and other memoirs (like Wild Swans), but they don't affect one any less for that. (CHN190, $27.95)
To the Storm, The Odyssey of a Revolutionary Chinese Woman • Yue Daiyun • Carolyn Wakeman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1987 • PAPER • 300 PAGES The heartrending tale of a professor of literature at Beijing University, accused of being a right-wing supporter in 1957 and relocated to a rural peasant commune in order to "correct" her political views. (CHN254, $26.95)
A Traveller's History of China • Stephen G. Haw HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 310 PAGES An admirably brief, lively history of China (including a chronology, list of dynasties, historical gazeteer and index), remarkably clear and necessarily condensed. It's an engaging overview covering the full range of China's history through the 1990s. (CHN43, $14.95)
Travels with Myself and Another, A Memoir • Martha Gellhorn TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2001 • PAPER • 304 PAGES The "Another" of this title (also known as the unwilling companion), was Gellhorn's husband at the time, Ernest Hemingway. Her witty account of worldwide travels is a classic of unexpected encounters and sharp description. She's a marvelous, incisive writer who covered every important conflict from from the Spanish Civil War to Vietnam and Nicaragua. The book includes an uncomfortable journey to visit with Chiang Kai-Shek, a remarkbale look at dysfunctional Moscow, and escapades with Hemingway in East Africa. Originally published in 1979. Gellhorn died in 1998 at the age of eighty-nine. (TVL25, $15.95)
Waiting • Ha Jin LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 308 PAGES A spare, haunting story of of an ineffectual military doctor who tries for 18 years to divorce his peasant wife so he can marry a more sophisticated nurse at his military hospital. Along the way, the story is greatly evocative of quotidian life in China during the Cultural Revolution and after. Though the main characters are not all that likeable, and the story is somewhat tragic, Ha Jin succeeds utterly in communicating the travails of finding love in China during these years. Winner of the National Book Award. (CHN80, $15.00)
Wild China • John MacKinnon • Nigel Hicks NATURAL HISTORY • 1996 • HARD COVER • 208 PAGES An informative, up-to-date survey of the wildlife and natural history of China in a handsome, oversize volume. The book, published in association with World Wildlife Fund, features excellent maps and 400 superb color photographs by Gerald Cubitt. The detailed text covers the enormous range of habitats and natural areas in China with a particular focus on reserves (and the panda). (CHN19, $39.95)
Wild Grass, Three Portraits of Change in Modern China • Ian Johnson CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2005 • PAPER • 336 PAGES Through the stories of a self-educated peasant lawyer, a group of Beijing residents fighting to save their soon to be bulldozed homes, and a member of the Fulan Gong protests, Pulitzer Prize winner Ian Johnson tells what ordinary citizens are doing with the little personal freedom returned to them by the party. (CHN215, $14.95)
Wild West China, The Taming of Xinjiang • Christian Tyler CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2004 • HARD COVER • 336 PAGES Despite a savage landscape and climate, Xinjiang has a rich past: sand-buried cities, painted cave shrines, rare creatures, and wonderfully preserved mummies of European appearance. Their descendants, the Uighurs, still farm the tranquil oases that ring the dreaded Taklamakan, the world's second largest sand desert, and the Kazakh and Kirghiz herdsmen still roam the mountains. The region's history, however, has been punctuated by violence, usually provoked by ambitious outsiders--nomad chieftains from the north, Muslim emirs from Central Asia, Russian generals, or warlords from inner China. The Chinese regard the far west as a barbarian land. Only in the 1760s did they subdue it, and even then their rule was repeatedly broken. Compared with the Russians' conquest of Siberia, or the Americans' trek west, China's colonization of Xinjiang has been late and difficult. The Communists have done most to develop it, as a penal colony, as a buffer against invasion, and as a supplier of raw materials and living space for an overpopulated country. But what China sees as its property, the Uighurs regard as theft by an alien occupier. Tension has led to violence and savage reprisals. This portrait of Xinjiang should be essential reading for travelers and for anyone interested in today's China and the fate of minority peoples. (CHN231, $28.95)
The Wisdom of the Buddha • Jean Boisselier RELIGION • 1994 • PAPER • 191 PAGES A pocket-size primer of Buddhism, this book is an illustrated history of the sixth-century Indian prince and his quest for enlightenment. With 207 illustrations, 160 in full color. (IDA55, $12.95)
A Woman Soldier's Own Story • Xie Bingying • Barry Brissman • Lily Chia BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2001 • HARD COVER • 336 PAGES The first English translation of Xie Bingying's autobiography, published in two installments in China in 1936 and 1946. Xie (1906-2000) chronicles her rebellious youth in pre-Communist China, especially her time as a soldier in the 1920s (fighting the feudal warlords) and 1930s (fighting the Japanese). A feminist, nationalist and polemicist, Xie was -- to put it mildly -- no shrinking violet. Her intensely political memoir reveals the desperate mood in China during the decades leading up to the revolution. Xie's daughter and son-in-law translated. (CHN158, $36.00)
A Woman's Asia • Marybeth Bond ANTHOLOGY • 2005 • PAPER • 310 PAGES These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright. (ASA49, $17.95)
Wonderful Xinjiang, A Photographic Journey of China's Largest Province • Wang Meng CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2004 • HARD COVER • 256 PAGES Wang Meng showcases the people, cultures, landscapes, monuments and cities of Northwestern China in this photographic overview of the province. With 300 color photographs. The captions are taken from Weng's many novels and books set in the region. (CHN249, $30.00)
World Religions: Eastern Traditions • Willard G. Oxtoby RELIGION • 2010 • PAPER • 515 PAGES A clear and insightful introduction to Eastern religions by a team of scholars. It's a handsomely produced concise overview of Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, and East Asian traditions, as rewarding for the general reader as the student. This second edition features additional suggested reading, photographs, glossary and thought-provoking review questions. (ASA07, $84.95)
Wuhu Diary, On Taking My Adopted Daughter Back to Her Hometown in China • Emily Prager TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 272 PAGES An account of a two-month trip to China in 2001 by an American mother and her adopted Chinese daughter. (CHN210, $13.00)
Yangtze Remembered, The River Beneath the Lake • Linda Butler • Simon Winchester TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2004 • HARD COVER • 192 PAGES Prize-winning art photographer Linda Butler offers a chronicle of people, places and change along the Yangtze. She visited eight times between 2000 and 2003 to chronicle the effects of the flooding of the great river's Three Gorges region in luminous black-and-white images. With an introduction by Simon Winchester and informative accompanying captions and text. The photographs in the book are also a traveling museum exhibition. For more information see lindabutlerphoto.com. (CHN218, $70.00)
Yangzi River Map • Richard Perry Hayman 2003 • MAP A full-color, comprehensive map of the Yangzi River from its source in the Himalayas down to Shanghai and the East China Sea. Ten maps are featured in all, including orientation maps of all China, several detailed maps of the Three Gorges area plus the cities of Shanghai, Chongqing, and Wuhan. The 4,000-mile-long course of the river is broken into two main maps of the Upper and Lower Yangzi, each at a 1:1,000,000 scale. The double-sided map, which features hypsometric shaded relief derived from USGS data, unfolds to 27 x 39 inches. Two Sides. 27x39 inches. (CHN177, $14.95)
The Year of the Panda • Miriam Schlein • Kam Mak LITERATURE • 1992 • PAPER • 82 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) Rich in detail of the plight and rescue of the giant panda, this chapter book is written for readers 8-12. In it ten-year-old Lu Yi and his father find an orphaned da xiong mao (giant panda) and nurse it back to health. A government messenger hears of the discovery and invites Lu Yi to accompany the panda to the Panda Rescue Center. (CHN105, $4.99)
Yeh-Shen, A Cinderella Story from China • Ed Young • Ai-Ling Louie LITERATURE • 1982 • PAPER • 31 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A southern Chinese Cinderella story, familiar yet distinctly foreign in its details. It's a beautiful book, based on T'ang-era (618-907 A.D.) manuscripts. Unusually for a children's book, it keeps its distance from the reader. The heroine slips, swirls and ducks in and out of Ed Young's elusive, impressionistic illustrations, so that by book's end she is almost as much of a cipher as she was on the book's first page. Although young children may lose interest due to this lack of characterization, older readers may appreciate the extra room for imagination. (CHN107, $17.99)
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze • Elizabeth Foreman Lewis LITERATURE • 2008 • PAPER • 266 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) Drawing on her experience in China as a missionary in the 1920s, Elizabeth Foreman Lewis illuminates the transformation of 13-year-old Young Fu from a country bumpkin to a resourceful apprentice coppersmith in the dangerous, semi-feudal city of Chunking in this Newbery-winning classic for ages 9-12. This handsome 75-anniversary edition includes new illustrations by William Low. (CHN148, $7.99)
The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi • Lin Chi • Burton Watson LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 140 PAGES An important philosopher of Ch'an Buddhism and a forefather of Zen Buddhism, Lin-Chi's recorded sayings from the ninth century are translated here in English for the first time. The sayings are formed into sections that create a philosophical dialogue between teacher and student. (CHN246, $27.00)

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