Review: Zhongguo Gudai Jianzhu Shi (A History of Traditional Chinese Architecture) by Liu Dunzhen; Zhongguo Gudai Jianzhu (Ancient Chinese Architecture) by Chinese Academy of Architecture; Zhongguo Chengshi Jianshe Shi (A History of the Construction of Chinese Cities) by Dong Jianhong; Ying Xian Muta (Ying Xian Timber Pagoda) by Cheng Mingda; Ancient Architecture of Chengde by Tianjin University Architecture Department and Chengde Bureau of Cultural Relics; Suzhou Dadian Yuanlin (Soochow Gardens) by Liu Dunzhen; Classical Chinese Gardens by Qian Yun; Yingzao Fashi Damuzuo Yanjiu (A Study of the Structural Carpentry System According to Yingzao Fashi) by Chen Mingda; Zeyang Jianding Gujianzhu (How Can We Identify Traditional Architecture?) by Qi Yingtao; Zhongguo Jianzhu Shi (History of Chinese Architecture), II by Ye Dasong

1987 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Architecture ◽  
Chinese Cities ◽  
Chinese Architecture ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
History Of ◽  
Yingzao Fashi ◽  
Chinese Gardens ◽  
Cultural Relics

The Art of Chinese Philosophy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Goldin
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Han Feizi ◽  
Textual History ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
History Of ◽  
Crucial Characteristic ◽  
The Way

This book provides an unmatched introduction to eight of the most important works of classical Chinese philosophy—the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Sunzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. The book places these works in rich context that explains the origin and meaning of their compelling ideas. Because none of these classics was written in its current form by the author to whom it is attributed, the book begins by asking, “What are we reading?” and showing that understanding the textual history of the works enriches our appreciation of them. A chapter is devoted to each of the eight works, and the chapters are organized into three sections: “Philosophy of Heaven,” which looks at how the Analects, Mozi, and Mencius discuss, often skeptically, Heaven (tian) as a source of philosophical values; “Philosophy of the Way,” which addresses how Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Sunzi introduce the new concept of the Way (dao) to transcend the older paradigms; and “Two Titans at the End of an Age,” which examines how Xunzi and Han Feizi adapt the best ideas of the earlier thinkers for a coming imperial age. In addition, the book presents explanations of the protean and frequently misunderstood concept of qi—and of a crucial characteristic of Chinese philosophy, nondeductive reasoning. The result is an invaluable account of an endlessly fascinating and influential philosophical tradition.

Translating iconicities of classical Chinese poetry

Semiotica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (224) ◽  
pp. 19-44
Author(s):  
Guangxu Zhao ◽  
Luise von Flotow
Keyword(s):  
Ezra Pound ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Chinese Characters ◽  
Chinese Poetry ◽  
Princeton University ◽  
Amy Lowell ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
Classical Chinese Poetry ◽  
History Of

Abstract In the history of translating classical Chinese poetry, there are two kinds of translators. The first kind translate classical Chinese poetry “by way of intellectual, directional devices” (Yip, Wai-lim. 1969. Ezra Pound’s Cathay. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press: 16). What these translators are concerned with most is the coherence of their translations. They give little attention to the ideogrammic nature of Chinese characters. I call them traditional translators. These translators include those in the history of translating classical Chinese poetry from its beginning to the first decade of the twentieth century, although there are still some who translate classical Chinese poetry in this way later. The second kind of translator is highly interested in the images created by ideogrammic Chinese characters and tries to convey them in target language. We call them modernist translators. These translators are represented by some American modernist poets such as Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, Florence Ayscough, etc. From the point of view of iconicity, modernist translators’ contribution lies in their concern with the iconic characteristics of Chinese characters. But they did not give enough attention to syntactical iconicity and textual iconicity in classical Chinese poetry.

scholarly journals Making Modern Knowledge of Traditional Carpentry in China and Japan: Myth, Reality and Transmission

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-62
Author(s):  
Ren Congcong
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Building Industry ◽  
Heritage Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
China And Japan ◽  
Yingzao Fashi ◽  
Historical Trajectory ◽  
Building Practice ◽  
Building Standards

Abstract Carpentry skills were among the most important elements of building practice in premodern China and Japan, and traditional carpentry skills continue in use in both countries to the present day. Although their importance has been greatly marginalised in building practice, in both countries some master carpenters have gained public recognition. This paper compares the modernisation of traditional building knowledge in China and Japan, and the fate of carpentry knowledge as the building industry and the formal discipline of architecture evolved. It distinguishes three phases in this historical trajectory: the period during the introduction of Western architecture as a discipline, when traditional knowledge was rejected or used selectively in the construction of national histories of building; the period when modern technology took over the main building industry and traditional craftsmen had to confront the realities of new technologies of production; and the period, still unfolding today, where heritage movements are promoting the recuperation and development of traditional craft knowledge. For each country, the paper traces how the nation’s history of building was selectively fashioned into an orthodox narrative; explores the content of key early technical works (for China, the official handbook Yingzao fashi [Building standards] and the craftsman’s manual Lu Ban jing [Carpenters’ Canon], and for Japan kikujutsu [literally, “compass and ruler techniques”] books); and shows how a talented master carpenter succeeded in creating a niche for himself within the contemporary heritage culture. It concludes that differences in the cultural respect accorded to carpentry knowledge in the two countries are rooted in the contrasting status of craftsmen in the premodern era.

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