Master Tung S Western Chamber Romance

"Composed of 184 prose passages and 5,263 lines of verse to be narrated and sung by a performing singer-storyteller, Master Tung's Western Chamber Romance is an elaboration of the T'ang dynasty love story, The Story of Ying-ying, by Yuan Chen (779-831). But unlike the T'ang story, in which the lovers fail to marry each other, Master Tang's Western Chamber Romance ends with their wedding."--Cover.

Comprising 184 prose passages and 5,263 lines of verse to be narrated and sung by a performing singer-storyteller, it is an elaboration of the Tang dynasty love story, "The Story of Ying-ying, " by Yuan Chen (779-831).

How Zen Became Zen takes a novel approach to understanding one of the most crucial developments in Zen Buddhism: the dispute over the nature of enlightenment that erupted within the Chinese Chan (Zen) school in the twelfth century. The famous Linji (Rinzai) Chan master Dahui Zonggao (1089-1163) railed against "heretical silent illumination Chan" and strongly advocated kanhua (k?an) meditation as an antidote. In this fascinating study, Morten Schl?tter shows that Dahui's target was the Caodong (S?t?) Chan tradition that had been revived and reinvented in the early twelfth century, and that silent meditation was an approach to practice and enlightenment that originated within this "new" Chan tradition. Schl?tter has written a refreshingly accessible account of the intricacies of the dispute, which is still reverberating through modern Zen in both Asia and the West. Dahui and his opponents' arguments for their respective positions come across in this book in as earnest and relevant a manner as they must have seemed almost nine hundred years ago. Although much of the book is devoted to illuminating the doctrinal and soteriological issues behind the enlightenment dispute, Schl?tter makes the case that the dispute must be understood in the context of government policies toward Buddhism, economic factors, and social changes. He analyzes the remarkable ascent of Chan during the first centuries of the Song dynasty, when it became the dominant form of elite monastic Buddhism, and demonstrates that secular educated elites came to control the critical transmission from master to disciple ("procreation" as Schl?tter terms it) in the Chan School.

Comprehensive yet portable, this account of the development of Chinese literature from the very beginning up to the present brings the riches of this august literary tradition into focus for the general reader. Organized chronologically with thematic chapters interspersed, the fifty-five original chapters by leading specialists cover all genres and periods of poetry, prose, fiction, and drama, with a special focus on such subjects as popular culture, the impact of religion upon literature, the role of women, and relationships with non-Sinitic languages and peoples.

The book aims to reflect characteristic aspects of Dr Picken's study of Oriental and other non-Western musics. Appealing in particular to those engaged in the study of non-Western music, the volume will also interest everyone concerned with musical structures and their development.

For generations scholars and the general public have looked to John King Fairbank for knowledge and insights about China. In four editions of this work he has provided these. Reviews of this book: "An indispensable book for thoughtful people." DD--New York Times Book Review "Fairbank provides a miraculously concise account of Chinese civilization from its foundations to the present day...Maps, photographs, and an 80-page bibliography make this an invaluable reference work." DD--New Republic "As useful and timely as when it first appeared in 1948. Written by America's foremost China scholar, John Fairbank, the book addresses a popular, not the academic, audience. It offers a sweeping view of the Chinese polity from ancient times up to the recent, convoluted period of Western contact, spiced by the wit and insight into detail of a geographer who drew the maps himself...Yet the book offers much to the specialist as well as the layman. To the historian, a state-of-the-art review of the latest historical analysis of modern china...To the student, a cogent guide to the field...For the diplomat and businessman, the work explores that most intangible but also most influential area of human feeling between the two countries that has launched ventures and derailed them." DD--China Business Review "The best general introduction to the Chinese political system...A book of love and great learning." DD--Kirkus Reviews "Still flashes with brilliance in its latest (fourth) incarnation...With this latest edition of what is arguably the best guide to China in any language, American and other non-Chinese readers may finally catch a glimpse of the 'very complex' Chinese way of life." DD--Asiaweek Literary Review "[Fairbank's] ability to transcend the academic to write a highly readable, authoritative, information-packed, perceptive and analytical account of the Chinese is unsurpassed. This is must reading for all Asiaphiles." DD--Asia Mail