Origins Of Chinese Auspicious Symbols 2012 Edition Epub

Talk about Chinese culture and images of dragon boats, lion dances, red packets and mandarin oranges readily come to mind. Their common thread is that they are all considered auspicious symbols by the Chinese. This charmingly illustrated book takes you on a journey of discovery of many others: * Animals: Phoenix, tortoise, tiger, bat, toad, spider, deer, elephant, horse, crane, carp, goldfish and others. * Plants: Pine, bamboo, plum peony, peach, orchid, chrysanthemum, pomegranate, gourd and others. * Objects: Treasure bowl, money tree, copper coin, ruyi, mirror, seal, Chinese knot and 'tower of wisdom'. * Home items: New year couplets, dumpling, glutinous rice ball, fish, chopsticks, longevity noodles and others. * Words: Happiness, wealth, longevity, Eight Immortals, combined characters, auspicious numbers and greetings. Understanding the appeal of these symbols will help you to appreciate the arts and crafts displayed in Chinese homes and workplaces.

Origins of Chinese Food Culture is the latest addition to Asiapac's collection of books on Chinese culture. This volume brings you through the origins, history, customs, and fascinating tales behind the intricate and perplexing labyrinth of customs and taboos, and the art and science of Chinese food culture. Did you know that: * Tables and chairs did not enter common usage until the Southern Song period? * Female chefs were once the rage in ancient China? * Zhuge Liang defeated his enemy with mantou? * Youtiao was also known as 'deep-fried ghost'? * Chopsticks were once reputed to detect poison? Read about all these and many other enthralling facts in this info-packed book. With this well-illustrated and easy-to-read volume, understanding Chinese culture has never been easier.

Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan are all familiar names from the Age of Exploration (1400–1550). Columbus is known for discovering America; Vasco da Gama is the first European to sail to India; and Magellan is believed to have completed the first circumnavigation of the globe. Such common-sense knowledge has met a serious challenge with new findings related to the great Chinese navigator and explorer Cheng Ho (1371–1435). Over a span of 28 years from 1405 to 1433, he directed seven large-scale voyages to the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and left his mark in over 30 countries in Southeast Asia, West Asia and East Africa. Historians have even suggested that Cheng Ho and his massive fleet could have made their way to America and Australia. How much do you know about Cheng Ho and the voyages he commanded? When and how did these voyages take place? What influences have these historic voyages exerted on the places Cheng Ho had set his feet on? In what aspects is Cheng Ho different from the European explorers? Check out the Ambassador of Peace in this book!

Named as one of the Four Main Classical Novels of China, A Dream of Red Mansions is the only novel to address the role of women in China's history. The tragic romance, set in the powerful Jia clan, has captivated readers for centuries. Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu are the protagonists of this story. An effeminate young man, Baoyu grew up in the company of the women in the Jia clan and does not fit into the traditional archetype of a strong, masculine patriarch. Though seemingly weak and fragile, Daiyu, Baoyu's cousin, embodies an unyielding independent streak in her attempt to find her place in the Rong Mansion. Despite their differences, these two characters find comfort and love in each other, united by their inability to fit into the expectations of feudal China. Framing their story are the other members of the household: Wang Xifeng, Baoyu's manipulative cousin-in-law; Baochai, another cousin of Baoyu's who is destined to marry him; and Jia Zheng, Baoyu's strict father. Witness the ways of an aristocratic family that takes their luxuries for granted, and find out that life in the Red Mansions is nothing more than an unsustainable dream!

Ever hard-working and resourceful, the Chinese have always explored various raw materials to provide for their daily necessities. In the process, they invented things of practical use (mirrors and umbrellas) and economic value (silk and porcelain). In fact, the porcelain became so well loved that Westerners decided to call the country that produced china 'China'! Today, China's great treasury also contains bronzeware, jade carving, embroidery, ornamental knots, paper cuttings, snuff bottles and face masks. Learn about these interesting details and more: * The Silk Route as well as the Pottery and Porcelain Route of old China. * The multitude of Chinese characters and idioms related to jade. * Bronze artefacts unearthed at Qin burial site.

The landmark text about the inner workings of the unconscious mind—from the symbolism that unlocks the meaning of our dreams to their effect on our waking lives and artistic impulses—featuring more than a hundred images that break down Carl Jung’s revolutionary ideas “What emerges with great clarity from the book is that Jung has done immense service both to psychology as a science and to our general understanding of man in society.”—The Guardian “Our psyche is part of nature, and its enigma is limitless.” Since our inception, humanity has looked to dreams for guidance. But what are they? How can we understand them? And how can we use them to shape our lives? There is perhaps no one more equipped to answer these questions than the legendary psychologist Carl G. Jung. It is in his life’s work that the unconscious mind comes to be understood as an expansive, rich world just as vital and true a part of the mind as the conscious, and it is in our dreams—those personal, integral expressions of our deepest selves—that it communicates itself to us. A seminal text written explicitly for the general reader, Man and His Symbolsis a guide to understanding the symbols in our dreams and using that knowledge to build fuller, more receptive lives. Full of fascinating case studies and examples pulled from philosophy, history, myth, fairy tales, and more, this groundbreaking work—profusely illustrated with hundreds of visual examples—offers invaluable insight into the symbols we dream that demand understanding, why we seek meaning at all, and how these very symbols affect our lives. By illuminating the means to examine our prejudices, interpret psychological meanings, break free of our influences, and recenter our individuality, Man and His Symbols proves to be—decades after its conception—a revelatory, absorbing, and relevant experience.

Anthony C. Yu’s translation of The Journey to the West,initially published in 1983, introduced English-speaking audiences to the classic Chinese novel in its entirety for the first time. Written in the sixteenth century, The Journey to the West tells the story of the fourteen-year pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang, one of China’s most famous religious heroes, and his three supernatural disciples, in search of Buddhist scriptures. Throughout his journey, Xuanzang fights demons who wish to eat him, communes with spirits, and traverses a land riddled with a multitude of obstacles, both real and fantastical. An adventure rich with danger and excitement, this seminal work of the Chinese literary canonis by turns allegory, satire, and fantasy. With over a hundred chapters written in both prose and poetry, The Journey to the West has always been a complicated and difficult text to render in English while preserving the lyricism of its language and the content of its plot. But Yu has successfully taken on the task, and in this new edition he has made his translations even more accurate and accessible. The explanatory notes are updated and augmented, and Yu has added new material to his introduction, based on his original research as well as on the newest literary criticism and scholarship on Chinese religious traditions. He has also modernized the transliterations included in each volume, using the now-standard Hanyu Pinyin romanization system. Perhaps most important, Yu has made changes to the translation itself in order to make it as precise as possible. One of the great works of Chinese literature, The Journey to the West is not only invaluable to scholars of Eastern religion and literature, but, in Yu’s elegant rendering, also a delight for any reader.