Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies in the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects

Book Description

The internationally acclaimed architect Rafael Moneo is known to be a courageous architect. His major works include the Houston Museum of Fine Art, Davis Art Museum at Wellesley College, the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art and Architecture, and the Potzdammer Platz Hotel in Berlin. Now Moneo will be known as a daring critic as well. In this book, he looks at eight of his contemporaries -- all architects of international stature -- and discusses the theoretical positions, technical innovations, and design contributions of each. Moneo's discussion of these eight architects -- James Stirling, Robert Venturi, Aldo Rossi, Peter Eisenman, Alvaro Siza, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, and the partnership of Jacques Herzog and Pierre De Meuron -- has the colloquial, engaging tone of a series of lectures on modern architecture by a master architect; the reader hears not the dispassionate theorizing of an academic, but Moneo's own deeply held convictions as he considers the work of his contemporaries. More than 500 illustrations accompany the text.

Discussing each of the eight architects in turn, Moneo first gives an introductory profile, emphasizing intentions, theoretical concerns, and construction procedures. He then turns to the work, offering detailed critical analyses of the works he considers to be crucial for an informed understanding of this architect's work. The many images he uses to illustrate his points resemble the rapid-fire flash of slides in a lecture, but Moneo's perspective is unique among lecturers. These profiles are not what Moneo calls the "tacit treatises" that can be found on the shelves of a university library, but lively encounters of architectural equals.

Customer Reviews:

Nice primer on a select group of influential architects.......2007-05-22

In this deceptively thick volume, Moneo presents a compilation of lectures he gave during the early 90's while at Harvard's GSD. Digging into his archives, he reassembles slides and text specific to the work of eight individuals that Moneo believes to be among the most influential contemporary architects of the late 20th century.

Don't let the title intimidate you. Moneo is simply referring to the mechanisms, operational strategies, formal devices and procedures that architects utilize in their design process and their unwillingness to reveal those systematic theories of design. Rather, he believes that the current architectural discourse assumes a more reflective or critical posture rather than revolving around the process of design.

Moneo manages to reveal to varying extents the working process of each architect by analyzing a body of work over the course of their career, identifying key changes in strategies. As an architect, learning the working process of such significant architectural figures is quite useful, allowing one to locate themselves (or others) within the greater architectural sphere. Here, connections begin to reveal themselves and linkages to architects past and present become evident.

The project images are often a bit too small to be incredibly useful especially since Moneo often refers to specific features within the drawings and photos to explain his thoughts. However, this remains an excellent and recommended read.

Cliff Notes for Architectural Practice.......2007-02-15

In architecture, everyone at one point fantasizes about becoming a well known architect. Rafael Moneo challenges the current leaders method of praticing. He investigates each architect individually, delivering insight to their logic in practicing. Moneo constantly refers back to each architect he discusses and compares the diversity of architecture logic in practice. Although I believe he was attempting to expose the potential failures or faults in most successful architects, whom we usually appraciate but hardly challenge.

A must read for the architects who are in down curve with the profession........2006-06-14

I purchased this book because I was interested in only
two architects. One was Siza and the other H+Dm. Going over again
Stirling/ Venturi/ Rossi was just too much and I wasn't interested in the rest of three architects. But thanks to Moneo's great writing, I was able to read all of the architects with great interest and enthusiasm. Reading Siza was like reading a poetry. Moneo constructs that mood by comparing Siza with a Poet Pesoa. Due to their contemporaneity, analysis on H+Dm is still on going. But Moneo explains well on the foundation of H+dM's work. Like the comparison of Siza to Pesoa, it is interesting to read H+Dm's relationship/influence with conceptual artists such as Joseph Beuys. In terms of Venturi and Rossi, unlike crash courses in architectural history, Moneo delves into more on their individual projects than on the theoretical manifestos of their books. I gained most reading Koolhaas and Eisenman. I never liked their writings (one being too sarcastically light and the other being too narcissistically heavy) and I hated their buildings. Moneo actually helps overcome these misreading. Overall, the book really stimulates thinking in that every line in architecture has a meaning. Moreover, it helps to see the landscape of contemporary architecture. As the title suggests, the book really is a theoretical anxieties. And like all anxieties do, I guarantee that this book will stir the stagnation of your spirit; as it did mine.

A rare Architect...........2005-10-30

There are Architects who write eloquently about Architecture, but whose built works disappoint, then there are those whose buildings inspire and yet seem unable to communicate clearly about their ideas, but Rafael Moneo is the rare architect who appears in easy command of both realms. A colleague who studied under him said that Moneo could look at a project and tell exactly how it was designed, and this book seems to substantiate this ability to understand both method and reason behind the work of some of the most important Architects of the last third or the 20th century. Moneo's prose is informal, yet studied, and this book serves as a once in a lifetime conversation with a master Architect.
His ideas seem better defined when dealing with James Stirling and Aldo Rossi, and more speculative when dealing with relative newcomers like Koolhaas, and Herzhogg+DeMeuron, but the book is always insightful. Moneo comes across as someone who loves his profession and who, despite earning international renown, approaches the work of his colleagues with the same fascination of a brilliant student. This fascination is contagious, and the book is a worthy addition to the library of anyone who loves contemporary architecture.

A Well Considered History of Contemporary Architecture.......2005-03-07

This collection of essays on contemporary architects reminds me of why I love great contemporary architecture, and why I will continue to work as an architect. The text demonstrates the wonderful diversity of the times we live in and the recent history which has formed these times. Read these essays and you will recognize the lineage of form and theory which has led to any building built or published today, from any suburban house to the Freedom Tower.

A reflection on 50 years of history, this book could only have come together now. Moneo's observations of his peers are dead on and written with the clarity of a historical text while still managing to to provide the insight of a work of architectural criticism. This is the book I wish I had as a student in the 1980's but know that in the throes of theoretical debate at the time that the history was too fresh for hindsight. As a direct result of the debate around "modernism", more than at any other time in history we are able to recognize how theory affects our design strategies. In collecting these transcripts of lectures and essays on these architects Moneo codifies what we know we knew about how we got here, but had not yet put all together.

I only wish I could have been there to hear his lectures. At times the text seems to stradle the grammatical form of essay and transcript of a discussion on a particular slide. But perhaps it is that sometimes awkward format which energizes and saves the book from becoming "text"book. To actually see slides and drawings rather than the somewhat small and at times poor black and white images that dot the text would be of great benefit. As a result this is probably not a book for the casual reader of architecture not familiar with the work of these architects and who does not have the time to look for better images. Mr. Moneo has in this book nthe raw material for what could be a very powerful multimedia publication, either CD or web based.

I recommend that every student of architecture today read this book. It offers the critical tools to recognize where from what you do comes and in doing so opens the possibilities of where you can take your work.

Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies: In the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects

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Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies: In the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects
Rafael Moneo
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQDC46

Book Description

A Journey to Flanders and Holland, first published in 1797 in the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, is his perceptive account of the pictures which he saw in the Austrian Netherlands, the United Provinces and the Rhineland in 1781. The Journey is here published separately for the first time, in a new edition which is also the first to include explanatory notes on the pictures mentioned by Reynolds and to illustrate all those which he discussed in any depth. Harry Mount provides an introduction which sets the Journey in its context and draws on unpublished material from Reynolds’s notebooks to give insights into his critical procedures. All in all, this edition of the Journey makes an important contribution both to the history of the reception of Netherlandish art and to our understanding of the development of art theory and criticism in eighteenth-century England.

The works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, knight,: Containing his Discourses, Idlers, A journey to Flanders and Holland, and his commentary on Du Fresnoy's Art of painting;

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The works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, knight,: Containing his Discourses, Idlers, A journey to Flanders and Holland, and his commentary on Du Fresnoy's Art of painting;
Joshua Reynolds
Manufacturer: W. Forrester
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00088P2XO

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The works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, knight ... containing his Discourses, Idlers, A journey to Flanders and Holland, and his commentary on Du Fresnoy's art ... corrections and additions.) In three volumes
Joshua Reynolds
Manufacturer: Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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The works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Knight: Containing his Discourses, Idlers, A journey to Flanders and Holland, and his commentary on Du Fresnoy's Art ... of the life and writings of the author
Joshua Reynolds
Manufacturer: William Forrester
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

"You are about to come face to face with a Texas that has always been there, but that we don't take the time to see. The magnificent photos by Tommy LaVergne and the poetry of my friend Joyce Hardy combine to remind us of the stark beauty of this state. They remind us that in this age when only new seems to count, enduring things should never be discarded. Is there poetry in the commonplace and the mundane? The answer is a resounding YES that echoes from the Hueco Tanks through the sleepy main streets, out to the hard land and `Stretches taut across the gaps of time and space' to finally settle into our soul. Hardy sees LaVergne's pump jacks `like soldiers on a battlefield.' She sees his river and asks, `What is it about a river that makes you feel eternal, connected to the past and future all at once?' She sees winter as a time when blasts of Arctic winds blow through thin barbed wire fences and `leave a frozen necklace around the long, fair neck of the Panhandle.' This is a beautiful book, filled with artistic photographs and lovely poems evocative of a land that should not be forgotten."--Ron Stone, host of Eyes of Texas and Professor of Texas History at Houston Baptist University

Customer Reviews:

If you're not a Stevie Y fan, this book will make you one........1999-03-15

I highly reccomend this book to any fan of the Red Wings and their Captain. Some parts will make you smile while other parts will make you teary-eyed, but all of it will make you very proud to be a Red Wings fan. And if you're not already a fan, this book just might make you into one. If you think all modern athletes are selfish and just in it for the money, this book will show you that there are still exceptions. Unfortunately, it was published before the Wings won their latest Cups, so you can't read about that in here, but that just makes you realize how special it is to win the Cup.

Steve Yzerman is the GREATEST hockey player of all times!.......1999-03-05

When I got the book the first night I could not put it down. To see what he has gone through in his carree, that was amazing. He is the greatest hockey player who ever lived, and now because of the chapionships that the team has won under his leadership, other are now FINALLY realizing it. He has done everything for this team and city, he has given us his heart, and in return we give him ours. He has captured our hearts and through this boook you can get an indepth look at the making of a SUPERSTAR!

Will bring tears to your eyes.......1998-11-24

I know this is so sappy, but I think the book is so sweet! I've read it many times since I bought it and it brings tears to my eyes to read the heartbreak Stevie Y suffered b/c he couldn't get achieve his goal of hoisting the Cup.

It's a MUST have for all true Steve Yzerman fans and has some really nice pictures in it. :)

I loved It.......1998-07-18

i think this book is the best. Stevie finally got what he deserved. 2 stanley cup rings, a book and now he need to get into the hall of fame!

Steve Rulz and "Believe"

It's about time!.......1998-05-06

This book is great! Steve Yzerman has been the heart and soul of the Detroit Red Wings for so long. It's nice to finally get the chance to learn all about him. Some of us were just 9 years old when he came to the Wings and don't remember how small, akward, and young he was. Also, great pictures! But, one warning, the book was written before the 96-97 season so you won't see a Stanley Cup chapter in it and you'll hear lots of mentions of how Stevie still hasn't raised the chalice.

Steve Yzerman, Heart of a Champion, The Detroit News

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Steve Yzerman, Heart of a Champion, The Detroit News
et al Joe Falls
Manufacturer: AdCraft
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QDECVO

Book Description

Creating a Family Storytelling Tradition focuses on telling stories at home with the family. Moore guides the reader through a series of voyages that help assemble a storyteller's tool kit from inner (memory, imagination, and visualization) and outer (voice, gesture, and movement) tools.

Customer Reviews:

A superbly written and presented "how to" guide........2000-09-07

Creating a Family Storytelling Tradition tells families how to awaken the 'hidden storyteller' in family experiences and traditions, providing guidelines to unlocking story-telling potentials in all family members. Moore is a professional storyteller, and here guides parents and children in exercises which enhance creating, telling and listening to family stories.

CREATING A FAMILY STORYTELLING TRADITION: AWAKENING THE HIDDEN STORYTELLER.

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CREATING A FAMILY STORYTELLING TRADITION: AWAKENING THE HIDDEN STORYTELLER.
Robin. Moore
Manufacturer: August House,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7D9IU

Book Description

The greatest of all flying boats, the PBY Catalina, was one of the most versatile aircraft ever built. This definitive study, first published in 1985, pulls together in a single volume all of the aircraft's fascinating facts. The author carefully analyzes the PBY's dual use in the war as a plane of mercy and as a bomber, and he chronicles the flying boat's contributions in peacetime.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2007-07-09

I read this because my great-uncle flew these with the Canadians during WW2, and he died long before I became interested in my relatives' contributions to the war effort. Not only does it pay great tribute to the aircrew that flew the PBY variants during the war, but it also gives some fascinating history on early aviation, particularly the evolution of the flying boat.

The Greatest Generation at It's Best.......2007-06-08

A story of boys just out of high school making a legendary airplane do things it wasn't designed to do while rescuing downed flyers, sinking Japanese warships and supply ships and otherwise wreaking havoc with their Black Cats.

This book preserves for history the story of the PBY Catalina airplane and the men who crewed them around the world during WWII and brings the history of the plane right up to its present museum status. A great book for WWII history buffs and in my case, one constructing a model of the airplane while gaining perspective on its role and persona.

great book about a great plane.......2007-03-31

Nice Book about a very nice and importend plane.

Review of the PBY: The Catalina Flying Boat.......2007-01-17

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I just wish the book contained more photos. I do recommend the book.
After you buy the book, please get a WWII PBY pilot/crewman to autograph it before they are all deceased!

excellent.......2007-01-16

I am a retired PBY pilot. The account of the role of the Catalina during WW2 was well done. The narrative made me proud to have been a small part of it.

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PBY : The Catalina Flying Boat
Roscoe R. Creed
Manufacturer: Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PRZWX8

PBY Catalina Flying Boat Pilot's Flight Operating Manual

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PBY Catalina Flying Boat Pilot's Flight Operating Manual
United States Navy
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Aviation | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

One of the most widely-used multi-role aircraft of WWII, the Consolidated PBY Catalina was a flying boat to be reckoned with. They were used as anti- submarine warfare platforms in the Atlantic, and gained notoriety in the Pacific as rescue and reconnaisance platforms, and as bombers. With their distinctive fuselages painted the shade of midnight, the "Black Cats" undertook daring raids of Japanese shipping and shore installations. Originally printed by the U.S. Navy during World War 2, this Flight Operating Handbook taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "Restricted", the manual was recently declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been slightly reformatted. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

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Seaplanes & Flying Boats

Manufacturer: BCL Press/ Book Creations
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1932302034

Product Description

The book charts the history of Seaplanes by providing illustrated portraits of every major aircraft in the class, from the early floatplanes, through the great Supermarine and Maachi racers of the Schneider Cup era, on to the legendary Pan American Airways Clippers that pioneered the air routes across the Atlantic and Pacific in the 1930's. Generously illustrated with carefully selected color and Black and white photographs.

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PBY The Catalina Flying Boat
Creed Roscoe
Manufacturer: Naval Institiute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCP0SA

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

State and Court Ritual in China (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications)

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State and Court Ritual in China (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0521621577

Book Description

This broad-ranging examination of Chinese state and court ritual from 1000 BC to AD 1750 represents the first modern account of the subject in any language. The essays, written by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field, demonstrate how and why ritual has played such a fundamental and often controversial role in the practice of Chinese politics. The book will be of interest to students of Chinese history and religion, as well as those seeking to understand the legacy of that history in the context of modern China.

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