Persia and China

Persia and China PDF Author: Victoria and Albert Museum
Publisher: La Borie
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Persia and China is the first catalogue raisonne to explore the collection of Blue and White Persian ceramics of the Safavid dynasty in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. It is a study of over 500 pieces of glazed ceramics mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, all photographed in black and white by the author. Most of the collection was acquired over a century ago in Persia where Major Richard Murdoch Smith RE, the enterprising director of the Indo European Telegraph Line, recognized the possibility of creating the first ever comprehensive Persian Collection for the Museum then known as the South Kensington Museum. This group of ceramics is part of a very large collection of Persian artefacts gathered during his years of service in Persia from 1865 to 1885. Murdoch Smith had grasped the importance of the geographical position of Persia on the sea route between Western Europe and Far Eastern Asia, and he understood how the historical background together with trading by the East India Companies, influenced the production of Persian ceramics. By taking all these factors into account, the diversity of the designs and shapes of these Persian ceramics caught between European and

Persia and China

Persia and China PDF Author: Victoria and Albert Museum
Publisher: La Borie
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
Persia and China is the first catalogue raisonne to explore the collection of Blue and White Persian ceramics of the Safavid dynasty in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. It is a study of over 500 pieces of glazed ceramics mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, all photographed in black and white by the author. Most of the collection was acquired over a century ago in Persia where Major Richard Murdoch Smith RE, the enterprising director of the Indo European Telegraph Line, recognized the possibility of creating the first ever comprehensive Persian Collection for the Museum then known as the South Kensington Museum. This group of ceramics is part of a very large collection of Persian artefacts gathered during his years of service in Persia from 1865 to 1885. Murdoch Smith had grasped the importance of the geographical position of Persia on the sea route between Western Europe and Far Eastern Asia, and he understood how the historical background together with trading by the East India Companies, influenced the production of Persian ceramics. By taking all these factors into account, the diversity of the designs and shapes of these Persian ceramics caught between European and

Persian Christians at the Chinese Court

Persian Christians at the Chinese Court PDF Author: R. Todd Godwin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1786733161
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
The Xi'an Stele, erected in Tang China's capital in 781, describes in both Syriac and Chinese the existence of Christian communities in northern China. While scholars have so far considered the Stele exclusively in relation to the Chinese cultural and historical context, Todd Godwin here demonstrates that it can only be fully understood by reconstructing the complex connections that existed between the Church of the East, Sasanian aristocratic culture and the Tang Empire (617-907) between the fall of the Sasanian Persian Empire (225-651) and the birth of the Abbasid Caliphate (762-1258). Through close textual re-analysis of the Stele and by drawing on ancient sources in Syriac, Greek, Arabic and Chinese, Godwin demonstrates that Tang China (617-907) was a cosmopolitan milieu where multiple religious traditions, namely Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Christianity, formed zones of elite culture. Syriac Christianity in fact remained powerful in Persia throughout the period, and Christianity - not Zoroastrianism - was officially regarded by the Tang government as 'The Persian Religion'.Persian Christians at the Chinese Court uncovers the role played by Syriac Christianity in the economic and cultural integration of late Sasanian Iran and China, and is important reading for all scholars of the Church of the East, China and the Middle East in the medieval period.

Persia and Its People

Persia and Its People PDF Author: Ella Constance Sykes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Iran
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description


Did Marco Polo Go To China?

Did Marco Polo Go To China? PDF Author: Frances Wood
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429980620
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
We all ?know? that Marco Polo went to China, served Ghengis Khan for many years, and returned to Italy with the recipes for pasta and ice cream. But Frances Wood, head of the Chinese Department at the British Library, argues that Marco Polo not only never went to China, he probably never even made it past the Black Sea, where his family conducted business as merchants.Marco Polo's travels from Venice to the exotic and distant East, and his epic book describing his extraordinary adventures, A Description of the World, ranks among the most famous and influential books ever published. In this fascinating piece of historical detection, marking the 700th anniversary of Polo's journey, Frances Wood questions whether Marco Polo ever reached the country he so vividly described. Why, in his romantic and seemingly detailed account, is there no mention of such fundamentals of Chinese life as tea, foot-binding, or even the Great Wall? Did he really bring back pasta and ice cream to Italy? And why, given China's extensive and even obsessive record-keeping, is there no mention of Marco Polo anywhere in the archives?Sure to spark controversy, Did Marco Polo Go to China? tries to solve these and other inconsistencies by carefully examining the Polo family history, Marco Polo's activities as a merchant, the preparation of his book, and the imperial Chinese records. The result is a lucid and readable look at medieval European and Chinese history, and the characters and events that shaped this extraordinary and enduring myth.

Triple-Axis

Triple-Axis PDF Author: Ariane Tabatabai
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838609776
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
The most significant challenge to the post-Cold War international order is the growing power of ambitious states opposed to the West. Iran, Russia and China each view the global structure through the prism of historical experience. Rejecting the universality of Western liberal values, these states and their governments each consider the relative decline of Western economic hegemony as an opportunity. Yet cooperation between them remains fragmentary. The end of Western sanctions and the Iranian nuclear deal; the Syrian conflict; new institutions in Central and East Asia: in all these areas and beyond, the potential for unity or divergence is striking. In this new and comprehensive study, Ariane Tabatabai and Dina Esfandiary address the substance of this `triple axis' in the realms of energy, trade, and military security. In particular they scrutinise Iran-Russia and the often overlooked field of Iran-China relations. Their argument - that interactions between the three will shape the world stage for decades to come - will be of interest to anyone looking to understand the contemporary international security puzzle.

Iran's Relations with China and the West: Cooperation and Confrontation in Asia

Iran's Relations with China and the West: Cooperation and Confrontation in Asia PDF Author: Willem van Kemenade
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


China and Iran

China and Iran PDF Author: John W. Garver
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295801212
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Iran's nuclear aspirations increasingly dominate its relations with the United States and Europe. China remains one of Iran's strongest allies on the Security Council, and also its most likely supplier of technology and assistance, built on decades of close economic and military relations. Iran is enjoying strong new influence in the Middle East and Asia following record oil profits and Shi'i victories in Iraqi parliamentary elections. Like Iran, China fought for decades to increase its self-reliance and geopolitical influence after painful experiences under European colonialism, which spurred nationalist revolutions. With China and Iran: Ancient Partners in a Post-Imperial World, John Garver breaks new ground on the relationship between the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Grounding his survey in the twin concepts of civilization and power, Garver explores the relationship between these two ancient and proud peoples, each of which consider the other a peer and a partner in their mutual determination to build a post-Western-dominated Asia. Successive governments of both China and Iran have recognized substantial national capabilities in each other, capabilities that allow the countries to achieve their own national interests through cooperation. These interests have varied - from countering Soviet expansionism to resisting U.S. unilateralism - but the cooperative relationship between the two nations has remained constant. In his compelling analysis, Garver explores the evolution of Sino-Iranian relations through several phases, including Iran under the shah and before the 1979 revolution; from the 1979 revolution to 1989, a year marked both by the end of the Iran-Iraq war and the beginning of conflict in Sino-U.S. relations; and from 1989 to 2004. China and Iran includes discussion of the current debates at the International Atomic Energy Agency over Iran's nuclear programs and China's role in assisting these programs and in supporting Iran in international debates. Garver examines China's involvement in Iran's efforts to modernize its military, including China's offer of weapons, capital goods, and engineering services in exchange for Iranian oil, suggesting links between this energy exchange and China's support for Iran in political arenas. In today's political climate, where China is recognized as a rising and increasingly influential global power and Iran as one of the most powerful nations in the Middle East, this book presents a crucial analysis of a topic of utmost importance to scholars and the general public today.

Crossroads of Cuisine

Crossroads of Cuisine PDF Author: Paul David Buell
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004432108
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Crossroads of Cuisine offers history of food and cultural exchanges in and around Central Asia. It discusses geographical base, and offers historical and cultural overview. A photo essay binds it all together. The book offers new views of the past.

The Phoenix Mosque and the Persians of Medieval Hangzhou

The Phoenix Mosque and the Persians of Medieval Hangzhou PDF Author: George A. Lane
Publisher: Gingko Library
ISBN: 1909942898
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
In the early 1250s, Möngke Khan, grandson and successor of the mighty Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan, sent out his younger brothers Qubilai and Hulegu to consolidate his power. Hulegu was welcomed into Iran while his older brother, Qubilai, continued to erode the power of the Song emperors of southern China. In 1276, he finally forced their submission and peacefully occupied the Song capital, Hangzhou. The city enjoyed a revival as the cultural capital of a united China and was soon filled with traders, adventurers, artists, entrepreneurs, and artisans from throughout the great Mongol Empire—including a prosperous, influential, and seemingly welcome community of Persians. In 1281, one of the Persian settlers, Ala al-Din, built the Phoenix Mosque in the heart of the city where it still stands today. This study of the mosque and the Ju-jing Yuan cemetery, which today is a lake-side public park, casts light on an important and transformative period in Chinese history, and perhaps the most important period in Chinese-Islamic history. The book is published in the Persian Studies Series of the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) edited by Charles Melville.

Aspects of the Maritime Silk Road

Aspects of the Maritime Silk Road PDF Author: Ralph Kauz
Publisher: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
ISBN: 9783447061032
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
In the recent years, trade, cultural exchange and transfer of knowledge in the Indian Ocean have come increasingly into the scope of various scholarly disciplines. The previous perception that the exploitation of this sea did only start with the European colonial expansion at the end of the 15th century had to be abandoned: The Europeans absorbed the long existing structures rather than creating new ones. This concept of the Indian Ocean as a coherent space of transfer is also adopted in this volume. Some of the articles were presented at a conference held in Vienna, while the others were supplied independently. The contributions are arranged around the two "poles", represented by the western and the eastern part of the Indian Ocean, especially Iran and China, but also other cultures and the manifold relations with the land-based Silk Road are discussed. The time frame ranges from the 14th to the 17th century.