The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology

The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology PDF Author: Dave Alber
Publisher: Dave Alber
ISBN: 1497355206
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 94

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Book Description
The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology by Dave Alber. The taotie, also known as the “beast mask”, is the most distinctive feature of Shang dynasty art. It is a fascinating motif in Chinese art and, for centuries, has inspired curiosity as to its meaning. In this book, cultural scholar, Dave Alber, explores the many meanings of the taotie image. • What was the meaning of the taotie among traditional Chinese art historians? • What is the taotie’s influence in Chinese art history? • What is the most probable cultural origin of the taotie? • What function did the taotie image serve in Shang dynasty cosmology and psychology? • What is the Pan-Asian diffusion of the original motif? • How does this art motif enrich our experience of Chinese architecture, history, and contemporary music? Dave Alber, MA originally presented the content of this book as a lecture at Henan Polytechnic University (HPU) in Mainland China. The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology is written in dual-language English and Chinese. Thus, it is a great tool for learning either English or Traditional Chinese. With almost one hundred photographs from Dave Alber’s travels in China and Asia, it is also an ideal book for studying Chinese and Pan-Asian art.

The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology

The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology PDF Author: Dave Alber
Publisher: Dave Alber
ISBN: 1497355206
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 94

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology by Dave Alber. The taotie, also known as the “beast mask”, is the most distinctive feature of Shang dynasty art. It is a fascinating motif in Chinese art and, for centuries, has inspired curiosity as to its meaning. In this book, cultural scholar, Dave Alber, explores the many meanings of the taotie image. • What was the meaning of the taotie among traditional Chinese art historians? • What is the taotie’s influence in Chinese art history? • What is the most probable cultural origin of the taotie? • What function did the taotie image serve in Shang dynasty cosmology and psychology? • What is the Pan-Asian diffusion of the original motif? • How does this art motif enrich our experience of Chinese architecture, history, and contemporary music? Dave Alber, MA originally presented the content of this book as a lecture at Henan Polytechnic University (HPU) in Mainland China. The Taotie Image in Chinese Art, Culture, and Cosmology is written in dual-language English and Chinese. Thus, it is a great tool for learning either English or Traditional Chinese. With almost one hundred photographs from Dave Alber’s travels in China and Asia, it is also an ideal book for studying Chinese and Pan-Asian art.

Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People

Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People PDF Author: Dave Alber
Publisher: Dave Alber
ISBN: 1534785515
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
The Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People by Dave Alber is a global anthology of myths from the living polytheistic traditions of six continents. The Heart of Myth unpacks the spirituality of the myths of each region in a local context, then traces connections and archetypes between regions so that world myth may be understood as both a communicative vocabulary and a grand cultural continuity. Dave Alber’s The Heart of Myth: • reveals the universal language of mythology, • explains the spiritual function of myth as expressed in collective archetypes, • tells about the ecological and sustainable vision of indigenous people, • describes the lives of living polytheistic communities, most of them endangered people from six geographic regions (North America, Central and South America, Arctic, Asia, Africa, and Oceana), • tells stories of myth, legend, and folklore from around the globe (American Mythology, Central American Mythology, South American Mythology, Arctic Mythology, Asian Mythology, African Mythology, and Oceanic Mythology) In the tradition of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, Dave Alber’s The Heart of Myth: Wisdom Stories From Endangered People tells stories from the mythic world. David tells stories of Native American Mythology, Central American Mythology, South American Mythology, Arctic Mythology, Asian Mythology, African Mythology, and Oceanic Mythology. From Native America Dave Alber’s The Heart of Myth relates the myths of the Crow, Onodowaga, Zuni, Cree, and Chemehuevis. From the Arctic it covers the myths of the Chuckchi, Igloolik Inuit Eskimo myths, Inuit, and Buriyat. From Central and South America, David Alber tells myths from the Circum-Caribbean People of the Orinoco River Valley, Bororo, Yekuana, Aymara, Mapuche. From Africa Dave tells myths of San, Ogoni, Dinka, Masai, and Karanga. From Asia The Heart of Myth tells the myths of the Tharu, Kashmiri, Akha, Ainu, Karen, and Agta. From Australia and the Pacific Islands, The Heart of Myth speaks myths from Wurundjeri, Torres Strait Islanders, Hawaiian, Maori, and Samoan peoples. Samples from The Heart of Myth are at davealber.com.

Astrology and Cosmology in Early China

Astrology and Cosmology in Early China PDF Author: David W. Pankenier
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107006724
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 617

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Book Description
Drawing on a vast array of scholarship, this pioneering text illustrates how profoundly astronomical phenomena shaped ancient Chinese civilization.

The Shape of the Turtle

The Shape of the Turtle PDF Author: Sarah Allan
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791494497
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Many Chinese philosophic concepts derive from an ancient cosmology. This work is the first reconstructions of the mythic thought of the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1700- 1100 B.C.) which laid the foundation for later Chinese patterns of thought. Allan regards the myth, cosmology, divination, sacrificial ritual, and art of the Shang as different manifestations of a common religious system and each is examined in turn, building up a coherent and consistent picture. Although primarily concerned with the Shang, this work also describes the manner in which Shang thought was transformed in the later textual tradition.

The Problem of Meaning in Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes

The Problem of Meaning in Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes PDF Author: Roderick Whitfield
Publisher: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description


Ancient Chinese Art

Ancient Chinese Art PDF Author: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 0870994832
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description


A Chinese Bestiary

A Chinese Bestiary PDF Author: Richard E. Strassberg
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520922786
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
A Chinese Bestiary presents a fascinating pageant of mythical creatures from a unique and enduring cosmography written in ancient China. The Guideways through Mountains and Seas, compiled between the fourth and first centuries b.c.e., contains descriptions of hundreds of fantastic denizens of mountains, rivers, islands, and seas, along with minerals, flora, and medicine. The text also represents a wide range of beliefs held by the ancient Chinese. Richard Strassberg brings the Guideways to life for modern readers by weaving together translations from the work itself with information from other texts and recent archaeological finds to create a lavishly illustrated guide to the imaginative world of early China. Unlike the bestiaries of the late medieval period in Europe, the Guideways was not interpreted allegorically; the strange creatures described in it were regarded as actual entities found throughout the landscape. The work was originally used as a sacred geography, as a guidebook for travelers, and as a book of omens. Today, it is regarded as the richest repository of ancient Chinese mythology and shamanistic wisdom. The Guideways may have been illustrated from the start, but the earliest surviving illustrations are woodblock engravings from a rare 1597 edition. Seventy-six of those plates are reproduced here for the first time, and they provide a fine example of the Chinese engraver's art during the late Ming dynasty. This beautiful volume, compiled by a well-known specialist in the field, provides a fascinating window on the thoughts and beliefs of an ancient people, and will delight specialists and general readers alike.

The Sinister Way

The Sinister Way PDF Author: Richard von Glahn
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520928776
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
The most striking feature of Wutong, the preeminent God of Wealth in late imperial China, was the deity's diabolical character. Wutong was perceived not as a heroic figure or paragon of noble qualities but rather as an embodiment of humanity's basest vices, greed and lust, a maleficent demon who preyed on the weak and vulnerable. In The Sinister Way, Richard von Glahn examines the emergence and evolution of the Wutong cult within the larger framework of the historical development of Chinese popular or vernacular religion—as opposed to institutional religions such as Buddhism or Daoism. Von Glahn's study, spanning three millennia, gives due recognition to the morally ambivalent and demonic aspects of divine power within the common Chinese religious culture.

Ancient China

Ancient China PDF Author: John S. Major
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 131750366X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Ancient China: A History surveys the East Asian Heartland Region – the geographical area that eventually became known as China – from the Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, to the early imperial era of Qin and Han, up to the threshold of the medieval period in the third century CE. For most of that long span of time there was no such place as "China"; the vast and varied territory of the Heartland Region was home to many diverse cultures that only slowly coalesced, culturally, linguistically, and politically, to form the first recognizably Chinese empires. The field of Early China Studies is being revolutionized in our time by a wealth of archaeologically recovered texts and artefacts. Major and Cook draw on this exciting new evidence and a rich harvest of contemporary scholarship to present a leading-edge account of ancient China and its antecedents. With handy pedagogical features such as maps and illustrations, as well as an extensive list of recommendations for further reading, Ancient China: A History is an important resource for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Chinese History, and those studuing Chinese Culture and Society more generally.

China, 5000 Years

China, 5000 Years PDF Author: Sherman E. Lee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art, Chinese
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description