Download or read book Oracle Bones written by Peter Hessler and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-03-17 with total page 531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.
Download or read book The Oracle Bone Inscriptions from Huayuanzhuang East written by Adam C. Schwartz and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2019-11-18 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1899 more than 73,000 pieces of inscribed divination shell and bone have been found inside the moated enclosure of the Anyang-core at the former capital of the late Shang state. Nearly all of these divinations were done on behalf of the Shang kingsand has led to the apt characterization that oracle bone inscriptions describe their motivations, experiences, and priorities. There are, however, much smaller sets of divination accounts that were done on behalf of members of the Shang elite other than the king.First noticed in the early 1930's, grouped and periodized shortly thereafter, oracle bone inscriptions produced explicitly by or on behalf of "royal familygroups" reveal information about key aspects of daily life in Shang societythat are barely even mentioned in Western scholarship. The newly published Huayuanzhuang East Oracle Bone inscriptions are a spectacular addition to the corpus of texts from Anyang: hundreds of intact or largely intact turtle shells and bovine scapulae densely inscribed with records of the divinations in which they were used. They were produced on the behalf of a mature prince of the royal family whose parents, both alive and still very much active, almost certainly were the twenty-first Shang king Wu Ding (r. c. 1200 B.C.) and his consort Lady Hao (fu Hao). The Huayuanzhuang East corpus is an unusually homogeneous set of more than two thousand five hundred divination records, produced over a short period of time on behalf of a prince of the royal family. There are typically multiple records of divinations regarding the same or similar topics that can be synchronized together, which not only allows for remarkable access into the esoteric world of divination practice, but also produce micro-reconstructions of what is essentially East Asia's earliest and most complete "day and month planner." Because these texts are unusually linguistically transparent and well preserved, homogeneous in orthography and content, and published to an unprecedentedly high standard, they are also ideal material for learning to read and interpret early epigraphic texts. The Huayuanzhuang East oracle bone inscriptions are a tremendously important Shang archive of "material documents" that were produced by a previously unknown divination and scribal organization. They expose us to an entirely fresh set of perspectives and preoccupationscentering ona member of the royal family at the commencement of China's historical period. The completely annotated English translation of the inscriptions is the first of its kind, and is a vibrant new source of Shang history that can be accessedto rewrite and supplement what we know about early Chinese civilization and life in the ancient world. Before the discerning reader are the motives, preoccupations, and experiences of a late Shang prince working simultaneously in service both for his Majesty, his parents, and hisown family.
Download or read book Oracle Bones Divination written by Kostas Dervenis and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-12-17 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first complete guide to this ancient Greek form of divination • Explains how to cast and interpret this oracle using either coins or traditional animal bones • Reveals how the use of oracle bones predates the I Ching • Includes the complete matrix of oracle interpretations reconstructed by the author from stanzas in ancient Greek temples In ancient Greece methods of foretelling the future were widespread, whether they were official oracles of the gods or simple dice games to divine one’s luck. One of the most popular and accessible ways of determining one’s fate and fortune was through the ritual casting of animal bones, similar to the casting of coins or yarrow stalks with the Chinese I Ching. Kostas Dervenis explains how to interpret the casting of the oracle bones--either traditional sheep anklebones or coins--to answer your questions on love, health, wealth, and the future. Using the original stanzas discovered in ancient Greek temples in Greece and Turkey, the author reconstructs the complete matrix of interpretation for each possible casting of the bones. He explores how this practice traces back to the Golden Age of the Neolithic period in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria--predating the I Ching--and how it is still practiced today as the popular folk game of “knucklebones.” Providing the first complete guide to this ancient practice, Dervenis allows anyone to cast the bones for guidance, inspiration, and insight into their fate.
Download or read book Oracle Bone written by Lydia Kwa and published by arsenal pulp press. This book was released on 2017-10-16 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 7th-century China, life is rife with magic, fox spirits, and demons. Xie, the demon lover of the empress Wu Zhao, believes he must possess the oracle bone, which will bestow immortal powers on him. In his way is Qilan, an eccentric Daoist nun, who is training the orphan girl Ling to avenge her parents’ murder.
Download or read book Sources of Shang History written by David N. Keightley and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Zulu Bone Oracle written by Ulufudu and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book River Town written by Peter Hessler and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-09-21 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Notable Book Winner of the Kiriyama Book Prize In the heart of China's Sichuan province, amid the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, lies the remote town of Fuling. Like many other small cities in this ever-evolving country, Fuling is heading down a new path of change and growth, which came into remarkably sharp focus when Peter Hessler arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer, marking the first time in more than half a century that the city had an American resident. Hessler taught English and American literature at the local college, but it was his students who taught him about the complex processes of understanding that take place when one is immersed in a radically different society. Poignant, thoughtful, funny, and enormously compelling, River Town is an unforgettable portrait of a city that is seeking to understand both what it was and what it someday will be.
Download or read book A Legacy of Elegance written by Li Zongkun and published by The Chinese University Press. This book was released on 2017-10-15 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication is the product of several auspicious occasions. United College celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2016-2017, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library marked this occasion by carrying out preservation work and cataloguing the collection of fortyfour oracle bones, which comprised the majority of this study. The remaining twentyseven oracle bones belong to the Art Museum, which is pleased to publish them jointly to celebrate the golden anniversary of the Institute of Chinese Studies, of which the museum is an integral part. This year also marks the fortieth anniversary of the Chinese University Press. These milestones occasion the tripartite collaboration.
Download or read book Dragon Bones Ritual Myth and Oracle in Shang Period China written by Jan Fries and published by . This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 838 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title provides an insightful exploration of ritual, myth, and oracles in Shang Period China (16th-11th century BCE). Combining wide-ranging scholarship with pragmatic practicality, the author shines a light on one of the most obscure and least-known areas of ritual practice in the ancient world, demonstrating its value and connection to the development of magical practices in China over a period of many centuries.
Download or read book House of Earth and Blood written by Sarah J. Maas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 821 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A #1 New York Times bestseller! Sarah J. Maas's brand-new CRESCENT CITY series begins with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance. Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths. Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach. As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it. With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.
Download or read book Oracle Bone Collections in the United States written by Hung-hsiang Chou and published by . This book was released on with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Anyang written by Chi Li and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-03-05 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an anthology of English-language archaeological and anthropological writings by Li Chi, the founding father of modern archaeology in China. It is divided into 15 chapters; in the first two, Dr. Li sets the stage by introducing the principal characters involved in the first “act” of this modern archaeological drama; in the third and fourth chapters, he describes the status of Chinese archaeology during the early years of the twentieth century and highlights the contributions of prominent foreigners. Starting with the fifth chapter, Dr. Li begins detailing the excavations and describes the principle finds of the Anyang expedition. In turn, the book’s closing chapters present a summary of the findings and descriptions of some of the major publications that this monumental project has yielded. For readers who are interested in Chinese civilization, what will appeal to them most are the details of the excavations of Yin Hsü (the ruins of the Yin Dynasty), including building foundations, bronzes, chariots, pottery, stone and jade, and thousands of oracle bones, which are vividly shown in historical pictures. These findings transformed the Yin Shang culture from legend into history and thus moved China’s history forward by hundreds of years, shocking the world. The anthology also includes Li Chi’s reflections on central problems in Chinese anthropology, which are both enlightening and thought-provoking.
Download or read book The Ancestral Landscape written by David N. Keightley and published by Institute of East Asian Studies University of California - B. This book was released on 2000 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ETHS graduate of 1949 brings ancient China to life with careful scholarship, producing a brilliant synthesis of Shang civilization.
Download or read book The Bonesetter s Daughter written by Amy Tan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2001-02-19 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mother and daughter find what they share in their bones in this compelling novel from the bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Ruth Young and her widowed mother have always had a difficult relationship. But when she discovers writings that vividly describe her mother’s tumultuous life growing up in China, Ruth discovers a side of LuLing that she never knew existed. Transported to a backwoods village known as Immortal Heart, Ruth learns of secrets passed along by a mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World; and of the curse that LuLing believes she released through betrayal. Within the calligraphied pages awaits the truth about a mother's heart, secrets she cannot tell her daughter, yet hopes she will never forget... Conjuring the pain of broken dreams and the power of myths, The Bonesetter’s Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes.
Download or read book China Promise Or Threat written by Horst J. Helle and published by Studies in Critical Social Science. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful socio-cultural analysis of the differences in Chinese and Western relationships to the public and the private spheres.
Download or read book The Greatest Invention written by Silvia Ferrara and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this exhilarating celebration of human ingenuity and perseverance—published all around the world—a trailblazing Italian scholar sifts through our cultural and social behavior in search of the origins of our greatest invention: writing. The L where a tabletop meets the legs, the T between double doors, the D of an armchair’s oval backrest—all around us is an alphabet in things. But how did these shapes make it onto the page, never mind form complex structures such as this sentence? In The Greatest Invention, Silvia Ferrara takes a profound look at how—and how many times—human beings have managed to produce the miracle of written language, traveling back and forth in time and all across the globe to Mesopotamia, Crete, China, Egypt, Central America, Easter Island, and beyond. With Ferrara as our guide, we examine the enigmas of undeciphered scripts, including famous cases like the Phaistos Disk and the Voynich Manuscript; we touch the knotted, colored strings of the Inca quipu; we study the turtle shells and ox scapulae that bear the earliest Chinese inscriptions; we watch in awe as Sequoyah single-handedly invents a script for the Cherokee language; and we venture to the cutting edge of decipherment, in which high-powered laser scanners bring tears to an engineer’s eye. A code-cracking tour around the globe, The Greatest Invention chronicles a previously uncharted journey, one filled with past flashes of brilliance, present-day scientific research, and a faint, fleeting glimpse of writing’s future.
Download or read book Bone By Bone written by Carol O'Connell and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brothers Oren and Josh disappear into the woods. Only Oren comes out. Twenty years later, the mystery of what happened to Josh is going to be exposed, and somebody is finally sending him home-bone by bone.
