New Releases by Jonathan D. Spence

"Like everything else written by Jonathan Spence, The Chan''s Great Continent is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in China. Spence is one of the greatest Sinologists of our time, and his work is both authoritative and highly readable." —Los Angeles Times Book Review China has transfixed the West since the earliest contacts between these civilizations. With his characteristic elegance and insight, Jonathan Spence explores how the West has understood China over seven centuries. Ranging from Marco Polo''s own depiction of China and the mighty Khan, Kublai, in the 1270s to the China sightings of three twentieth-century writers of acknowledged genius-Kafka, Borges, and Calvino-Spence conveys Western thought on China through a remarkable array of expression. Peopling Spence''s account are Iberian adventurers, Enlightenment thinkers, spinners of the dreamy cult of Chinoiserie, and American observers such as Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Ezra Pound, and Eugene O''Neill. Taken together, these China sightings tell us as much about the self-image of the West as about China. "Wonderful. . . . Spence brilliantly demonstrates [how] generation after generation of Westerners [have] asked themselves, ''What is it . . . that held this astonishing, diverse, and immensely populous land together?'' "--New York Times Book Review

Encapsulating the themes of his 1996 book, God''s Chinese Son, Jonathan Spence, in this Edmondson Historical Lecture, interprets the social and political milieu of mid-nineteenth-century China that gave rise to the apocalyptic Taiping Rebellion. Here, Spence traces the events surrounding the life of Hong Xiuquan, the self-styled heavenly king who had learned through his encounter with Christian religious texts that he was not only a religious leader, but also the younger brother of Jesus. Hong''s rise to power in southern China eventually led to his military seizure of one of China''s largest cities, Nanjing, where he established his heavenly capital on earth for eleven years. Included in this study is the author''s analysis of Hong''s intellectual development. Spence gives special attention to Hong''s introduction to Christian texts and his eventual use of Christian scripture to interpret his role as God''s Chinese Son. Spence poignantly articulates how Hong interpreted Scripture not only to maintain his spiritual and political leadership over his followers but also to anticipate the apocalyptic conclusion to his earthly kingdom.

Between 1850 and today, China has undergone an unprecedented series of shocks and transformations. Published to accompany an exhibition at the Guggenheum Museum, this book systematically explores 150 years of artistic production in China.

A powerful account of the largest uprising in human history--the Taiping rebellion (1845-64)--in which 20 million Chinese were left dead, God''s Chinese Son tells "a story that reaches beyond China into our world and time; a story of faith, hope, passion, and a fatal grandiosity" (Washington Post Book World). Photos. Author lectures & tour.

Aan de hand van vele foto''s en uitgebreide tekst wordt de geschiedenis van China van 1895 tot en met 1995 gegeven.

"If one has the art, then a piece of celery or salted cabbage can be made into a marvelous delicacy; whereas if one has not the art, not all the greatest delicacies and rarities of land, sea, or sky are of any avail." --a Beijing cook, nineteenth century from Chinese Roundabout

De geschiedenis van China sinds 1600, met nadruk op de recente periode.

This work chronicles the history of China for over four hundred years through the spring of 1989.

Het levensverhaal van een Italiaanse Jezuiet die van 1583 tot 1610 als missionaris in China werkzaam was en daar een grote faam onder de Chinese elite genoot m.n. vanwege zijn geheugenpaleis, een systeem om het geheugen te oefenen.

From the renowned historian and author of The Death of Woman Wang, a vivid and gripping account of the 16th-century missionary’s remarkable sojourn to Ming China In 1577, the Jesuit Priest Matteo Ricci set out from Italy to bring Christian faith and Western thought to Ming dynasty China. To capture the complex emotional and religious drama of Ricci''s extraordinary life, Jonathan Spence relates his subject''s experiences with several images that Ricci himself created—four images derived from the events in the Bible and others from a book on the art of memory that Ricci wrote in Chinese and circulated among members of the Ming dynasty elite. A rich and compelling narrative about a fascinating life, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci is also a significant work of global history, juxtaposing the world of Counter-Reformation Europe with that of Ming China.

De Chinese geschiedenis van 1895-1980 zoals beleefd door enkele belangrijke en minder belangrijke, in het Westen minder bekende personen.