New Releases by Jonathan D. Spence

本书作者英文名为:Jonathan D. Spence,译为:斯彭斯。

這不只是一本關於中國的書, 更是一本關於文化刺激與回應的書, 當西方遇見東方, 會磨擦出甚麼樣的火花?漢學家史景遷把西方從十三世紀到二十世紀作家筆下樣的中國, 盡皆蒐羅在本書中, 可一窺八百年來西方人對中國的記錄, 幻想, 洞察與偏見.

"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

Jonathan Spence captures Mao in all his paradoxical grandeur and sheds light on the radical transformation he unleashed that still reverberates in China today."--BOOK JACKET.

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.

本书是作者1987年应邀在北京大学讲学的记录。本书第一次总结了世界文学中的中国形象,并按历史顺序作了系统的介绍和分析,论证了文化类同与文化利用的理论.

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.

China is one of the great question marks on the world stage as we approach the third millennium. No longer a sleeping giant, neither is China a stable ally of the West. Economically it is an emerging powerhouse, and politically it is precariously balanced between the free market and military dictatorship. There could be no better time to try to understand China''s history--the distance it has traveled, and where it may be going from here--than today. The Chinese Century tells the story in over two hundred and fifty rare, eloquent photographs that have been chosen from archives, libraries, and private collections throughout China, Taiwan, and the West. Many of the photographs have never been seen outside China. Like a time machine, they let us see historical events that for most of us have existed until now only in words: the lives of the rural peasants and the privileged elite from the time of the Qing dynasty to the People''s Republic, the opulence and squalor that the European colonial powers brought to China in their concession areas, the cities within Chinese cities that were inhabited exclusively by Europeans. Here are the rare photos of the Boxer Rebellion and the Rape of Nanking, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. There are quirky moments, as well, such as American soldiers during the Second World War eating their K rations with chopsticks, and private photographs of Mao Zedong covered in river mud after a leisurely swim. The photographs are paired with a stunning historical text by one of the West''s most respected China scholars, Jonathan D. Spence, writing here for the first time with his wife, Annping Chin. The narrative traces the nation''sdisintegration into civil and world war, Communist revolution, and its slow reemergence as a military and economic superpower. Focusing on the lives of ordinary Chinese as well as on the towering figures such as Chiang Kai-shek and Meo Zedong, Spence weaves an intricate and fascinating social, political, and military history.

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

Neste livro, Jonathan D. Spence narra quatro séculos da impressionante história de um país que se julgava o centro do mundo, foi humilhado por potências estrangeiras e atravessou o século XX em constante revolução, buscando o caminho da unidade, do progresso e da modernização. No posfácio especial para a edição brasileira, o autor analisa os últimos desdobramentos econômicos e sociais da China, a possível grande potência do século XXI.

"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