Things Chinese ― Antiques, Crafts, Collectibles

"China has been a source of fascination for the West since the early days of the China trade, and the country's importance to the world grows with every passing day. China's renowned art objects and traditional manufactured products have long been soughtby collectors--from porcelains and finely detailed paintings, silk fabrics, and furniture to the lacquered or ebony-and-bone chopsticks that are a distant relation to the ones you'll find in most Chinese restaurants. Things Chinese is the next book in the newly redesigned series that includes Things Japanese and Things Thai. Like them, it presents sixty distinctive items that are typical of Chinese culture and together present a very special window onto the people, the history, and the society of the world's largest nation. Each object is a collectible in its own right, and each has a different story to tell. The objects are grouped into six areas: household items, arts & crafts, personal possessions, eating & drinking, games & entertainment, and religious items. They include some items that will be familiar and many that are unfamiliar--some new and some old--from painted cabinets and calligraphic scrolls to painted opera masks and moon cake moulds, and from Golden Lotus shoes once used to encase tightly-bound fee to snuff bottles, Mao memorabilia, mahjong sets and even kites. Renowned architectural historian Ronald Knapp describes the history, cultural significance, and customs relating to each item, while award-winning photographer Michael Freeman hastaken superb photographs to illustrate them. Together, text and photographs offer a unique look at the material culture of the Chinese and the aesthetics that inform it"--

Ronald G. Knapp has been carrying out field research in China's countryside on cultural and historical geography since 1965. Currently SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York, New Paltz, he is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including, most recently, Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia: The Eclectic Architecture of Sojourners and Settlers; Chinese Bridges: Living Architecture from China's Past; and and is co-editor with Kai-Yin Lo of House Home Family: Living and Being Chinese.

Michael Freeman specializes in reportage and in modern design and architecture. One of Smithsonian magazine's principal photographers for more than three decades, he has photographed extensively in Asia, and has produced 117 books. Among these are Angkor: The Hidden Glories ("A remarkable book, a superb evocation." A1Wall Street Journal); the award-winning Japan Modern; Things Japanese; Things Thai; Spirit of Asia; In the Oriental Style; and China Contemporary, among many others. FreemanA?s books on photography are international bestsellers, with two million copies sold, and have been published in twenty languages.