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Different global healthcare challenges bring threats to the healthcare system. Like other developed countries, Hong Kong is also focusing on how to manage the ageing population, how to meet the rising public expectations, and how to finance the ever increasing medical costs. Strengthening community care services may provide a way out for settling these concerns. Written by a team of renowned scholars and leading practitioners, this book aims at evaluating how different parties can assist in building up local community capacity to achieve sustainable health and wellness. The book is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the different roles and practices of specialised community care that contribute to the relative success of the healthcare system in Hong Kong. The second section makes use of various research practices to extrapolate future healthcare needs and practices in Hong Kong. And the last one addresses the values of health care which underlie the healthcare c

Essentials of Contract Drafting and Negotiation for Construction Professionals is a practical and user-friendly guide to common practical contractual matters and is intended for construction professionals involved in contract drafting and negotiating. Knowing how to draft an effective contract is crucial in construction, particularly because of the complex and technical nature of construction projects. Divided into six chapters, this guide will enhance and refresh essential knowledge for lawyers and construction professionals who need to understand the principles of drafting and interpreting construction contracts, how to clearly identify and include key elements in these contracts, as well as how to avoid legal traps and pitfalls in contract negotiations and enforcement.

This book’s discussion is based on Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action. Jürgen Habermas, is known for his work on the concept of modernity, particularly with respect to the discussions of rationalization originally set forth by Max Weber; arguing it has a limited view of human action. By using and to extend the concept of Habermas’s Theory, Chan handles this book by focusing how social reproduction was possible in school education, how school education was worked in general, and how school education was developed. This book focuses on how social reproduction was possible in school education, how school education was worked in general, and how school education was developed. In this book, Chan states that, “(i)n my personal experience as a secondary school teacher in Hong Kong, I observed that many of my students with little family support were not admitted into higher education. They entered into the job world after completing their secondary studies. I wondered whether, in my

A sincere life experience sharing from a Catholic As a lay Catholic, in this book Cindy Yuen Chan asks the question: how one can learn to be more forgiving? Starting from reflecting on her own faults and herself as being an offender, Cindy shares how Catholic teachings brought more forgiveness into her life and helps her to live a grateful life. This book shares her insights while exploring how forgiveness relates to salvation, empathy and justice. The narrative message of this book is healing, in which Cindy uses examples showing how God healed His followers, from a hurt student to family members of murdered victims. The aim is to provoke readers’ thoughts and analyzing recollections of own experiences of being forgiven or forgiving; and receiving kindness from God and others. The backbone of forgiveness is …. It is our choice …. When the Cock Crows for the Second Time is worth reading; not only to Catholics and Christians, but also people who do not yet know Jesus. The book was

A groundbreaking exploration of justice, democracy and Islamophobia, inviting us to reconsider our assumptions and build a more equitable future. Change has run amok! Technology advances by the minute, and much of what we think we know about the world fades in front of our eyes. How we are, how we know, how we live our daily lives—all shifting quicker than we can cope with. Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s tenth Prime Minister, asks how we might rethink ourselves for these confusing, uncertain and volatile times, and shape fairer, more sustainable futures. Anwar’s passion is rooted in experience: he spent, in total, over a decade behind bars after three separate miscarriages of justice, from his days as a student activist to his time as Leader of the Opposition. Alongside reflections on his time in prison are critical investigations into truth, justice, post-colonialism, Islamophobia, democracy and global order. Anwar assembles ideas from East and West, North and South, to explore how we c

The pandemic left disorder and crises in its wake everywhere it struck. Drawing on disciplines including public health, politics, and socioeconomics, this book tracks the spread of COVID-19 to weave a coherent picture that explains how scientists learnt about the virus, how authorities reacted around the world, and how different societies coped. Written by a leading team of public health, policy, and economics experts, this volume provides an in-depth analysis of various countries’ responses to the onset of the pandemic, as well as suggestions to increase capacity and capability to fight future pandemics. The first part of the book provides an overview of global governance and international cooperation, economic and social consequences of the outbreak, and breakthroughs in mathematical modelling and COVID-19 vaccines. The second part of the book examines and compares specific countries and regions through the lens of good governance, social contract, and political trust. This book

Using the insurrection by the Malayan Communist Party (1948-1960) as an example, this book argues that resorting to violence sped up the decolonisation of British Malaya, begging the question: if a late colonial state was subjective, then how did it claim a sufficiently objective mantle to rule and how did ideological techniques enable this?

Self-Access Language Learning (SALL) has played a prominent part in language education in universities. Its role is to foster autonomous learning among students. With the wide-spread implementation of SALL and its increasing impacts on students, it is important to understand how SALL is managed in order to meet the learning needs of the users in the most resource-effective way. This book provides readers with an understanding of SALL management by setting the discussion against a wider backdrop and also examining details of current good practice. The authors examine issues of leadership and management in education before turning to look at the roles of a SALL manager, and suggest how these roles are changing and what the future may hold for managing SALL. Case studies are used to illustrate how SALL is managed in different universities as a way of contextualising the issues discussed in the book. The book is of relevance to institutional and departmental managers, classroom-based lan

The Dark Side 2: Day Zero and Other Stories is a mix of stories, dividing broadly between six’horror’ stories and six’thriller’ stories. Horror stories often fill us with dread and show us a much darker side of human behaviour. At the same time, they can be funny and satirical. The other six stories are more varied. Some are thrillers where the main aim is to excite the reader. Some like’Auto Message’ try to say something about how technology is affecting our daily lives. Others like’The Curse’ try to show us, in a humorous way, how greedy people could be. The great thing about stories is that they carry us into another world on top of helping us to learn words, parts of speech and sentence construction. If we dive into the pool of good stories, we’ll learn how to swim – using those good examples in our own writing.

With the rapid expansion of higher education institutions throughout the world and education’s increasingly market-based orientation, students, parents, higher educators, employers and governments have a much greater interest in the actual academic quality of universities and colleges in various dimensions in the era of globalization. Universities and colleges are definitely beginning to take on accountability toward related members of the school and societies in the same way that private enterprise does. In this way, universities are supposed to act as an effective organizer and a good learner on how to improve their quality, particularly in research and teaching quality, through several assessment tools. Hence, a major concern for Asian governments is how to assure quality in higher education and how to enhance global competitiveness through a variety of national policies and institutional engagement. As a result, quality assurance mechanisms, which emphasize output monitoring and me

The global youth market is important to international marketers, educators, and policy makers because of its growing purchase power, homogeneity, and its readiness to accept new innovations. This book explores the interplay of the youth segment and the market environment. It employs a variety of research methodologies to analyze how young people in Hong Kong interact with various consumer socializing agents, including parents, peers, media celebrities, government publicities, media contents and advertisements. With evidence-based advice on how to communicate with the youth in the context of consumption of products, services, and ideas, this volume will prove to be a very useful reference to a wide range of readers, including marketing professionals, counselors and educators who work closely with young people as a unique group of target audience.

Frontiers of Memory in the Asia-Pacific explores the making and consumption of conflict-related heritage throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Contributing to a growing literature on ‘difficult heritage’, this collection advances our understanding of how places of pain, shame, oppression, and trauma have been appropriated and refashioned as ‘heritage’ in a number of societies in contemporary East and Southeast Asia and Oceania. The authors analyse how the repackaging of difficult pasts as heritage can serve either to reinforce borders, transcend them, or even achieve both simultaneously, depending on the political agendas that inform the heritage-making process. They also examine the ways in which these processes respond to colonialism, decolonization, and nationalism. The volume shows how efforts to preserve various sites of ‘difficult heritage’ can involve the construction of new borders in the mind between what is commemorated and what is often deliberately obscured or forgotten. Tak

The role of media in any society is vital and is closely related to brands and consumption especially in a vibrant 21st century Asian city. Hong Kong with its free-market economy and urban bustle is a perfect place to observe this in action. But Hong Kong is also deeply conservative in many ways especially with regard to family values, and the presence of overtly sexualized images in advertising sits uncomfortably with the values of modesty and traditional sexual mores that exist there. Young girls are also discovering their identities like any other groups of girls in the world, and often this journey will not be easy. This book deals with media and the extent to which media representations influence girls in Hong Kong and how they are affected by this ubiquitous presence. Through the quantitative and qualitative studies, readers could examine and understand how tween girls and teen girls in Hong Kong interact with the media and how they interpret the messages from the media. The ob

"The fact that Snow did not sneak into “red China” to gather information constituting the basis of his Red Start over China all alone is in many instances misunderstood even by scholars. Mao Zedong’s biography has been the subject of an international mountain of commentary in China and elsewhere. Biographies praising Mao and those slandering him are all based on the American journalist Edgar Snow’s (1905–1972) account in Red Star over China for the route Mao traveled from early childhood through his youth. How the “Red Star” Rose introduces the image of Mao and the biographical information made known to the world through the publication of Red Star, and with its publication the circumstances which they fundamentally undermined. Ishikawa Yoshihiro uses Mao Zedong as raw material to examine from whence and how ordinary historical information and images which we habitually use unconsciously come into being. He desires to help readers to reconsider the historicity of the generation of no

Understanding how the Chinese writing system illustrates universal design features of writing and literacy learning, as well as how it differs from alphabetic literacy, has become one of the cutting edge areas of research in the cognitive sciences. A major part of this book is devoted to the presentation of a series of proposals for collaborative research with investigators working in East Asia on cross-writing system comparisons and bilingual literacy—Comparing alphabetic and morpho-syllabic literacy. The part that corresponds to "International perspectives" proposes new avenues in research on problems of bilingualism shared by speakers of all languages. With a broad survey of research advances drawing from recent investigations, this book will provide non-specialist readers with examples of how the relevant concepts might be applied to practical problems-age of acquisition effects in first and second language development; analysis of language attrition and asymmetries of different k

This is how a Chinese proverb goes, “It takes a long way to tell how strong a horse is; it takes a long time to know a person well.” Yet, the Chinese also developed a set of rules to know a person simply by observation – read first his face and palm, then his gesture and demeanour for his intelligence and his luck. If you’re interested in knowing a person by just looking, this book is an indispensable read: - Is she/he the perfect wife or husband? Is he pretending to be rich, but is actually a less-privileged working class? Is he a sex fiend or a shameless con man? They are giving it away on their face and with their gestures. - What is your boss thinking? How do you tell if a subordinate is loyal? Which of the workers is the most competent? Simply take a look and you’d know. - Read both the face and the palm to tell his/her love luck and if his/her marriage is good or bad. - A mole, a zit, the voice, the hair and the way a person walks are all essential clues to tell his/her luck.

This book is a useful reference that introduces the social inclusion tools and standards, as well as elaborates the applications in and outside Asia. It enables readers to see how people in different cultures interpret the concept of social inclusion and how social inclusion is experienced among different disadvantaged groups in society.

The book is comprised of 12 units of interesting articles that introduces Taiwan from different perspectives, including geographical position; cultural customs; life of the daily basis; historical background; and its present development. This book aims to teach readers everything from Taiwan in fairly simple English. After you are equipped with the basic knowledge of English vocabulary, it will show you how to talk about Taiwan without having to use many complicated, difficult expressions. As you read with the book, you will begin to understand how to use a simple form of English to talk about, not just Taiwan, but anything! Each unit of the book is divided into four sections that serve different functions.lIt begins with a few short passages that provide information about Taiwan in various subjects; such as religion, culture, language, economy, and history. . .etc.lThe section follows these passages is the quiz directly comes from the subjects above, which help to test your reading co

Masculinity, fast-changing and regularly declared to be in the throes of crisis, is attracting more popular and scholarly debate in China than ever before. At the same time, Chinese literature since 1989 has been characterized as brimming with countercultural ‘attitude’. This book probes the link between literary rebellion and manhood in China, showing how male writers, as they critique the outcomes of decades of market reform, also ask the same question: how best to be a man in the new postsocialist order? In this first full-length discussion of masculinity in post-1989 Chinese literature, Pamela Hunt offers a detailed analysis of four contemporary authors in particular: Zhu Wen, Feng Tang, Xu Zechen, and Han Han. In a series of insightful readings, she explores how all four writers show the same preoccupation with the figure of the man on the edges of society. Drawing on longstanding Chinese and global models of maverick and marginal masculinity, and responding to a desire to retain

MAO Zedong was a Chinese communist leader and founder of the People's Republic of China. He developed his own ideology and methodology known as Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought, and his thought has a great influence in China or even overseas. This book aims at bringing together a group of scholars to address the uses of Mao in China (PRC) today with special reference to the Bo Xilai case. It also provides insights and detail on how and what we know about modern China. Contributing authors, including a number of French scholars, illustrate how Maoism influences and engages in government, business sector or social life. This timely volume will be of considerable interest to scholars, journalists, and those keen to better understand the changing values in China today.

“Emptiness” is an experience that many people have had—mostly stumbled upon unexpectedly. What exactly is emptiness? Can it actually be practiced? The Heart Sutra is the shortest, most condensed teaching on emptiness among all of the Prajanaparamita Sutras, seems to be focused exclusively on emptiness. How can this sutra be used to help you progress in your spiritual practice? Ultimately, the realization of the heart of prajnaparamita is, in and of itself, the Path. In this book, you will read about how to use the Heart Sutra as a compact guide to practice and the Path. Master Nan’s teachings are packed with pith instructions, both the do’s and don’ts, for success in practice. Practical, to the point, and illustrated with thought-provoking anecdotes, his teachings are relevant to practitioners of all proclivities, from beginners to advanced.

Comfort Women Activism follows the movement championed by pioneer activists in Japan to demonstrate how their activism has kept a critical interpretation of the atrocities against women committed before and during World War II alive. The book shows how the challenges faced by the activists have evolved from the beginning of their uphill battles all the way to contemporary times. They were able to change social attitudes and get their message across. Yet the ambiguous position of post–World War II Japan’s government—which has consistently rejected any sign of guilt over its imperialist past—has kept the activists on their toes. Pivotal and serendipitous turning points have also played a crucial role. In particular, in the early 1990s, the post-Soviet world order assisted in creating the appropriate conditions for the movement to gather transnational support. These conditions have eroded over time; yet due to the activists’ fidelity to survivors, the movement has persisted to this day.

How a professional understands “landscape” will determine the value he/she places on it and the actions he/she will take to intervene. In other words, the view of landscape influences fundamentally how and in what way the landscape profession involves itself in a landscape. The view of landscape gives direction to guide professional performance and also the impetus driving the use of knowledge and technical skills to provide solutions to landscape issues. Indeed, our limited knowledge and understanding of a landscape can limit the creative solutions we can offer. This book aims to clarify the concept of landscape using the most recent understandings to offer diverse and profound new meanings which can point towards novel creative landscape interventions. In order to build the links between landscape theories and everyday life experience, this book interprets landscape according to five interlayered dimensions. It was written in two languages, and uses notes, stories, drawings, and phot

This book adds richly not only to understanding of the unique form of Daoism in Central Hunan today, but to the entire fashi tradition that rose to prominence in the Song–Yuan. In the hills of China’s central Hunan province, an anxious young apprentice officiates over a Daoist ritual known as the Banner Rite to Summon Sire Yin. Before a crowd of masters, relatives, and villagers—and the entire pantheon of gods and deceased masters ritually invited to witness the event—he seeks to summon Celestial Lord Yin Jiao, the ferocious deity who supplies the exorcistic power to protect and heal bodies and spaces from illness and misfortune. If the apprentice cannot bring forth the deity, the rite is considered a failure and the ordination suspended: His entire professional career hangs in the balance before it even begins. This richly textured study asks how the Banner Rite works or fails to work in its own terms. How do the cosmological, theological, and anthropological assumptions ensconced i

Malaysian Cinema in the New Millennium offers a new approach to the study of multiculturalism in cinema by analysing how a new wave of filmmakers champion cultural diversity using cosmopolitan themes. Adrian Lee offers a new inquiry of Malaysian cinema that examines how the ‘Malaysian Digital Indies’ (MDI) have in recent years repositioned Malaysian cinema within the global arena. The book shines a new light on how politics and socioeconomics have influenced new forms and genres of the post-2000s generation of filmmakers, and provides a clear picture of the interactions between commercial cinema and politics and socioeconomics in the first two decades of the new millennium. It also assesses how the MDI movement was successful in creating a transnational cinema by displacing and deterritorialising itself from the context of the national, and illustrates how MDI functions as a site for questioning and proposing a new national identity in the era of advanced global capitalism and new Isla

On China-UK Relations has selected 117 speeches from over 700 Liu Xiaoming, Former Chinese Ambassador to UK, had delivered during his 11-year tenure in the UK. The contents spans multiple dimensions: China-UK relations, party and parliamentary exchanges, economic and trade relations, financial cooperation, science and technology coopera tion, ecological and environmental protection, subnational exchanges, cultural exchanges, spring festival celebrations, educational exchange, Confucius institutes, military exchanges, Chinese community, British friends, and understanding between China and the UK. This book contains Liu Xiaoming’s observations and reflections on China-UK relations: What kind of China-UK relationship do we need? How to develop stable and mutually beneficial China-UK relations? And how to enhance mutual understanding and recognition between China and the UK? More chapters are dedicated to introducing exchanges and cooperation in various fields between China and the UK.

We visit Earth in current life and maybe head to others in next. It is our instinct to carry over DNA in reincarnation, to taste unknown desires, and to experience seven emotions with six sensory pleasures; however, everything in action shall be as nature as possible. Nobody really knows who dominate on life-stage, it can be actor/actress themselves, or drama writer, else screen director, or else audience instead. Metropolitan exits with multiple values; usually, cause of event is unclear to define from individual’s irrationally protection of interest or selfishly defending portion of pie. People usually capture one section of story and miss the other part of puzzle. Living chaos is daily usual. no matter you are wealthy, majestic, poor, or underclass, once doom day arrives, bell on stage rings off, curtain pulls down, light shuts off, everything is buried under dirt of history. No matter how successfully achieved in history, or how remarkably accomplished in professional field; it

How did a small church in Silicon Valley grow into a worldwide movement of spiritual renewal? In Envision Without Limits, Pastor Tong Liu reveals the keys behind River of Life Christian Church’s remarkable growth. From breaking growth barriers to building strong small groups and inspiring men and women to lead—this book is packed with practical strategies and spiritual insight for churches today.

Although the arts have been firmly planted in the Hong Kong school system since the 1950s, they are often sacrificed in place of core subjects and preparation for examinations. Drawing on over fourteen years of exploration and experience, Yau makes the case that arts are critical to cultivating creative mindsets, which are our best resource for innovating and responding to challenges in this complex world of sudden changes. Through case studies and conversations with practising artists and educators, this book demonstrates why arts and education, two normally discrete disciplines, should be broadly integrated into the local Hong Kong curriculum, and how this can be – and has been – achieved. This book is intended for policymakers, educators, arts heads, and artists. The volume will also appeal to readers curious about how and why the arts should be foundational to education and capacity building in the twenty-first century.

內容簡介 "In every matter, a lesson; in every step, a chance to grow." The Many Matters of Life is a collection of heartfelt reflections on how to live with wisdom, kindness, and purpose. Drawn from the teachings of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, each short article explores the choices we make, the relationships we build, and the values that shape our lives. More than just inspiration, this book serves as a practical guide to applying the spirit of Buddhism in everyday life. Through stories, examples, and thoughtful reminders, it shows how the Dharma can be lived, not only in temples, but in our homes, workplaces, and communities. A book to keep close. Read a page, reflect a little, and practice a little every day. 目錄 Table of Contents Acknowledgments.....................................................................iv About Venerable Master Hsing Yun..........................................viii Translator’s Introduction...........................................................x Forewor

In Modern Chinese Counter-Enlightenment: Affect, Reason, and the Transcultural Lexicon, Peng Hsiao-yen argues that a trend of Counter-Enlightenment had grown from the late Qing to the May Fourth era in the 1910s to the 1920s and continued to the 1940s. She demonstrates how Counter-Enlightenment was manifested with case studies such as Lu Xun’s writings in the late 1900s, the Aesthetic Education movement from the 1910s to 1920s, and the Science and Lifeview debate in the 1920s. During the period, the life philosophy movement, highlighting the epistemic debate on affect and reason, was connected with its counterparts in Germany, France, and Japan. The movement had widespread and long-term impact on Chinese philosophy and literature. Using the transcultural lexicon as methodology, this book traces how the German term Lebensanschauung (lifeview), a key concept in Rudolf Eucken’s life philosophy, constituted a global tide of Counter-Enlightenment that inspired the thought of leading Chinese

When the Lion Dancer Comes to Town: A Feast of Fun centers on the golden trio of culinary creativity, football and martial arts. From the fall of Ah Sing’s lion figurine, the breaking of egg and the series of unfortunes, to festive days like Easter and Chef’s Day, Ah Sing and his mum work together to turn his fortune around, creating a delicious full-egg banquet. Ah Sing’s mum secretly prays for blessings and miracle finally comes. Hope this heartfelt tale brings joy, warmth and smiles to readers, showing how effort and resilience lead to rewarding outcomes.

How do public markets, as ordinary as they seem, carry the weight of a city’s history? How do such everyday buildings reflect a city’s changing political, social, and economic needs, through their yearslong transformations in forms, functions, and management? Integrating architecture and history, this book invites readers to go through the growth and governance of colonial Hong Kong by tracing the past and present of public markets as a study of extensive firsthand historical materials. As the readers witness the changes in Hong Kong markets from hawker pitches to classical market halls to clean modernist municipal complexes, the book offers a new perspective of understanding the familiar everyday markets with historical contexts possibly unfamiliar to most, studying markets as a microcosm of the city and a capsule of its history. This book is a robust and in-depth study of the market building history of Hong Kong since the 1840s and contributes to a holistic understanding of everyday

This edited volume seeks to highlight the development of play therapy in various countries and cities in Asia. The editors discuss how mostly Western play therapy approaches are adapted for use in Asian countries. Having existed for years in the West, play therapy is still in its early stage of development in most Asian countries including Mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. This is the first play therapy book written by experts from specific Asian cultures for practitioners and students who are working in the mental health field for Asian groups. Each chapter first describes play therapy development in that particular culture and then uses a case study to illustrate how play therapy can be adapted to suit specific cultural beliefs and environments in order to connect parents with their children or to address clients’ needs. This text will be welcomed by professors, clinicians, and parents of all cultures East and West.

The Tropic of Cancer Sustainability Belt Sustainability is a global trend, and a global lingua franca. How can Taiwan use sustainability to tell our story on an international stage? How can Taiwan create a sustainability brand that is equipped with a global perspective? The National Park Service (NPS) considers the Tropic of Cancer a great place to start. By connecting the dots of Taiwan’s mountain resources, ocean resources, and sustainability partners into a line, and then making that line into a belt, we can turn the Tropic of Cancer – which many think of as just a bunch of geographic markers – into a whole new window for getting to know Taiwan. As the 180km north-south Tropic of Cancer Belt crosses Taiwan, it crosses coasts, wetlands, foothills, high mountains, oceans, cities, and villages. Along the way, it encompasses every form of ecology, life, and production, forming world-class environmental marvels. The NPS is using the Tropic of Cancer Sustainability Belt project to put

The author of this book is a world-class scientist, inventor, educator, and preacher. His profound influence on semiconductor technology has shaped Taiwan and the global industry, leaving a lasting legacy. This book distills his life lessons, built upon the golden triangle of family, work, and spiritual life, offering readers a model to success and fulfillment. Through a clear, sincere, and humorous style, Burn shares the experiences that defined his journey—his character, approach to work, and the highs he has reached throughout his life. In this book, Burn discusses how family, work, and spiritual life form a golden triangle, the fundamental structure upon which one’s life is built. Like a triangle—the most stable polygon—each corner plays a vital role in sustaining balance and growth. With decades of dedication, Burn provides insights into how he has maintained equilibrium among these three essential aspects, guiding readers to build upon this foundation and achieve even greater hei

In Redefining Heresy and Tolerance, Hung Tak Wai examines how the Qing empire governed Muslims and Christians under its rule with a non-interventionist policy. Manchu emperors adopted a tolerant attitude towards Islam and Christianity as long as political stability and loyalty remained unthreatened. However, Hung argues that such tolerance had its limitations. Since the mid-eighteenth century, the Qing court intentionally minimised the importance of the Islamic identity. Restrictions were imposed on the Muslims’ external connections with Western Asia. The Christian minority was kept distant from politics and the Han majority. At the same time, Confucian scholars began to acquire a new understanding of religion, but they were not encouraged to get in touch with the Muslims and Christians. This book demonstrates how, from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century, the Qing government prevented Confucian scholar-bureaucrats from interfering in the religious life of Christians an

Initially based on a comparative study of Chinese and Euro-American art theory in the 18th and 19th centuries, this book examines how both cultures looked at their own past and their outside, i.e. what was construed as not belonging to their own cultural sphere, and how they devised new ways of adapting them into evolving cultural constructs. While the 17th century was still a time when the epistemological backgrounds of both civilizations were so profoundly different that nearly no dialogue was possible, the 18th century saw the emergence in both places of profound changes that would get them close enough to create the conditions for the beginning of a conversation. First quite superficial and taking shape mostly in the decorative arts, this process of rapprochement, while remaining chaotic and unpredictable, led to wider and more profound zones of contact throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. Through the reinterpretations of each other’s cultural creations, these zones of con