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Illustrated Myths & Legends of China: The Ages of Chaos and Heroes
Illustrated Myths & Legends of China is a profusely illustrated collection of 32 carefully chosen tales of Chinese myth and legend.
With more than 100 illustrations drawn over two thousand years of all aspects of Chinese art—including painting, pottery and porcelain, jade, bronzes and tomb decoration—Illustrated Myths & Legends of China is a vividly written collection of tales of the universe's emergence from chaos, the creation of the world in which the first Chinese people appeared and a depiction of how the many strands of myth and legend have influenced Chinese culture.
An impressive array of heroic figures and rich storytelling are at the center of these tales including: Pangu opening heaven to save the earth from chaos; Nuwa creating man and repairing the vault of heaven; Fuxi fixing the calendar by observing the heavens; Shennong creating agriculture; Cangjie inventing writing thus creating the basis for Chinese culture.
Fragments of these myths and legends are found in Chinese paintings, wood artifacts, relief carvings, and lacquer art which are illustrated in this book along with informative text. Anyone interested in Chinese culture, mythology, history or art will find this collection a must-have volume for their bookshelf.
With more than 100 illustrations drawn over two thousand years of all aspects of Chinese art—including painting, pottery and porcelain, jade, bronzes and tomb decoration—Illustrated Myths & Legends of China is a vividly written collection of tales of the universe's emergence from chaos, the creation of the world in which the first Chinese people appeared and a depiction of how the many strands of myth and legend have influenced Chinese culture.
An impressive array of heroic figures and rich storytelling are at the center of these tales including: Pangu opening heaven to save the earth from chaos; Nuwa creating man and repairing the vault of heaven; Fuxi fixing the calendar by observing the heavens; Shennong creating agriculture; Cangjie inventing writing thus creating the basis for Chinese culture.
Fragments of these myths and legends are found in Chinese paintings, wood artifacts, relief carvings, and lacquer art which are illustrated in this book along with informative text. Anyone interested in Chinese culture, mythology, history or art will find this collection a must-have volume for their bookshelf.
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 9, 2022
This is not like most Chinese myths and legends book. Most of the ones you encounter here are of lesser known stories (eg Flame Emperor, Fu-Xi), or delve much deeper into the lives and times of known ones (eg Nu-Wa, Yellow Emperor, Great Yu).
The book begins from the birth of this world and ends with the story of Great Yu, a hero in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). It is also unique in its inclusion of museum items through the ages of Chinese history eg bronze eight Trigrams Mirror in Southern Song/Yuan dynasty, lacquer box displaying astronomical charts in Warring States Period. These items are from regional museums in China and around the world eg Taiwan, USA. Depicting the particular story being described, these works of art and artifacts demonstrate how far reaching the myth and legends are. Despite the thousands of years and across one of the oldest cultures of the world., these legends and myths are never far from the hearts and minds of the Chinese people.
It is a treasure trove.
The book begins from the birth of this world and ends with the story of Great Yu, a hero in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). It is also unique in its inclusion of museum items through the ages of Chinese history eg bronze eight Trigrams Mirror in Southern Song/Yuan dynasty, lacquer box displaying astronomical charts in Warring States Period. These items are from regional museums in China and around the world eg Taiwan, USA. Depicting the particular story being described, these works of art and artifacts demonstrate how far reaching the myth and legends are. Despite the thousands of years and across one of the oldest cultures of the world., these legends and myths are never far from the hearts and minds of the Chinese people.
It is a treasure trove.
August 4, 2020
i loved the mix of art and lore of this book, and really enjoyed reading more about the folklore of Ancient China. some stories felt a little disjointed, and there's randomly a whole section written in the first person, but overall the book has beautiful imagery and vivid storytelling.
"It is the way of mankind that the more something is beyond reach, the more strongly it is sought after.”
"It is the way of mankind that the more something is beyond reach, the more strongly it is sought after.”
May 24, 2022
Nádherně ilustrovaná kniha, která bohužel občas zabředává do příliš velkých detailů vzhledem k tomu, že se má jednat o "stručnou" sbírku různých mýtů a legend určenou především čtenářům mimo Čínu. Spíše bych ocenila skutečně stručné shrnutí legend, ke kterému by byla uvedená bibliografie pro další rozšíření informací v případě zájmu. Bohužel.
July 30, 2019
So it's not a bad book in of itself, it's just the formatting was irritating me.
I liked the stories, but since there would be entire page breaks detailing the images, there was never any flow for me. I'd get into a legend, and the next thing I know I'm reading the image description and trying to figure out where the story starts up again. At one point I started skimming and then just focused on the art. Which was highly enjoyable, but very intrusive in my point of view when trying to finish any of the legends. although my favorites were the flame emperor's daughter, Yaoji of wushan, Chang 'e flies to the Moon. Tragic romances seem to be the theme here, although they're generally not my thing.
I would have dropped this down to 2 stars, because of the formatting issues, but taken separately the art and stories are intriguing.
Recommended? kindof
Buy/Borrow? Borrow
I liked the stories, but since there would be entire page breaks detailing the images, there was never any flow for me. I'd get into a legend, and the next thing I know I'm reading the image description and trying to figure out where the story starts up again. At one point I started skimming and then just focused on the art. Which was highly enjoyable, but very intrusive in my point of view when trying to finish any of the legends. although my favorites were the flame emperor's daughter, Yaoji of wushan, Chang 'e flies to the Moon. Tragic romances seem to be the theme here, although they're generally not my thing.
I would have dropped this down to 2 stars, because of the formatting issues, but taken separately the art and stories are intriguing.
Recommended? kindof
Buy/Borrow? Borrow
May 28, 2022
Has a lot of great myths and great photos of a variety of art (from cave paintings to robes and jewelry) but I feel like some of the myths were lacking context? They also seemed to jump around chronologically. It would be nice if they included information on when and where these versions might of originated. Also some of the blue ‘fun fact’ boxes and photos (although tall beautiful) felt out of place or out of context.
May 27, 2018
A very interesting and enjoyable read into the rich myths and legends if ancient China. It helps modern Chinese and readers to understand the psyche and mindset of China’s culture, beliefs and superstitions which exists till today.
December 11, 2018
This book will give you a great insight into Chinese mythology and its origin stories. The various illustrations and pictures of archaeological findings supplements the myths greatly.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews