From moon cakes to Mao to modern China An introduction to Chinese civilization

While the "Mao" in the title receives only two brief mentions, this book succeeds as an excellent primer on Chinese culture and civilization to the early 1900s. In a format similar to an encyclopedia, it presents 109 topics grouped into 20 chapters that range from language to art, from folklore to architecture, from philosophy to geography, and from literature to performing arts. Topics occupy one to four pages and are concise but comprehensive in scope. Though the book does not make clear how these topics were selected, interesting facts abound. Small black-and-white illustrations enhance the text for the most part, and the table of contents and index provide easy navigation. Written mostly in Chinese originally, the text reads slightly awkwardly at times, e.g., the last paragraph of "Using Consistent Character and Roadway Gauges." Better editing would have helped; e.g., "The Dialects" contains many incorrect pinyin geographical names as well as a Chinese editorial comment in the last paragraph. Nevertheless, this very informative book offers the fundamentals on some of the most representative components of an ancient culture. It belongs in all public and academic libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers. Y. Liao University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

This book unites Chinese and American scholars Zhu (vice president, Jiangxi Provincial Prose Society; The Last Holy Land), Wu Qixing (Chinese language & culture, Univ. of California, Los Angeles; The Mysterious Death Valley), Xia Hanning (dir., culture research dept. of Jiangxi Provincial Social Sciences Acad.), and Gao Han (Chinese, Univ. of California, Berkeley) to create a primer on all things Chinese: art, science, religion, and history. Even the book's table of contents is fascinating, e.g., "The Origins of Chinese Characters," "Han Attire," "The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid," and "The New Cultural Movement." A rich array of lovely illustrations accompany many entries-we get a tasty description of Moon Cakes alongside a delectable-looking picture. No topic is too small for inclusion: tree planting, kite flying, and firecrackers stand beside the Terracotta Warriors. Readers will be pleased to see renderings of Chinese poetic description, e.g., "It is said that the natural beauty of Hangzhou is as great as that of a beautiful woman with or without makeup, as it bridges the natural beauty of the landscape and all living things." A fascinating example of the Chinese perspective on the subjects is exemplified by the description of acupuncture being more than twice as long as that of drugs. The closing sentence says invitingly, "We hope to receive criticisms and suggestions from our dear readers." VERDICT Nearly anyone, even those with just a small interest in China, will find much to learn and enjoy here.-Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.