If you are contemplating the construction of a Chinese garden, or are just interested in their history or development, this is an excellent, concise introduction to the topic. It presents the history, philosophy, and guidlines for construction in a clear way. It condenses a large number of references down to a readable form. The bibliography of related works in Chinese and English is worth the price of the book.

An original work that fills an unknown gap of Islam in China. Excellent, also includes a translation of Jami's Lawaih.

In this wonderful book by Birkhauser/editors we become aware of Siza's spectacular drawings. This ones are just about cities. With a few lines and also in very few minutes Siza "catches" the spirit and structure of the spaces habited by him. Siza is a very good architect, of course. He is also someone who loves to draw; almost anywhere and anytime.

Buy this book rather than the one on Vernacular furniture by Andrea and Lynde McCormick. Interestingly this book discusses Kai Yin Lo's own collection - but this is no vanity publishing, this is a work of some scholarship and the contributors, all of whom approach the topic from a different angle are well respected in the field. The illustrations are excellent and the furniture and how it would be used, is put properly in context. No silly price guides, which would be out of date the moment it is published and the dating is pretty accurate. If Chinese furniture is of interest to you, I highly recommend it.

This book consists of over 200 pages of color photos and illustrations of ceremonial dress and decorative accessories of the Miao people, one of China's major ethnic groups. The editors, representing The Cultural Palace of Nationalities, Beijing, China, state in the preface that they are "new students in this subject of Miao clothing and our levels are so limited, there may be many mistakes or omissions...." However, the sheer quantity of well-presented photos documenting clothing and ornaments, collected by the editors for a national exhibition held in 1984, makes this book well worth the search.

The Miao currently live throughout a large region of southern China and Asia. The editors state they have more or less arbitrarily classified the Chinese Miao clothing into the the following five models: the western Hunan model, the eastern Guizhou model, the mid-south Guizhou model, the Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan model, and the Hainan island model. They have then divided each model into several regional styles.

While collecting the pieces included in the 1984 exhibition, the editors interviewed many Miao regarding the traditions surrounding the creating and wearing of the clothing. Each section includes these findings in descriptive paragraphs discussing techniques and design changes over time. Women's hair styles and ornamentation, both unique to each region, are also documented and photographed.

The photos include not only the actual garments, with close-up images of handwork, but also complete costumes modeled by Miao people. Included too, are several photos illustrating the countryside, festivals, and people living in their communities.

This book is a treasure for any student of ethnic costuming and handwork.

The 1940s saw the outbreak of the Yili rebellion, which led to the collapse of Chinese state authority over a wide area of Xinjiang in the chaotic years of the later 1940s. In Clouds Over Tianshan: Essays On Social Disturbance In Xinjiang in the 1940s, David Wang looks not just at the ethnic and religious dimensions, both of which had many international ramifications. Politically, there were three external actors in the affair: the Chinese Nationalist government, the Chinese communists, and the Soviets. As World War II came to an end and the Chinese civil war gathered pace, the dynamics between these three actors altered and those alterations had a major impact on the course of events in Xinjiang between 1944 and 1949. Clouds Over Tianshan is an important and much appreciated contribution for students of Chinese history and help to explain the similarity of the events of the 1940s with those of today in the region.

The book is very interesting. I have never seen a power system book with so much discussion on the application of parallel/distributed processing in control center analyses. It covers certain topics which are of interest to power engineers who would like to learn more about issues that are being discussed by FERC, NERC, and independent system operators. It is certainly a blend of distributed processing applications and power system communication issues. The book could have covered more examples. On the other hand it may be difficult to assign numerical values to the topics covered by the book. The chapter on DG covers a lot of interesting stuff. I recommend the book.

Dr. Aixue Wang's book, A Comparison of the Dramatic Work of Cao Yu and J.M. Synge, is the best one you can find in comparison of these two famous authors and their dramas. In this book, Aixue convinced us that Cao Yu's dramas are not simply copied from western culture and translated into Chinese. Indeed, Cao Yu created his original works based on his deep understanding of Chinese society and culture, plus the spirit of western culture.

Spence has an impeccable way of juxtaposing fantasy and reality using sources from 17th century local history, personal memoirs, and fiction written by a famous 17th century novelist, Pu Song-ling. He effectively teases the readers' imagination with captivating stories from Pu's novels,just to strike them with the sharp contrast of the harsh reality faced by the nameless, forgotten people in rural China. The result is a touching book rich in humanity and thought provoking insight. The first two chapters may be slow, but they provide pertinent background information for a deeper appreciation of the rest of the book. The dream scene was a powerful literary device, although I have some reservation about its apperance in a book of history.

Dialogues On Cultural Studies: Interviews With Contemporary Critics is an essential dialogue which poses a set of questions to a panel of North America' leading cultural critics, resulting in interviews which survey a range of modern issues, from gender and political conflicts to sources of modernity and globalization issues. Virtually anything having to do with modern cultural issues and studies is debated by scholars who know their stuff. Highly recommended for a college-level readership.