Bücher der Reihe China Academic Library

This book examines practices on the relationship between sign and meaning in the Pre-Imperial period of China from the semiotics perspective. Although the Chinese civilization did not develop a comprehensive semiotics system in that period, they are highly semiotic in many ways. The thinking and application of signs of Chinese people can be found in many classics, such as The Book of Changes, The Analects of Confucius, Tao De Jing and Zhuangzi. This book begins its study by re-examining the semiotic thoughts contained in The Book of Changes and inquiries into the thoughts of the major philosophers of different schools. It provides insights into the findings of these philosophers concerning the relationship between sign and meaning. In particular, it concentrates on how the prosperity of the various contending semiotic thoughts complemented each other in forming a sign system. In addition, the book also emphasizes the wholeness and associativity of observing things and studying relevantsigns of Chinese people. As the first monograph in any language to systematically summarize Chinese semiotic thought in the Pre-Imperial period, this book helps promote understanding of the traditional Chinese culture and mindset.

This book discusses the sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands from the perspectives of Ryukyu and Okinawa. Written in chronological order, the book has 13 chapters featuring 121 documents and maps. The first 12 chapters explain, based on detailed historical facts on the Diaoyu Islands, the rise and decline of the Ryukyu Kingdom and the historical roles of China, Japan, and the United States in the history of the kingdom. The final chapter is an overview of the Sino-Ryukyuan, Japan-Ryukyuan and US-Ryukyuan relations, and further clarifies the issue of ownership of the Diaoyu Islands and their strategic position. The book demonstrates that Ryukyu did not have sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, refutes Japan's claim that these islands were a part of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and reveals the causes and consequences of the Sino-Japanese conflicts created by the United States. The book examines the 500-year friendship between China and Ryukyu, recounting moving stories. Lastly, citing ancient documents and more, the books proves that the Ryukyus never owned the Diaoyu Islands and that these islands belong to China.

The book is a meticulous work in answering these questions which often occur to foreigners as well as modern Chinese themselves at the thought of the old China and its experience in modern times: What is Chinese civilization? How could it exist for several millennia and spread that far? Is there anything inherent in this civilization?From the standpoint of an ¿outsider¿ to this civilization, the author incorporates various elements, such as geographic factors, language, thoughts, with the recurrent themes along the two thousand years and changes throughout, rather than simply following a lineal progression. His historiographical approach, the methodology of eclectic common sense, as he termed it, is a new try in this field and will present a brand new perspective for both readers and researchers in that field.

Adopting the perspective of anthropology of art and combining it with global academic insights, this book helps the readers to recognize that ¿history is, in great measure, the record of human activity which spreads from the local to the regional, from the regional to the global, and from the global to the universal.¿ Readers will learn that China was not only the first country to create porcelain, but also the first to export it to the world, both the products and its techniques. Therefore, the history of Chinese ceramics reflects the history of Chinese foreign trade on the one hand and depicts the expansion of Chinese ceramic techniques and cultures on the other. In addition to ceramics types, molds, decoration, and techniques, the book analyzes the spiritual impacts and aesthetic conceptions embodied in the utensils of daily use by the Chinese literati. Therefore, it reaches the conclusion that ideological systems and not technological systems are what bring about social revolutions. In addition, the book is richly illustrated with pictures of earthenware and finely glazed pieces from later periods.

This book presents the research achievements of Jin Yuelin, the first logician and a prominent philosopher in China, who founded a new philosophical system combining elements from Western and Chinese philosophical traditions, especially the concept of Tao.

This book examines the cultural concepts that guided the development of the "age of mankind"- the changes that took place in historical, philosophical, scientific, religious, literary, and artistic thought in the 20th century.

This book explains the basic concepts of the performance management, including the achievement of government goals, management capacity, administrative efficiency and policy effects.

This book conducts detailed research and analysis on the relevant literature and historical evidence regarding the 640-year history of ancient and modern China and other countries since the Ming Dynasty, and clarifies the chain of evidence concerning the Diaoyu Islands in terms of the facts and jurisprudence.

This book discusses the basic theories and structures employed in handling the Central-SAR relationship under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy from the perspective of ruling by law.

This book introduces traditional and modern aesthetics and arts, comparing the similarities and differences between traditional and modern Chinese aesthetics.

This book is aimed at readers and researchers who are interested in Chinese garden architecture, the rise and fall of Yuanming Yuan and the history of the Qing dynasty. Young-tsu Wong's engaging writing style brings "the garden of perfect brightness" to life as he leads readers on a grand tour of its architecture and history.

This book differs from most others of its kind, by looking at the Hong Kong issue from China's perspective, which in turn mirrors China's own situation. Instead of over-simplifying the issue of Hong Kong or only seeing it as a Chinese regional issue, the book regards it as a central Chinese issue and the key to understanding China.

This book offers an eyewitness account of China's twenty years of rural reform. It records the successive changes in different types of China's rural economic systems, from rural cooperatives to the people's communes to the household responsibility system.

Beginning with a retrospective of the past century, this book offers a panoramic picture of Chinese comparative literature, from its nascence in the early 1920s, through its evolution in the 1980s, to the new development at the turn of the century, ending with a prospective look at the future of comparative literature in the 21st century.

By examining social transformation and political participation theories, this book focuses on the core concept of non-institutional political participation, which is classified into two types: induced participation and imposed participation.

An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture

This book reprints an ancient Chinese work from the late Warring States period (3rd century BC) that contains stories and anecdotes exemplifying the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage.

This book is about the city of Peiping in China, also known as Beijing and Peking, and a city of great historical significance. The second part explores Peiping as it becomes a national centre, through the Liao Dynasty and the Chin Dynasty, until 1234, and the third part explores how it became the capital of the Chinese empire, until 1911.

Socio-biological Implications in Confucianism

It focuses on the period from after the Opium Wars to the New Culture Movement, as the New Culture Movement can be considered a pivotal phase in the cultural transformation of modern-day China. The New Culture Movement was a revolutionary eruption triggered by the accumulation of all the new qualitative cultural factors since the Opium Wars.