China's Living Houses: Folk Beliefs, Symbols, and Household Ornamentation

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Summary: If you plan to visit China, read this book!
Review: This book is a recent publishing success of an experienced author, Professor Knapp, and comprises part of his series on Chinese traditional and modern architecture. It offers a wealth of new information and illustrative material (photographs and drawings), based on original research conducted predominantly throughout the eastern and south-eastern coast of the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan. The publication is well-arranged into two main sections which are further sub-divided into separate parts; the sub-chapter titles speak for themselves - please consult the table of contents. Some concrete examples of still-living traditional ritual folk practices are examined, as well as translations of ritual chants which are analyzed in detail. As for me, this is the most interesting part of the first section. The second major part of the book, Section II, "In Pursuit of Good Fortune" (pp. 79-171), consists of very interesting four essays dealing with concrete Chinese efforts to attract good fortune, longevity, wealth, health, business success and other desirable qualities to the house and house owner's family. The authors directs our attention to various manifestations of this eternal Chinese desire for happiness; he also gives us a comprehensive overview of various methods of how to obtain it. As he rightly stresses, the majority of traditional building ornamentation is "positively" determinated, i.e. it is meant to summon good things, and only a minority is directed toward warding off evil spirits. Many pages are dedicated to the so-called New Year pictures, prints, papercuts, calligraphy and the other forms of folk art, all of which employ metaphor, allegory, and word-play, based on the homophony of the Chinese language and the structural principles of its written form. It must be stressed that all parts of the text are informative and well documented. Worth mentioning as well is the fact that the Chinese characters are typed directly in the text, which is clearly organized and thus very useful for Sinologists. To sum up, the book is warmly recommended to all students of Chinese architecture, folklore and living traditions, as well as to all of you who make plans for visiting China, especially Chinese coastal regions.