Between Heaven and Earth : A History of Chinese Writing

Rating:
Summary: Not recommended
Review: For any serious reader curious of the origins, history and development of written Chinese, do not bother with this book. It is hard to know who is at fault for bringing this book to English readers. It is supposedly translated from a French edition, but the bibiliography contains only English references. I have long been a fan of Shambhala's editions but this book is fraught with errors, starting with the back cover. You'll be fascinated to learn that the character for 'Prime Minister," when written in xingshu style reads "Elephant"! (You can see this for yourself as the xingshu "Elephant" appears twice on the bottom row). Romanizations are inconsistent - Lao-Tseu, Zhuang-Tseu and Xun-Tseu - and Chin Shihuangdi morphs into Qui Shihuangdi halfway through the book. An explanation of the character for 'Fishing" confuses its left element with its right element. Is it "Fish" or "Water"? Anyone with a basic understanding of Chinese writing can see that the author's (or translator's) explanation doesn't correspond with the ideogram's elements.
No translations for many of the cursive examples are provided, nor do the author's explanations provide anything more than his opinion of what the script "feels" like to him. Since I am not an expert on literati, I cannot confirm the authenticity of the names and anecdotes Shi Bo has mentioned. At 17.95, this was a waste of my money. Shambhala should either be more discriminating when selecting new editions, or hire an editor who has some grounding/expertise in the subjects they release.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful overview of the Chinese script's evolution
Review: I think the other review here, giving this book but one star, is not really fair. This book is obviously meant to offer a guided tour of the evolution of written Chinese. So what if the naming isn't totally consistent? I'm not reading the book for names, and even if I was, I could easily look them up online to get a more "proper" spelling. Are such things niggles that count against the book? Yes. Are they even remotely significant drawbacks to the book as a whole? I would say no.

/Between Heaven and Earth/ offers us mere mortals a glimpse at the fascinating history of one of the most beautiful written languages on the planet. Sure, it is lacking in scholarly details, but that's absolutely not what this book is for. It is meant to be accessible and interesting, while offering a good understanding of the Chinese script's history.

I bought this book for a very simple reason: I am fascinated by Chinese, especially the script. But I am NOT a linguist! This is not an academic linguistic book, and it doesn't even try to be. That's specifically why I bought it! I wanted to kick back, relax, and absorb a bit of this lovely cultural treasure of China.

This is a great book, and I highly recommend it, little niggles and flaws aside. The calligraphy is beautiful, the overview information presented in each chapter is interesting and informative in a general way, and overall I had a really enjoyable time reading /Between Heaven and Earth/. No, it's not going to make you an expert on the minutiae of the historical details. But it will inform, entertain, and most of all, inspire further investigation and enjoyment of this wonderful language. For that, I heartily give this book a strong recommendation and a full five stars.