Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs

Rating:
Summary: Europeanized Chinese
Review: There ~are~ reasons to commend this book, like the bountiful illustrations, the charts showing the evolution of Chinese characters, etc. What I fault is that at many points the author departs from accuracy and injects over-Europeanized interpretations of Chinese mythology and symbols (for instance, characterizing Tibetan Lamas as "devil-worshippers" and calling the Chinese place of the dead and its god, "Hades" - repeatedly). To be truthful, some of the illustrations are so poorly drawn that you cannot really make out what they are. The text is easy to read and the topics covered numerous. I would use this book with caution, however, checking Williams' interpretations against other, more recent sources. For the record, I am giving this book a two because the only other reviewer to write about it gave it a five and that is far too high for it. I think this should yield an average of three, which is about right for this book.

Rating:
Summary: Europeanized Chinese
Review: There ~are~ reasons to commend this book, like the bountiful illustrations, the charts showing the evolution of Chinese characters, etc. What I fault is that at many points the author departs from accuracy and injects over-Europeanized interpretations of Chinese mythology and symbols (for instance, characterizing Tibetan Lamas as "devil-worshippers" and calling the Chinese place of the dead and its god, "Hades" - repeatedly). To be truthful, some of the illustrations are so poorly drawn that you cannot really make out what they are. The text is easy to read and the topics covered numerous. I would use this book with caution, however, checking Williams' interpretations against other, more recent sources. For the record, I am giving this book a two because the only other reviewer to write about it gave it a five and that is far too high for it. I think this should yield an average of three, which is about right for this book.

Rating:
Summary: An Easy-to-use Reference on Chinese Symbolism A-Z
Review: This book is an A-Z listing of hundreds of Chinese names and symbols, with a brief explanation of the items relevance and importance in Chinese culture and history. Want to know the symbolism behind a bat, or a peach, or a mandarin duck, or other more abstract concepts, this book is for you. A very valuable reference tool for those interested in things Chinese.