C. A. S. Williams

This is the first paperbound edition of a standard reference volume long familiar to students of China and Chinese culture. The work of a scholarly English resident of China, it is an illustrated encyclopedia with hundreds of concise, clear, and authoritative articles outlining the meaning of Chinese symbols and art motives, arranged alphabetically by concept.
Special emphasis is placed on those historical, legendary, or supernatural persons, animals, and objects that recur frequently as symbols or emblems in the art and literature (of Japan and Korea, as well as of China): Lao Tzu, the phoenix, the Eight Immortals, the Twelve Ornaments, and so on. Chinese customs and observances are recorded, and there are numerous articles on general topics (agriculture, medicine, astrology, costume, drama); arts and crafts (carpets, lacquer, shop signs, calligraphy); religion and folk beliefs; natural history; music; and many other subjects.… (más)

While this is clearly a pioneer and classic work in its field, there are, today, newer works that surpass this volume, first published 67 years ago, without many updates throughout its many reprints, in its usefulness. For example, the author includes literary references as well as art references (in other words, linguistic references that one does not see in art), so it is sometimes difficult to know if a particular object has different meanings "literally" from "figuratively". Additionally, the index is very limited, so there have been times when it has been extremely difficult to re-find something that one knows one has seen or read in the volume. A third shortfall is the use of line drawings as opposed to real photographs. (There is a reason why we have the saying, "A picture is worth 1,000 words".) Nevertheless, Williams was a ground-breaker in this area and this volume belongs in the library of anyone with a serious interest in the subject. Many of us are indebted to Williams' ground-breaking work in this fascinating subject area.… (más)