Chinese Jade Throughout Ages


Book Description

This classic guide to Chinese jade is of great interest to art collectors and casual readers alike. First published in 1936 and since then a collector's item of increasing rarity, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages comprises a review of the characteristics, decorations, folklore, and symbolism of this esteemed mineral that has always held a proud place among gems of the world. The book presents a full descriptive account of the significance and meaning of the carvings produced in this prize stone by Chinese craftsmen from the earliest times, through the Chou and succeeding dynasties, down to the twentieth century. The text is illustrated with a magnificent series of more than 350 reproductions in color, black and white, and line drawings of choice pieces selected from the chief Asian, European, and American collections. In addition the Chinese art history book explains no only the wealth of symbolic designs used in the decoration of jade but also a large number of the marks and devices by which collectors identify the origin and the date of valued pieces.




Scientific Examination of Art


Book Description

Examines the application of scientific methods to the study and conservation of art and cultural properties. This work addresses scientific topics of broad interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines and attracting up to 250 leadingresearchers in the field.




Jades from China


Book Description

A catalog illustrating 354 Chinese jades from the collection of Brian McElney, the Peony Collection and the Rannerdale Collection, this bilingual volume includes essays on the art of Chinese jade carving.




Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages


Book Description




Fifth Chinese Daughter


Book Description

Jade Snow Wong’s autobiography portrays her coming-of-age in San Francisco's Chinatown, offering a rich depiction of her immigrant family and her strict upbringing, as well as her rebellion against family and societal expectations for a Chinese woman. Originally published in 1950, Fifth Chinese Daughter was one of the most widely read works by an Asian American author in the twentieth century. The US State Department even sent its charismatic young author on a four-month speaking tour throughout Asia. Cited as an influence by prominent Chinese American writers such as Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston, Fifth Chinese Daughter is a foundational work in Asian American literature. It was written at a time when few portraits of Asian American life were available, and no similar works were as popular and broadly appealing. This new edition includes the original illustrations by Kathryn Uhl and features an introduction by Leslie Bow, who critically examines the changing reception and enduring legacy of the book and offers insight into Wong’s life as an artist and an ambassador of Chinese American culture.




Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums


Book Description

From personal ornamentation to funerary practice, from palace decoration to private devotion, jade has played a major role in Chinese social, cultural, and political life for millennia. Exploring the history of this revered stone through the esteemed Grenville L. Winthrop Collection at the Harvard Art Museums--which includes some of the finest examples of ancient and archaizing jades outside China--this volume explains how and why jade developed its special significance. In-depth entries on over one hundred objects present recent archaeological discoveries and new information garnered from conservation analysis, while Jenny So's broad and engaging narrative not only elucidates the layered meanings of the objects and their iconography but also delves into the unique qualities of the material and the craftsmanship involved in quarrying and working jade. Distributed for the Harvard Art Museums







The Magnificent Chinese Jade Pagoda


Book Description

This is the story and background of how an orphan Chinese boy, with God's blessing, created the world-renowned Jade Pagoda and its priceless companion collection and how it was lost to not only 1.4 billion Chinese but also to the people of the United States and the world. The centerpiece of this jade collection is the Jade Pagoda that took the blood and sweat of 150 Chinese jade artisans over ten years to complete. It was carved from the largest jadeite boulder ever mined from a quarry in Northern Burma (Myanmar). These jade workers labored between 1922 and 1933 by hand-and-foot power, using only the crudest of tools to carve the most intricate spectacle in the world today. The pagoda was not only the lifetime realization of the dream of jade connoisseur Chang Wen Ti but also an intended icon for world peace and friendship that Chang had so fervently promoted. The city of Oakland was chosen as the recipient of the largest gift ever donated by one family as a gesture of goodwill between the Chinese and the Americans on behalf of the Chinese people. This pagoda has been rightfully called the eighth wonder of the world by its many admirers and those who have viewed it in person. This book is about the magnificent Jade Pagoda and the man who brought it to fruition.







Ancient Chinese Art


Book Description

Explains the origins, materials, and meaning of traditional art in China, and describes the development of painting, sculpture, calligraphy, architecture, and other media.