We encourage FCPC members to list their books here with hyperlinks to websites like Google Books and Amazon.com.
How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context edited by Zong-qi Cai
How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context is an introduction to the golden age of Chinese poetry, spanning the earliest times through the Tang dynasty (618-907). It aims to break down barriers—between language and culture, poetry and history—that have stood in the way of teaching and learning Chinese poetry. Presenting poems in Chinese along with English translations and commentary, this book unites teaching poetry with the social circumstances surrounding its creation, making it a pioneering and versatile text for the study of Chinese language, literature, history, and culture. For details, please visit here (Amazon link).Mapping Modern Beijing by Weijie Song
Mapping Modern Beijing investigates five methods of representing Beijing–a warped hometown, a city of snapshots and manners, an aesthetic city, an imperial capital in comparative and cross-cultural perspective, and a displaced city on the Sinophone and diasporic postmemory–by authors traveling across mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas Sinophone and non-Chinese communities. For details, please visit here (Amazon link).Cave of the Immortals by Jonathan Chaves
WEN TONG (1019-1079) is considered the supreme master of bamboo painting in the history of Chinese art. According to his friend and admirer, Su Shi (Dongpo), the greatest poet of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), “When Wen Tong painted bamboo, he himself became bamboo!” Wen was a poet as well, and perhaps because of his fame as a painter, his poetry has remained virtually unknown for centuries. This book is the first in any Western language to present translations of selected poems by Wen, over three hundred of them, as well as examples of his prose writings, which are also fascinating. A particular revelation is Wen’s unusual degree of interest in what might be called the Folk Religion of China, for example, ceremonies of supplication to various gods, especially Dragon deities, to send rain in time of drought. Wen’s poems and prose pieces also bring to light aspects of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism that are of great importance in Chinese civilization, but rarely addressed in the literature of the Chinese poets as they involve devotional practices held in suspicion by many of the literati, but seen by Wen Tong in a positive light. For details, please visit here (Amazon link).《汉魏晋五言诗的演变——四种诗歌模式与自我呈现》by Zong-qi Cai (Chinese Language)
《汉魏晋五言诗的演变——四种诗歌模式与自我呈现》(蔡宗齐 著，陈婧 译) 是The Matrix of Lyric Transformation: Poetic Modes and Self-Presentation in Early Chinese Pentasyllabic Poetry (Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1997) 的中译本，收入北京大学出版社中国古代文体学研究丛书第四辑。本书从作品细读中归纳出中国早期五言诗的四种模式，即戏剧、叙述、抒情、象征模式，阐述它们的主题、形式和文类特征及内在联系，勾勒它们的演变进程，认为诗人自我呈现的推力与现存诗歌模式局限之间的张力之间的持续互动，是早期五言诗及至以后所有抒情诗歌演变的内在机制。全书纲目张举，在不同层次上展现了五言诗诗体历史演变的动态。For details, please visit here or here.Politics, Poetics, and Gender in Late Qing China by Nanxiu Qian
In 1898, Qing dynasty emperor Guangxu ordered a series of reforms to correct the political, economic, cultural, and educational weaknesses exposed by China’s defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War. The “Hundred Day’s Reform” has received a great deal of attention from historians who have focused on the well-known male historical actors, but until now the Qing women reformers have received almost no consideration. In this book, historian Nanxiu Qian reveals the contributions of the active, optimistic, and self-sufficient women reformers of the late Qing Dynasty. Qian examines the late Qing reforms from the perspective of Xue Shaohui, a leading woman writer who openly argued against male reformers’ approach that subordinated women’s issues to larger national concerns, instead prioritizing women’s self-improvement over national empowerment. Drawing upon intellectual and spiritual resources from the freewheeling, xianyuan (worthy ladies) model of the Wei-Jin period of Chinese history (220–420) and the culture of women writers of late imperial China, and open to Western ideas and knowledge, Xue and the reform-minded members of her social and intellectual networks went beyond the inherited Confucian pattern in their quest for an ideal womanhood and an ideal social order. Demanding equal political and educational rights with men, women reformers challenged leading male reformers’ purpose of achieving national “wealth and power,” intending instead to unite women of all nations in an effort to create a just and harmonious new world. For details, please visit here (Amazon link).Literati Storytelling in Late Medieval China by Manling Luo
Scholar-officials of late medieval China were not only enthusiastic in amateur storytelling, but also showed unprecedented interest in recording stories on different aspects of literati life. These stories appeared in diverse forms, including narrative poems, “tales of the marvelous,” “records of the strange,” historical miscellanies, and transformation texts. Through storytelling, literati explored their own changing place in a society that was making its final transition from hereditary aristocracy to a meritocracy ostensibly open to all. Literati Storytelling in Late Medieval China shows how these writings offer crucial insights into the reconfiguration of the Chinese elite, which monopolized literacy, social prestige, and political participation in imperial China. For details, please visit here (Amazon link).The Lyrical in Epic Time by David Der-wei Wang
In The Lyrical in Epic Time: Modern Chinese Intellectuals and Artists Through the 1949 Crisis, David Der-wei Wang uses the lyrical to rethink the dynamics of Chinese modernity. Although the form may seem unusual for representing China’s social and political crises in the mid-twentieth century, Wang contends that national cataclysm and mass movements intensified Chinese lyricism in extraordinary ways. For details, please visit the book’s Columbia University Press site and Amazon site.《引譬連類：文學研究的關鍵詞》by CHENG Yu-yu 鄭毓瑜 (Chinese Language)
本書以上古以來極為重要的「引譬連類」這個概念為核心，透過詩經、楚辭、漢賦乃至於晚清仍創作不斷的舊體詩， 體現一個「文─類─物─詞」相互聯繫的譬喻框架，而在現代語境下，重新活化與詮釋這個在天人、身心與言物之間不斷越界與引生的人文傳統。 《引譬連類：文學研究的關鍵詞》以「文」「明」發端，為「譬類」世界追溯其建構的最根源；繼而詳細論述中國上古書寫中包含身／心、言（文）／物的跨類連 繫，以及言詞、句式與段落組塊的重複圖示式，以說明兩個甚或多元類域間，如何跨越或相互貫通的蹤跡；再者，透過「替代」與「類推」，來呈現上古文學傳統如 何在「比興對應」以及「類聚輻輳」上交互編織，從而被認定、評述，而為後代所謂「文學（史）」、「文類」以及「文學評論」等建構出關鍵性的第一步；最後， 以「類物（或類應）」體系作為古典詩文最具交集性而得以超越時間的「物」背景，並選取晚清黃遵憲的《日本雜事詩》為例，由其中反覆牽引與融合的傳統神話、 月令物候與政治象徵，說明傳統並不專屬於「古代」，而往往具有對應處境的「現代」意義；同時，正是由於典故成詞所在的認知或思考框架也進行了「重複」之外 的「重設」，基於古典類應體系的舊體詩因此竟也可以被挪借翻轉而為新世界代言。 For details, please visit here.《中国诗歌通史》Edited by Zhao Minli 赵敏俐 (Chinese Language)
由首都师范大学赵敏俐教授主持，国内10余位著名学者参加的国家社会科学基金重点项目“中国诗歌通史”，经 过近8年的精心结撰，2012年6月由人民文学出版社正式出版。该成果共计11卷，分别是先秦卷、汉代卷、魏晋南北朝卷、唐五代卷、宋代卷、辽金元卷、明 代卷、清代卷、现代卷、当代卷和少数民族卷，每卷70万字左右，总字数约800万。它贯通古今，包容汉民族诗歌和各少数民族诗歌，是迄今为止规模最大的一 部名副其实的“中国诗歌通史”，它的研究和完成，具有重要的学术意义和文化意义。For details, please visit here.《先秦汉魏六朝诗歌体式研究》 by Ge Xiaoyin葛晓音 (Chinese Language)
先秦两汉魏晋南北朝是中国古典诗歌各类体式发源和成熟的时期。《先秦汉魏六朝诗歌体式研究》由葛晓音所著， 从语言、节奏、结构、表现方式等多种角度，深入而系统地探讨了从《诗经》、《楚辞》到五言、七言、杂言等各类诗体产生和发展的原理，各类诗歌体式之间的关 系，以及体式的形成与各类诗型的艺术表现感觉和创作传统之间的关系。可以说，《先秦汉魏六朝诗歌体式研究》是一部视角新颖的唐前诗歌体式生成和体调演进的 发展史。For details, please visit here.Modern Archaics by Shengqing Wu
After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911 and the rise of a vernacular language movement, most scholars and writers declared the classical Chinese poetic tradition to be dead. But how could a longstanding high poetic form simply grind to a halt, even in the face of tumultuous social change? In this groundbreaking book, Shengqing Wu explores the transformation of Chinese classical-style poetry in the early twentieth century. Drawing on extensive archival research into the poetry collections and literary journals of two generations of poets and critics, Wu discusses the continuing significance of the classical form with its densely allusive and intricately wrought style. She combines close readings of poems with a depiction of the cultural practices their authors participated in, including poetry gatherings, the use of mass media, international travel, and translation, to show how the lyrical tradition was a dynamic force fully capable of engaging with modernity. By examining the works and activities of previously neglected poets who maintained their commitment to traditional aesthetic ideals, Modern Archaics illuminates the splendor of Chinese lyricism and highlights the mutually transformative power of the modern and the archaic. For details, please visit http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674726673.New Book Series of Women and Gender in China Studies Edited by Grace S. Fong
This new series “Women and Gender in China Studies” is edited by Professor Grace S. Fong. It aims to publish theoretically-informed, source-based scholarship on women and gender issues in China studies. Manuscript submissions may range in chronological coverage from earliest times to contemporary China. The editors will consider monograph studies as well as edited volumes from all disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to complex themes and questions are also encouraged. For details, please visit http://www.brill.com/publications/women-and-gender-china-studies.Clouds Thick, Whereabouts Unknown: Poems by Zen Monks of China by Charles Egan
Charles Egan is Professor of Chinese and Director of the Chinese Flagship Partner Program at San Francisco State University. His recent book Clouds Thick, Whereabouts Unknown: Poems by Zen Monks of China was awarded the Asian translation prize from the American Literary Translators Association in 2011. For details, please visit http://www.utdallas.edu/alta/about/lucien-stryk/stryk2011.Every Rock a Universe by Jonathan Chaves
The Yellow Mountains (Huang shan) of China’s Anhui Province have been famous for centuries as a place of scenic beauty and inspiration for poets, painters, and travelers, and remain a hugely popular tourist destination today. A “golden age” of Yellow Mountains travel came in the 17th century, especially after the traumatic Manchu invasion of China in 1644 led to the overthrow of the Ming dynasty. The mountains subsequently became an important symbol for loyalists protesting the new Qing dynasty and hoping for a reaffirmation of native governance and ideals. Among them was poet and artist Wang Hongdu (1646–1721/1722), who dedicated himself to traveling to each and every peak and site and recording his impressions. Unfortunately, his resulting masterpiece of Chinese travel writing was not printed until 1775 and has since remained obscure and available only in Chinese.In the present book, Professor Jonathan Chaves presents the first complete translation of Wang’s work into a Western language, with extensive annotations. Wang’s newly rediscovered poetry is also translated, showing him to be one of the most accomplished poets of his day. Introductory essays explore the history of scholarly and religious pilgrimage to the area, and the role of the Yellow Mountains in the great Neo-Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist revivals of the early Qing period, that is, as the center of a yearned-for spiritual and cultural renaissance. For details, please visit http://www.amazon.com/Every-Rock-Universe-Mountains-Chinese/dp/1891640704.Women Shall Not Rule by Keith McMahon
Chinese emperors guaranteed male successors by taking multiple wives, in some cases hundreds and even thousands. Women Shall Not Rule offers a fascinating history of imperial wives and concubines, especially in light of the greatest challenges to polygamous harmony—rivalry between women and their attempts to engage in politics. Besides ambitious empresses and concubines, these vivid stories of the imperial polygamous family are also populated with prolific emperors, wanton women, libertine men, cunning eunuchs, and bizarre cases of intrigue and scandal among rival wives.Keith McMahon, a leading expert on the history of gender in China, draws upon decades of research to describe the values and ideals of imperial polygamy and the ways in which it worked and did not work in real life. His rich sources are both historical and fictional, including poetic accounts and sensational stories told in pornographic detail. Displaying rare historical breadth, his lively and fascinating study will be invaluable as a comprehensive and authoritative resource for all readers interested in the domestic life of royal palaces across the world. For details, please visit http://www.amazon.com/Women-Shall-Not-Rule-Concubines/dp/1442222891.How to Read Chinese Poetry Workbook by Jie Cui and Zong-qi Cai
Designed to work with the acclaimed course text How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology, the How to Read Chinese Poetry Workbook introduces classical Chinese to advanced beginners and learners at higher levels, teaching them how to appreciate Chinese poetry in its original form. Also a remarkable stand-alone resource, the volume illuminates China’s major poetic genres and themes through one hundred well-known, easy-to-recite works. Each of the volume’s twenty units contains four to six classical poems in Chinese, English, and tone-marked pinyin romanization, with comprehensive vocabulary notes and prose poem translations in modern Chinese. Subsequent comprehension questions and comments focus on the artistic aspects of the poems, while exercises test readers’ grasp of both classical and modern Chinese words, phrases, and syntax. An extensive glossary cross-references classical and modern Chinese usage, characters and compounds, and multiple character meanings, and online sound recordings are provided for each poem and its prose translation free of charge. A list of literary issues addressed throughout completes the volume, along with phonetic transcriptions for entering-tone characters, which appear in Tang and Song–regulated shi poems and lyric songs. For details, please visit http://www.cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-15658-5/how-to-read-chinese-poetry-workbook or here.How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology edited by Zong-qi Cai
In this “guided” anthology, experts lead students through the major genres and eras of Chinese poetry from antiquity to the modern time. The volume is divided into 6 chronological sections and features more than 140 examples of the best shi, sao, fu, ci, and qu poems. A comprehensive introduction and extensive thematic table of contents highlight the thematic, formal, and prosodic features of Chinese poetry, and each chapter is written by a scholar who specializes in a particular period or genre. Poems are presented in Chinese and English and are accompanied by a tone-marked romanized version, an explanation of Chinese linguistic and poetic conventions, and recommended reading strategies. Sound recordings of the poems are available online free of charge. These unique features facilitate an intense engagement with Chinese poetical texts and help the reader derive aesthetic pleasure and insight from these works as one could from the original. For details, please visit https://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-13940-3/how-to-read-chinese-poetry or here.