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Title: A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought by Wolfram Eberhard ISBN: 0-415-00228-1 Publisher: Routledge Kegan & Paul Pub. Date: August, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Informative but...
Comment: It seems to be general consensus that this is one of the only books of its kind. While its content is concise and informative, it does seem to be dated. I had to double-check that it had indeed been originally published in 1983 because stylistically speaking (in addition to the weird romanization issues and lack of "modern" symbology that others have mentioned), it seems to stuck in the early 20th century and perhaps a little tainted with the Edward Said notion of "Orientalism." I can't help but get the feeling that it is from an "outsider looking in" perspective, meaning I wish it was written in a more intimate and warmer way, and that if it were, perhaps the text would become more alive.
I also found the method of cross-referencing information (by peppering the text with a lot of arrows -->) fairly distracting, and that the descriptions of individual symbols did not really "flow," but rather were written in a piecemeal fashion.
Again, I am grateful that this information has been compiled and assembled in this text; however, I wish that it could be updated.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good content. Poor romanisation.
Comment: The content of this book is more or less well-written. Each item is richly described and explained following the romanised Chinese, Chinese characters, and English translation of the entry. The unfortunate aspect of this publication is in its poor rendering of pinyin romanisation and the absence of simplified alternates to the full-formed Chinese characters. With regards to the pinyin, in practice, syllables of a given meaning unit are grouped as one, forming a polysyllabic word, and are not linked by a dash. Hence, "pinyin" and not "pin-yin", "huzi" and not "hu-zi", "qilin" and not "qi-lin", etc. This also applies to names and titles: "Mao Zedong" and not "Mao Ze-dong". There is a tendency in this book to apply Wades-Giles vowel renderings like replacing "-ong" with "-ung" and "-e" with "-o"; and there is a lack of tonal diacritics or an intermittent application of them when it have been better applied throughout, especially in the heading term to be defined. With regards to the characters, not only is there an absence of the simplified alternates in the head entries, there is an absence of Chinese characters in the following text where they would have been an excellent reference accompanying the pinyin. This is quite disappointing coming from a sinologist who spent years at Beijing University (why some people, including some at the university itself, use the old French postal spelling "Peking" to this day is a mystery to me) and should know better. Still, this is probably the only book of its kind available and you will be immensely rewarded if you are aware of its faults and learn to adjust to them.
Rating: 5
Summary: Delightful
Comment: This is a noteworthy volume from someone who for five decades had been one of the worlds preeminent Sinologists. The late Wolfram Eberhard, a former instructor at Peking National University, unfolds the story behind over 400 Chinese characters giving the reader a vivid insight to Chinese life and thought.
The book starts with a ten-page introduction to Chinese symbolism and how the Chinese conception of words differ from views held by the West. The remainder of the book is an alphabetical listing of important symbols written in the form of an English-Chinese dictionary. Each entry contains the English word for a particular symbol, the Chinese equivalent (using both Chinese characters and Peking romanization) and an explanation as to why the ideas behind the symbol are important. Many entries are multiple paragraphs long and are accompanied by black-and-white illustrations from Chinese texts. Among the entries are numbers, colors, plants and animals, mythological characters, the cardinal directions, body parts, bodily functions, and several concepts that are uniquely Chinese. While the title implies the book is a dictionary this is a bit of a misnomer. Eberhard uses the dictionary format as a vehicle to introduce the reader to the cultural symbolism that lies behind selected Chinese characters. You will not find any detail on radicals, stroke order, stroke counts, or pronunciation as you might in a more typical language-oriented Chinese dictionary.
It would be impossible to comprehensively survey even the most common elements of Chinese symbology. The author himself states that his selections follow from a few basic themes such as health, happiness, and longevity. For a volume of its size and given the level of detail that it contains, Eberhard's work is about as comprehensive as one can get. The only real detraction is the lack of an index. Language students might also be disappointed by the lack of pin-yin romanization. The book is wonderful as a stand-alone primer on Chinese culture or as an adjunct text for students of the Chinese language who desire an intimate knowledge of the latent symbology that accompanies many Chinese words.
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Title: Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives by C. A. S. Williams ISBN: 0486233723 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1976 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs by Charles Alfred Speed Williams ISBN: 0804815860 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: April, 1989 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Traditional Chinese Designs by Stanley Appelbaum ISBN: 0486253473 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 April, 1987 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Treasury of Chinese Design Motifs by Joseph DÂAddetta ISBN: 048624167X Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 October, 1981 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Fun with Chinese Symbols Stencils by Marty Noble ISBN: 0486416380 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 11 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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