1st Edition

Calligraphy and Power in Contemporary Chinese Society

By Yuehping Yen Copyright 2005
    240 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    240 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This unusual and interesting book is a fascinating account of the world of Chinese writing. It examines Chinese space and the political and social use of writing as propaganda, a publicity booster and as a ladder for social climbing.

    Acknowledgements  Introduction: The Abode of Calligraphic Inscriptions  1. Dances with Power: Public Calligraphy and its Social Effects  2. Becoming a Person Through Wen  3. Handwriting and Personhood  4. Body-Person Engineering: Brush Techniques and Calligraphic Composition  5. Brush Work: Alternative Bodybuilding  6. Ideograms and Knowledge  7. Characters Reloaded  Bibliography  Glossary

    Biography

    Yen, Yuehping

    'This is a very good book. Yen is both insightful in her analysis of the sources and implications of the aura of Chinese writing and careful in her discussions of how people think about characters.' - China Journal