Warp and Weft: Chinese Language and Chinese Culture - Brossura

Lee, Keekok

9781973111672: Warp and Weft: Chinese Language and Chinese Culture

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1973111675 ISBN 13: 9781973111672

Casa editrice: Independently published, 2017

This book attempts to deconstruct certain key clusters of Chinese characters and words, centring on themes such as war and peace, kith and kin, male and female, rites and rituals, pleasure and leisure to make them yield fascinating tales about Chinese culture and history in which these words are embedded and which they at the same time encapsulate. The Chinese language, Chinese history and culture are presented as one long woven bolt of silk (for which China has historically been noted), with the written language conceived as the warp while the history and culture the weft. In this process of linguistic exploration, the book shows in what ways the Chinese written language may be said to be unique as well as to reveal, amongst other things, certain aspects of such a civilisation: ∙ its religion, cosmology, philosophy, political theory, law, medicine, astronomy, physics, geography; ∙ its grasp of human reproduction, biology and physiology, psychology, biochemistry, even neurology of the brain; ∙ what constitutes its identity, the core values of its culture, the essential glue holding such a society together; ∙ the daily existence of its people, such as their food and drink, the houses they lived in, the furniture they used, their chief modes of transportation, etc. “Keekok Lee has written a brilliant, creative synthesis of what is known about the Chinese written language, taking readers on a fascinating and provocative journey through Chinese values, philosophy, reasoning, and history as revealed in the character/words of what is probably the oldest language in the history of human writing. The book is a masterpiece – just what we need to help us understand China as it achieves world prominence in the coming decades.” (Wendell Bell, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Yale University) “Warp and Weft: Chinese Language and Culture offers a delightful tour through the Chinese writing system, using the idiosyncrasies of the characters to illustrate a myriad of aspects of Han history and culture. It should be a pleasure to read for both novices and seasoned Sinophiles.” (Sir Anthony J Leggett, University of Illinois, 2003 Nobel Laureate in Physics) “With the rise of China as a global power triggering increasing demand for people with knowledge of Chinese language and culture, Keekok Lee's new book is undoubtedly a timely and more than welcome addition to the existing literature. ... It is a time machine that will take you on a sightseeing journey into China's past to visit its "scenic spots" of historical and cultural interest. ... you do not have to know Chinese script to enjoy this book, although even a native Chinese speaker like me finds it both informative and enjoyable to read.” (Richard Xiao, Times Higher Education, March 2009) Keekok Lee was born and brought up in South East Asia. She received, in the main, a colonial education which did its very best to stamp out any interest in the mother tongues and cultures of the children under its charge. Fortunately, in her case, it did not quite succeed, and she managed, against such odds, to sustain a life-long commitment to learning about Chinese culture. She is a graduate of the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore), Oxford University and the University of Manchester. She taught philosophy at the University of Manchester for many years until 1999 to concentrate on research and publication. Her numerous publications – monographs as well as articles in journals – cover a wide range of philosophical areas, including Chinese philosophy. Her most recent project is on the philosophy of Classical Chinese Medicine to be published in two volumes: The Philosophical Foundations of Classical Chinese Medicine: Philosophy, Methodology, Science, Lanham, Rowan & Littlefield, Spring 2017 and its sequel, Classical Chinese Medicine: Theory, Methodology and Therapy In Its Philosophical Framework, Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017/2018.

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