Dimensions
156 x 234 x 28mm
'The Chinese Experience' brings alive a civilization in which emperors are magnified, bureaucrats satirized, women worshipped, nature adored, parting and death mourned and war reviled. Raymond Dawson shows how Chinese art and literature were linked by the magic of the calligraphic brush-stroke, and how political, philosophical, socio-economic and aesthetic experiences are reflected in imaginative writing.
The roles of emperors at the top and of district magistrates at the bottom of the bureaucratic structure are used to explain the political process. In addition, the philosophical section does not confine itself to ancient doctrines, but elucidates their lasting influence on Chinese manners and institutions, whereas social and economic life is shown to be deeply rooted in tradition.
The four parts of the book are not separate compositions. Rather they are like the movements of a symphony, in which imperial splendour, Confucian culture, earthbound peasantry and artistic genius are constantly recurring themes.
