Full Description
Many of the basic characteristics of Imperial China took shape during the Han period (202 BC-AD 220). This book, first published in 1982, is a key contribution to our understanding of China's cultural history. It explains the conceptual background of many of the artefacts of China's past, and calls on the written word of the philosopher, poet and historian, and on cultural treasures revealed by archaeologists.
Contents
1. Four Attitudes of Mind 2. The Gods 3. The Life Hereafter 4. The Order of Nature 5. The Universe and the Shape of the Heavens 6. The Earth and Its Creatures 7. The Cycle of Change 8. Omens and Miracles 9. Divination and Oracles 10. Shamans and Intermediaries 11. Services to the Dead 12. The Imperial Cults 13. Imperial Sovereignty 14. The Purposes of Government 15. The Regulation of Man 16. The Scriptures
