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A prevalent view of Chinese poetic history among Western readers, already taken for granted by Chinese and Japanese readers, has been that after the so-called Four Masters of Southern Song, the poetry of Song Dynasty (960-1279) essentially came to an end, to be followed by developments in the subsequent three dynasties. Such a view, however, leaves out of consideration a number of accomplished poets in the later Song, whose work is deserving of closer attention both because of its innate quality, and because of its key role as a bridge to the later history of Chinese poetry. Among the most important of these late Song poets were four men from Wenzhou on the Zhejiang seacoast. They were known as the "Four Lings" because, apparently by common consent, they all had noms-de-plume containing the character ling, meaning "numinous" or "magical." The four were: Weng Juan (d. after 1214), Xu Zhao (d. 1211), Xu Ji (1162-1214), and Zhao Shixiu (1170-1219). As other late Song poets, the Four Lings leaned toward understated, straightforward diction that incurred the enmity of those who preferred the more flowery, allusive style of the high Tang. The whole history of Chinese poetry, in fact, can be seen as driven by an interesting tension between these two tendencies. Those literati critics who were suspicious of simplicity-often equating it with "commonness," even "vulgarity" (su ), were on one side of a divide of longstanding in the rich history of Chinese poetic criticism, privileging poetry dense with allusions, sometimes in nearly every line. The Four Lings might counter that these critics are themselves are tainted by pedantry or bookishness in their own poetic work. The retirement of the recluse is a theme that runs through many of the poems of all Four Lings. In fact, a dichotomy between "going forth" to serve in the civil service bureaucracy, and "withdrawing" to some degree of reclusive retirement, is so essential in Chinese thought that it may be considered a timeless component of Chinese civilization. Nor is it a merely "Daoist" as opposed to "Confucian" concept; Confucius himself famously declares in his Analects (7:11): "When they make use of you, then act; when they reject you, then hide away." To "hide away" (cang) implies withdrawal and reclusion of some kind, but with a readiness to re-emerge to serve, when the times improve. The Four Lings in their actual lives, aside from occasional low-level service in the administrations of local officials, were living outside the world of officialdom, while not yet participating in the full reclusion they so admired. They were buyi, "men in plain clothes," fully educated literati but not pursuing government service. There is an undoubted tension between service and withdrawal of various degrees and types, but it is a healthy one, encompassing a full and complex view of human life. The Four Lings deserve to be considered poets of consequence. Although Zhao and Weng are the most frequently cited in the writings of traditional scholars, and are therefore more profusely represented here, the two Xu's are also excellent. Indeed, it would be nearly impossible to convincingly distinguish amongst them stylistically. It is almost as if they share one poetic sensibility.

In the history of Chinese art, Wen Tong (1019 -1079) is considered the supreme master of bamboo painting. This widely shared assessment has perhaps overshadowed his equally brilliant poetry, which has remained virtually unknown. This book is the first in any Western language to present translations of selected poetry and prose by Wen, writings that bring to light aspects of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism rarely addressed by Chinese poets, as they involve devotional practices held in suspicion by many literati. A particular revelation is Wen's unusual interest in what might be called the folk religion of China, including tales of strange and supernatural events, and ceremonies of supplication to various gods, especially dragon deities controlling the rain.

Zhang Ji (c.766-c.830) was major poet of the Tang dynasty, and friend and poetic correspondent of such giants as Bai Juyi and Han Yu. In this first book of his work in any Western language, 300 poems are rendered in accurate, readable translation, demonstrating the remarkable range of Zhang's stylistic choices: from atmospheric landscape quatrains, evoking vast scenes with just a few brilliantly chosen words, to folk-style "Music Bureau" poems, conjuring up the impact on ordinary people of great historical events, such as the Tibetan invasions of China that took place during Zhang's lifetime. Particularly unusual is that for the first time, the works of a major Chinese poet are rendered in rhymed, or half-rhymed translations, tracking the original rhyme-schemes that play such an important role in Chinese poetics. An in-depth introduction by Professor Chaves analyzes the two reasons--linguistic and stylistic--previous translators have tended to avoid rhyme in their English versions, and shows why both barriers can and should be overcome. He further places his translations in the context of the important Neo-formalist movement in contemporary American poetry.

Zhang Lian is a struggling potato farmer who turned to poetry to describe the harsh beauty of his environment and his daily struggle to eke out an existence. In 2000 he borrowed money from friends to print and hand-sell his first book of poems; by 2012 he had been chosen as one of the "Ten Best Rural Poets" by the Chinese Writers Association and published his eighth collection. Zhang's work has appeared in more than one hundred anthologies and been translated into several languages, now including English. For this volume, noted translator Keming Liu selected one hundred poems, chiefly representing Zhang's multifaceted perceptions of his world at dusk, when farmer and shepherd are blessed with a moment to daydream. Although Zhang's work follows a pastoral tradition, the authenticity of his voice comes from real experience. His poems capture both the hopelessness and hopefulness of his austere world, and a deep belief in the redemptive power of words.

This is the most comprehensive English-language compilation available on Chinese painters and their works from the late 6th through the mid-14th century. Incorporating the work of Ellen Johnston Laing and Osvald Siren, whom Professor Cahill studied under as a graduate student, the work includes biographical details of the artists, their "style" and "studio" names, where their works are located or have been published, and information on materials, signatures, seals, and inscriptions. An extensive bibliography focuses on reproductions of the works in Chinese, Japanese, and Western publications, making the Index an essential research tool for all students, scholars, collectors, and connoisseurs of Chinese painting.

The most comprehensive, authoritative, and easy-to-use tool for reading Japanese art signatures is again available, in a limited-edition reprint. Designed for both layman and scholar, its simplified approach allows users to find and identify over 11,000 names of Japanese artists and craftspeople, from all periods and in all media. Includes a sections on reading dates, a list of 300 modified and debased characters, and an index of provinces and place names, plus reproductions of date and censor seals on woodblock prints, publishers' trademarks and seals, and actors' and Genji mon. Indispensable for the scholar or collector of Japanese art.

Xu Zhimo (1897-1931) was China's first great modern poet and a major figure of the intellectual revolution that shaped modern China. Educated in China (Peking University), America (Columbia and Clark), and England (Cambridge, where there is a monument in his honor), he was in contact with every major Chinese literary figure of his day, and met and was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore, Thomas Hardy, Katherine Mansfield, and Bertrand Russell, among others. Xu incorporated elements of the English poetic tradition and that of East India with native Chinese traditions to create a body of work that spoke to his contemporaries at a critical time in their history, and still speaks today. This book presents the largest selection of Xu's poems available in English, as well as some of his prose works. Essays by translator Dorothy Bonett put the poet into context for English-speaking readers and reveal links between his works and other modern poetry, both Chinese and non-Chinese.

This most comprehensive book on the subject sheds light on every facet of a time-honored craft and offers complete instructions on how to duplicate its exquisite results in the West. Part 1, The Craft in Japan, draws on the author's experience learning to make paper in Japan and documents Japanese papermaking as it has been practiced for centuries. Part 2, The Craft in the West, gives step-by-step instructions for the two methods of Japanese papermaking. Every aspect of papermaking is explained in depth, including cultivation of paper mulberry in the West, weaving the flexible mold surface (su), and evaluation of the finished paper. A chapter on variations answers many common question asked about the process, covering watermarking, making laminations with leaves and other natural materials, using Western equipment in Japanese processes, and making paper for printmaking, book conservation, and other specific uses. A substantial bibliography and glossary further supplement the text.

This important exploration of Chinese mythology focuses on the diverse and evocative associations between women and water in the literature of the T'ang dynasty as well as in the enormous classical canon it inherited. By extension, it peers from medieval China back into the mists of ancient days, when snake queens, river goddesses, and dragon ladies ruled over the vast seas, great river courses, and heavenly sources of water, deities who had to be placated by shaman intercessors chanting hymns lost even by the T' ang. As with his other notable works, Professor Schafer's meticulous researches into the material culture of the past, coupled with a delightful writing style, allow us to better appreciate the literature of the T' ang by clarifying important contemporaneous symbols of fertility, mutability, and power, including the wondrous and ubiquitous dragon. With this new edition of The Divine Woman, first published by the University of California Press in 1973, Floating World Editions continues its program of reissuing all the out-of-print works of this great sinologist when possible incorporating the author's corrigenda.

The Yellow Mountains (Huang shan) of China's Anhui Province have been famous for centuries as a place of scenic beauty and inspiration for poets, painters, and travelers. As early as the Tang Dynasty (618­-906), visitors were climbing at considerable risk its austere rocky peaks with fantastic pine trees, and the area remains a hugely popular tourist destination today. A "golden age" of Yellow Mountains travel came in the 17th century, especially after the traumatic Manchu invasion of China in 1644 led to the overthrow of the Ming dynasty. The mountains subsequently became an important symbol for loyalists protesting the new Qing dynasty and hoping for a reaffirmation of native governance and ideals. Gazing at an album of paintings by Jiang Zhu of Yellow Mountain scenes, his fellow poet and artist Wang Hongdu (1646­-1721/1722) wrote: Open these paintings--not a single place is not a paradise! From this day on, I will be dreaming of wandering with the immortals. Wang was not content merely to look at paintings, however. He dedicated himself to traveling to each and every one of the "36 Peaks" as well as the "36 Lesser Peaks" of the Yellow Mountains, and recording his impressions. Yet his resulting masterpiece of Chinese travel writing, the Huangshan lingyao lu (A Record of Comprehending the Essentials of the Yellow Mountains), was not printed until 1775 and has since remained obscure and available only in Chinese. In the present book, Professor Jonathan Chaves of The George Washington University presents the first complete translation of Wang's work into a Western language, with extensive annotations. Wang's newly rediscovered poetry is also presented, showing him to be one of the most accomplished and expressive poets of his day. Introductory essays explore the history of scholarly and religious pilgrimage to the area, and the role of the Yellow Mountains in the great Neo-Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist revivals of the early Qing period, that is, as the center of a yearned-for spiritual and cultural renaissance.

In the author's own words, this work attempts to recreate, for the 20th-century reader, the sky and the apparitions that ornament it as they were conceived, imagined, and reacted to by the men of T'ang-dynasty China-that is, to suggest what the medieval Chinese thought they saw in the night sky, and how they treated those magic lights in their active lives, their private commitments, and their literary fabrications. Inevitably, this enterprise meant the exploration of the borderlands where science, faith, tradition, invention, and fantasy overlap. Armed with the new awareness that this fascinating work provides, we can better understand the great legacy of art and literature of this greatest period of cultural flowering in Chinese history. With the reprinting of this title, Floating World Editions has continued the reissue of all the out-of-print works of this great Sinologist. When possible, the reprinted works will incorporate the corrigenda compiled by Profesor Schafer, and the series will include a complete bibliography of his published work.

Zen master Takuan Soho (1573-1645) was Abbot of the Daitokuji, the leading Rinzai Zen Temple in Kyoto, and was founder of the Tokaiji Temple in Edo. Living proof that "A master of Zen can be master of anything," his teachings and practice influenced calligraphy, painting, poetry, martial arts, and the tea ceremony. He taught and inspired the Shogun Iemitsu, Yagyu Munenori, founder of one of Japan's greatest schools of swordsmanship, and Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings and Japan's most famous swordsman and master of strategy.Immovable Wisdom includes an account of Takuan's life and translations of his most important writings, as well as anecdotes encapsulating the essence of his wisdom, which are as relevant today as in his own turbulent era. Master Takuan taught that, rooted in "immovable" wisdom, the trained mind becomes unfettered; undistracted by the irrelevant, one's response to the unexpected is always instantaneous and correct.

The essential text on the human body, as defined by Eastern and Western medicine. Comprehensive, easy to understand, and lavishly illustrated in full color. Specially designed for students, healing professionals, and martial artists.----- This unique book will familiarize healing practitioners and martial artists with basic concepts of the human body, as defined by both Western and Eastern medical traditions, allowing those engaged in healing and martial arts to develop a more complete, holistic, and scientifically forward-looking understanding of the body. Overviews of philosophical and conceptual underpinnings are followed by detailed drawings and diagrams of the body's internal systems, as seen by both traditions. Written in a clear and concise style, this beautiful and informative book presents information previously unavailable in any single text, making it an essential work for students, healing professionals, and martial artists. This lavishly illustrated book includes: Over 147 color drawings and 54 duotone photographs An easy-to-understand overview of Western anatomical concepts A detailed overview of Eastern medical principles, including information previously available only in specialized, costly medical texts A comprehensive listing of Oriental pressure points and meridians in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, cross-referenced to nerves, blood vessels, and other anatomical landmarks Twenty essential self-massage and revival techniques Detailed principles of pressure point fighting, as used in traditional Asian martial arts An essential text for students, healing professionals, and martial artists View sample pages, read book reviews, or get more information at marctedeschi.com -----Frequently used with: ESSENTIAL ACUPOINTS POSTER An exceptionally high-quality, 7-color poster illustrating the 400-plus acupoints and 14 meridians that are the basis of Eastern medicine and martial arts. Also highlights Qi-flow, Yin-Yang, 5 Phases, and martial targets. Designed by Marc Tedeschi as a companion to the book Essential Anatomy for Healing and Martial Arts, this unique and beautiful poster exhibits a level of accuracy, detail, and functionality unobtainable elsewhere. ISBN 0834805103-----

Hailed in Europe, Guido Buzzelli has been called "the Michaelangelo of monsters," "the Goya of comics," and "the patron saint of all Italian cartoonists."A pioneer active from the 1950s-1980s, today virtually unknown in English, Buzzelli horrifies, fascinates, and provokes with his unique blend of surrealism and dynamism. Displaying a range of influences from Westerns and science fiction to Rennaisance art and futurism, Buzzelli's stories are a delightful, quasi-postmodern mishmash of high and low, showing an intricate hand and stylish narrative skill.The first of three volumes collecting Guido Buzzelli's stories in English for the first time, includes The Labyrinth and Zil Zelub, two of the earliest Italian avant-garde graphic novels ever published. These fantastic and grotesque stories are the perfect introduction to Buzzelli's work.Nominated for a 2024 Ignatz award for Best Collected Edition.Translated by Jamie Richards. Introduction by Domingos Isabelinho.