Social Life of the Chinese: Daily Life in China

ISBN-13: 9780710307538 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 666 str.

Justus Doolittle

Opis

This is the most complete and detailed account of the traditional domestic and daily life of the Chinese in the mid-nineteenth century. Writing in the 1860s, Doolittle concentrates on social and religious customs, revealing the people through their practices and material culture which he observed for over fourteen years. Colorful, exotic and compelling, this is a more telling portrait than any history or encyclopedia, an innovative tour de force of popular culture, and a classic ahead of its time. Agricultural and household matters, betrothal and marriage, the treatment of disease, popular gods and goddesses, punishments and celebrations, annual customs and festivals, superstitions, business customs, charitable practices, vegetarians, charms and omens, fortune-telling, opium and opium smoking are among the subjects dealt with, accompanied by charming engravings. Doolittle lived midway between Shanghai and Canton, the origin of the overseas Chinese diaspora. The world he describes here may have vanished in mainland China but it endures in Chinatowns and Chinese homes around the world.

Spis treści

Introduction.—Chinese Life in Fuhchau I.—Agricultural and Domestic Matters II.—Betrothal and Marriage III.—Betrothal and Marriage—continued IV.—Married Life and Children V.—Superstitious Treatment of Disease VI.—Death, Mourning, and Burial YII.—Death, Mourning, and Burial—continued VIII.—Ancestral Tablets and Ancestral Halls IX.—Priests of the Three Religions X.—Popular Gods and Goddesses XI.—Popular Gods and Goddesses—continued XII.—Mandarins and their Subordinates XIII.—Mandarins and their Subordinates—continued. XIV.—The State Religion XV.—Competitive Literary Examinations XVI.—Competitive Literary Examinations—continued. XVII.—Competitive Literary Examinations—continued. XVIII.—Chinese Anecdotes XIX,—Established Annual Customs and Festivals. XX.—Established Annual Customs and Festivals—continued XXI.—Established Annual Customs and Festivals—continued XXII.—Singular and Popular Superstitions XXIII.—Business Customs XXIY.—Meritorious or Charitable Practices XXY.—Meritorious or Charitable Practices—continued. XXVI.—Social Customs XXVII.—Social Customs—continued XXVIII.—Social Customs—continued XXIX.—Miscellaneous Opinion sand Practices. XXX.—Miscellaneous Opinions and Practices—continued. XXXI.—Charms and Omens XXXII.—Fortune-Telling XXXIII.—Opium and Opium-Smoking XXXIV.—Missionary Topics XXXV.—Missionary Topics—continued XXXVI.—Interior View of Peking

O autorze

Professor Justus Doolittle