Brushes with Power: Modern Politics and the Chinese Art of Calligraphy [Hardcover]

Richard Curt Kraus (Author)

Price:	CDN$ 67.50 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Tuesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout.

Product Details

Hardcover: 220 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; 1st printing edition (July 24 1991)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520072855
ISBN-13: 978-0520072855
Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.6 x 0.2 cm
Shipping Weight: 458 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,504,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Book Description

Chinese calligraphy has traditionally been an emblem of the ruling class and its authority. After a century of mass revolution, what is the fate of this elite art? Richard Kraus explores the relationship beween politics and the art of writing in China today to explicate the complex relationship between tradition and modernity in Chinese culture. His study draws upon a wide range of sources, from political documents, memoirs, and interviews with Chinese intellectuals to art exhibitions and television melodramas.
Mao Zedong and other Communist leaders gave calligraphy a revolutionary role, believing that their beloved art reflected the luster of authoritative words and deeds. Calligraphy was joined with new propagandistic mass media to become less a private art and more a public performance. It provided politically engaged citizens with subtle cues to changing power relationships in the People's Republic.
Claiming neither that the Communists obliterated traditional culture nor that revolution failed to relieve the burden of China's past, this study subtly examines the changing uses of tradition in a modernizing society.

From the Inside Flap

"In Kraus's hands, the study of calligraphy becomes a metaphor for a much wider topic--the persistence of traditionalism in modern China. That traditionalism is obvious to anyone who has even a superficial knowledge of modern China; but it is vague and so diffuse that it is difficult to gain a satisfying intellectual comprehension of it. By focusing on a small aspect of that traditionalism--but an aspect with deep metaphoorical resonance--the author helps us to gain a more focused understanding of Chinese cultural life."--Richard Madsen, author of Morality and Power in a Chinese Village

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Share your experience with this product with others

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book, Dec 13 1999

By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com

Ce commentaire est de: Brushes with Power: Modern Politics and the Chinese Art of Calligraphy (Hardcover)

This is a great book -- smart and funny. It's a very interesting analysis of how art and calligraphy are used to express leadership and exert power in Chinese culture. It may seem irrelevant to Westerners, but ask anyone from a calligraphic tradition about it, and they'll tell you how important it is. A great read with super pictures.

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review 5.0 out of 5 stars