Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A revised edition of this history of the world's oldest civilisation. The CULTURAL ATLAS series aims to evoke the spirit and vitality of the world's great civilisations, past and present, through photography, maps and supporting text.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Western civilization has only recently tapped into the ancient wisdom of Chinese enlightenment, from alternative medicines to spiritual balance and so much more. Cultural Atlas of China, Revised Edition embodies the history, geography, and uniqueness of the world's oldest civilization, providing readers with a guided tour of this diverse kingdom. Updates include: A revised and expanded bibliography Three new special features: The Chinese Environmental Problems (with a focus on the Three Gorges Dam project), Taiwan, and the Chinese Diaspora New maps and photographs. Excerpted from Cultural Atlas of China by Caroline Blunden, Mark Elvin All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Western conceptions of China are hard to change. This ancient civilization is often pictured as archaic, static, yet complex and unpredictable. This revised edition of the atlas reflects an effort on the part of Western scholars to better understand and represent China. It has adopted the pinyin system of romanizing the Chinese language, used by the People's Republic of China and by most colleges and universities of the world in teaching Chinese. It adds new sections on the environment, the Republic of China in Taiwan, and overseas Chinese. It uses recent archaeological discoveries to update and clarify certain aspects of Chinese history and brings much information on Chinese culture up to date. The most unique and valuable aspect of this atlas is its visual immediacy. With over 50 color-coded demographic and thematic maps and thousands of photos, paintings, drawings, and charts, it will appeal to a wide audience. The layout is essentially the same as the first edition (CH, Apr'84) with plenty of scholarly apparatus to facilitate research. For college and public libraries. M. Meng; St. John's University (NY)