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Dictionary of Chinese Symbols
This unique and authoritative guide describes more than 400 important Chinese symbols, explaining their esoteric meanings and connections. Their use and development in Chinese literature and in Chinese customs and attitudes to life are traced lucidly and precisely.
`An ideal reference book to help one learn and explore further, while simultaneously giving greater insight into many other aspects of Chinese life ... the most authoritative guide to Chinese symbolism available to the general reader today ... a well-researched, informative and entertaining guide to the treasure trove of Chinese symbols.' - South China Morning Post
`An ideal reference book to help one learn and explore further, while simultaneously giving greater insight into many other aspects of Chinese life ... the most authoritative guide to Chinese symbolism available to the general reader today ... a well-researched, informative and entertaining guide to the treasure trove of Chinese symbols.' - South China Morning Post
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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120 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 13, 2021
How everything in Chinese culture and literature can be linked to something sexual. Well, not really, but it's a very interesting book. Helpful for those of us who have a hard time remembering China's "rather" long history.
May 4, 2020
Read this not because I wanted to but because graduate school sucks and I’m only in it for the teaching experience. This is one of the many bs resources I used for a project. Long story short, everything equals sex or big penis in ancient Chinese literature and Confucianism is bad for women because Confucius didn’t rly give two shits about them
Overall the book is informative though and pretty easy to read if you’re stumped on ancient Chinese symbology in poetry and other various literary works
Overall the book is informative though and pretty easy to read if you’re stumped on ancient Chinese symbology in poetry and other various literary works
August 25, 2019
Incredibly helpful for initial information on the very complex matter of symbolism in China. Not to be taken too seriously, though. Highly entertaining, especially the part on yang 阳.
September 2, 2019
While I enjoyed learning about many of the Chinese symbols, there were just way to many that mentioned sexuality or sensuality for me. So I quit reading the book.
July 21, 2014
I love this book, I really do, one of my favorite random grabs from Half Priced Books. See, I am a great lover of symbolism and how it relates to various cultures and religions, I feel you can learn as much about a culture from studying its symbols as you can reading about its history.
Of course I have a love bordering on obsession for all things Chinese, their culture is impressively vast and rather long and complex. It is very easy to see how it can fill an entire book, I find myself reaching for it quite often to cross reference why a certain symbol shows up where and why.
My only real problem with this book is how it makes everything in Chinese culture vaguely sexual. If this is actually the case then I have no problem with it, but in other works on symbols (especially with regards to symbolism in art) I have not run into it as much. So maybe the author knows something I don't know...or maybe he has is adding things where they do not belong.
Even though it has a slightly smutty tone, I still find myself reaching for it whenever I want an interesting read.
Of course I have a love bordering on obsession for all things Chinese, their culture is impressively vast and rather long and complex. It is very easy to see how it can fill an entire book, I find myself reaching for it quite often to cross reference why a certain symbol shows up where and why.
My only real problem with this book is how it makes everything in Chinese culture vaguely sexual. If this is actually the case then I have no problem with it, but in other works on symbols (especially with regards to symbolism in art) I have not run into it as much. So maybe the author knows something I don't know...or maybe he has is adding things where they do not belong.
Even though it has a slightly smutty tone, I still find myself reaching for it whenever I want an interesting read.
August 2, 2007
I have read this book so many times, I lose count. I find it enlightening because it shows me the hidden meanings of lovely, complex Chinese symbols.
October 24, 2016
Informative and an interesting gateway to getting comfortable with Chinese text
March 10, 2009
Not bad, but with modern technology the publisher should have put some effort into the line art.
April 23, 2017
First impressions
This wonderful book depicts the symbols behind the Chinese people's ideograms and idiosyncrasy. A westerner gets to know how differently everything is and means for a Chinese person and how much different are the Chinese people from us in the West.
One of these big differences is the concept about god. I was reading in the Dafa books about the gods, mentioned by Master Li Hongzhi and now I come to understand what he was talking about. In the Chinese pantheon there are hundreds of gods all of whom had lived as humans before. The title of the emperor has such a significance for the Chinese, the emperor is even superior than a god. And the gods may be manipulated and even bribed as human officials.
Wisdom depths
The Chinese words that denote antithesis, ie: “pure - impure”, “high - low” etc. the first word is felt as masculine and the second as feminine.
Dreams are regarded as experiences of the soul, which can leave the human body during sleep.* The immortals have no dreams, because they have no desires or wishes. Dreams may presage good or bad luck (mirror) and they can be interpreted in the same way as oracles. That was great to read in this book, since now I can truly understand why Master Li Hongzhi gives so much importance to the dreams one sees, as these are an important step to the validation of his own cultivation on the path towards Consummation.
*(and that is also supported from the past life regression experiences from the subjects of Dolores Cannon)
In the case of taking a gift to a friend or relative, there is much care to be given even at the wrapping colours, pattern and type of paper that is going to be used; and the recipient will devote a great deal of time to “decode” the symbolism behind everything used for that gift. The Chinese have many different types of paper and they devote time in choosing paper as French do about wine, or the British about tea.
What about the behaviour in the society? The Chinese treat the person that they are talking to - regardless if that person is younger or older - as a... superior to them!
In General
One learns from this book that the Chinese people pay much attention to the sense of touch. They touch with their hands the texture of things. All these along with the similar meanings of words, one has to be very careful when selecting a present for a Chinese person, as it may be having the quite opposite meaning!
Not much information for all entries
There are as well, important aspects of symbolism that are missing from the book. For example, the White Tiger (associated to the five elements as well) is not mentioned at the respective entry of the word ‘Tiger'.
This wonderful book depicts the symbols behind the Chinese people's ideograms and idiosyncrasy. A westerner gets to know how differently everything is and means for a Chinese person and how much different are the Chinese people from us in the West.
One of these big differences is the concept about god. I was reading in the Dafa books about the gods, mentioned by Master Li Hongzhi and now I come to understand what he was talking about. In the Chinese pantheon there are hundreds of gods all of whom had lived as humans before. The title of the emperor has such a significance for the Chinese, the emperor is even superior than a god. And the gods may be manipulated and even bribed as human officials.
Wisdom depths
The Chinese words that denote antithesis, ie: “pure - impure”, “high - low” etc. the first word is felt as masculine and the second as feminine.
Dreams are regarded as experiences of the soul, which can leave the human body during sleep.* The immortals have no dreams, because they have no desires or wishes. Dreams may presage good or bad luck (mirror) and they can be interpreted in the same way as oracles. That was great to read in this book, since now I can truly understand why Master Li Hongzhi gives so much importance to the dreams one sees, as these are an important step to the validation of his own cultivation on the path towards Consummation.
*(and that is also supported from the past life regression experiences from the subjects of Dolores Cannon)
In the case of taking a gift to a friend or relative, there is much care to be given even at the wrapping colours, pattern and type of paper that is going to be used; and the recipient will devote a great deal of time to “decode” the symbolism behind everything used for that gift. The Chinese have many different types of paper and they devote time in choosing paper as French do about wine, or the British about tea.
What about the behaviour in the society? The Chinese treat the person that they are talking to - regardless if that person is younger or older - as a... superior to them!
In General
One learns from this book that the Chinese people pay much attention to the sense of touch. They touch with their hands the texture of things. All these along with the similar meanings of words, one has to be very careful when selecting a present for a Chinese person, as it may be having the quite opposite meaning!
Not much information for all entries
There are as well, important aspects of symbolism that are missing from the book. For example, the White Tiger (associated to the five elements as well) is not mentioned at the respective entry of the word ‘Tiger'.
Read
March 21, 2018.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews