In India it has become the tradition for the Dalai Lama to spend several days giving teachings to Buddhists from all over the world in an informal discussion group manner. Answers gathers the fruits of his discussions with Western Buddhists, pairing questions and answers in a format which lends to leisure browsing. Answers is an important and core contribution to Buddhist studies and reference collections.

ANTHOLOGY OF CHINESE LITERATURE : From early times to the fourteenth century. Compiled and edited by Cyril Birch. Associate editor Donald Keene. 492 pp. New York : Grove Press, 1965.

Birch's anthology has always been one of my favorite books. In contrast to the more recent mammoth compilations of Victor Mair (1335 pages) and John Minford (1176 pages), the Birch, at a mere 492 pages, is a far more modest and manageable proposition.

Unlike the Mair and Minford, it can be held easily in the hand while reading, and it is printed in a large clear font on spacious pages in which the lines have room to breathe. Modest in size it is also modest in presentation. Selections are preceded by only the briefest of introductions, and footnotes have been kept to a minimum.

The Birch is also unlike the former two anthologies in that it has restricted itself to contributions from just twenty-one translators, most of them well-known names such as A. C. Graham, Donald Keene, Ezra Pound, Arthur Waley, Gary Snyder, and Burton Watson. In other words, its complement of translators is not swelled by a substantial contingent of second-tier, relatively unknown, and sincere though not particularly inspired academic translators.

One happy consequence of this is that the Birch, although in terms of quantity it holds perhaps only a third as much material or less than the Mair or Minford, has a higher relative proportion of quality translations. In other words, most of its selections actually read, not so much as 'translations' but as good literature - the tone, feelings, imagery, rhythms, and control of sound are what we expect to find in original works. Anything less than such excellence is, of course, hardly worth bothering with, and there is a lot of such excellence in the Birch.

As for Birch's selections, he seems to have struck a nice balance between prose and poetry of different kinds. We are given, for example, thirty-three poems from the 'Book of Songs,' some rendered by Waley and others by Pound. We also find such things as 'The Songs of Ch'u;' the Taoist Chuang Tzu; Burton Watson's 'Grand Historian' SSu-ma Ch'ien; Rhyme Prose; Letters; Satires; the Poetry of the Recluse; the great T'ang poets Wang Wei, Li Po, and Tu Fu; Prose Essays; T'ang Short Stories; other great poets such as Li Ho and Li Shang-yin, as well as many other fine but lesser known writers.

The book also includes a substantial selection from the Sung Dynasty, and is rounded out with two Yuan Dynasty plays, an extract from the Yuan novel, 'The Men of the Marshes,' and a modest but useful Bibliography which offers a number of suggestions for further reading.

There is an enormous amount of pleasure to be had from this book, and instruction too. For in reading it we learn a great deal about the sensibility of a people who have been described by Pierre Ryckmans, not without some justice, as "the most intelligent people in the world" ('Chinese Shadows,' Viking, 1977). One of my great favorites in the Birch anthology has always been the brilliant 'Essay on Literature' ('Wen fu') by Lu Chi (+ 754-805). Here is a line from Shih-hsiang Chen's admirable translation (p.208) :

"The argument (shuo) with glowing words and cunning parables persuades."

What Lu Chi seems to be saying is that "theses are convincing, but deceptive." As such the line becomes a caution against trusting too much in theses and 'rational' argument, a caution against lending ourselves too readily to what Lin Yutang has called an excessive, as opposed to a more reasonable, use of reason. Lu Chi's are words that a Cartesian and ever more Frenchified West, with its slick and deodorized armies of specialists, analysts, and technicians, would do well to take to heart if the relentless Juggernaut of Reason now underway isn't to end up crushing everything beneath its wheels.

For anyone who would like to get a good idea of what Chinese Literature is all about, and to actually enjoy the experience of finding out, there could be no better book than Cyril Birch's anthology. The Mair and Minford are all very well in their way and serve as useful references, but they are hardly books that one can sit down and read with pleasure from beginning to end.

The Birch, however, is just such a book, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who would like to begin exploring one of the richest and most interesting literatures in the world.

Here, for those who may want to know, are details of the Mair and Minford anthologies :

THE COLUMBIA ANTHOLOGY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE LITERATURE. Edited by Victor H. Mair. 1335 pp. New York : Columbia University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-231-07428-X (hbk.)

CLASSICAL CHINESE LITERATURE : An Anthology of Translations, Volume I : From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty. Edited by John Minford and Joseph S. M. Lau. 1176 pp. New York and Hong Kong : Columbia University Press and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. ISBN 0-231-09676-3 (hbk.)

This book IS marble collecting made easy. It's easy to understand with very clear pictures and text. The pictures are fantastic. I had picked up some old marbles in an auction boxlot and this book really made it possible for me to identify the valuable ones. It has to be the LEAST dry and boring antique reference book I've ever found. I highly recommend it!

Thank you Mr. Barrass for writing this book, it is such an interesting subject but very little literature is available in English to learn more about this subject.

The book talks about how chinese calligraphy has evolved. As chinese characters are already abstract forms of items, it is interesting to see the next step of how these modern calligraphers have injected their own expression into an old art form.

Although Mr. Barras could not include all the artists he would have liked to, there are also Chinese artists that left China that pursued similar inerests in calligraphy. One such person is Huang Yao...

Good job Mr. Barrass.

I borrowed a copy of THE ART OF THE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLE. THE J & J COLLECTION from my father (who tells me that other collectors refer to this book as "the Bible"), and although I'm not yet a collector of anything, I was so impressed with this book that I want to share this discovery with others. I have since come accross some reviews of the book in Oriental magazines, and will be quoting from them as these professionals put accross their thoughts so much better than I. First of all, the luxury of the edition: "imposing size, lavish layout and exquisitive presentation of the background, two-volume work (800 pages, 1200 illustrations, 25 x 34.2 cm dimensions ... superb life-size photographs and extraordinary detail views ... " according to Jana Volf in ORIENTATIONS magazine, July 1994. As for content, Robert KLEINER wrote in ARTS OF ASIA, Nov.-Dec. 1995, "This vast work is arguably the finest book ever written on the arts of the Qing (1644-1911) dynasty. Each snuff bottle is taken as an opportunity to explore a differing aspect of Chinese aesthetics and culture, thereby, in small increments, revealing the inner meaning both of this culture and of the art represented by the bottles themselves ... The entire work (presents) a rigorous study of the art and evolution of the snuff bottle itself, and ... the underlying cultural background of China as evolved by the thoughts, beliefs and ambitions of the ruling Imperial household and the vast literati class, the scholars who oiled the wheels of the nation's life ... The J&J collection is almost unrivailled in its possesion of snuff bottles which can be used as exemplars of "Palace style ..." About the collection, Clare Lawrence wrote in the Spring 1994 issue of the JOURNAL of the International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society, "I think this is a truly great book of a great, if not the greatest snuff bottle collection in the world today." Finally, this book was awarded 1st. prize as the best art book produced in Hong Kong, in 1993. I must say it is a must to the serious art collector. Mathias F. de Carvalho

For the maximum aesthetic experience of Tibetan art, you must see the magnificent Lionel Fournier collection! Virtually every illustration is of a true masterpiece. Some of the most important Tibetan art in the world is in this catalogue. For afew examples, the two stone images of Mahakala, an early mandala of Vajravarhi and a stunning gem encrusted image of Sadaksari Avalokiteshvara are all without peer. Fournier's act of generosity in giving the collection to the Guimet, is and will for generations to come a model for collectors and patrons to emulate. Further, the magnificent collection is set off by the erudite commentary of Giles Beguin, the (now former) curator of Himalayan materials for the Musee Guimet. His excellent commentary and discussion of each object brings the collection to life in a truly remarkable way. I have owned the catalogue since it first came out and revisit it time after time. I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.

Essential reading for all interested in fine design (East, West, North, or South), this work may well be the most beautiful book published this year.

This book was published in 1987 and knowledge of the history and significance of Austrailian studio pottery has increased since then. However this is the most useful work for identifying studio works and to obtain short bios. on the artists. It is highly sought by collectors of Australian pottery and is a worthy addition to a reference collection. Note a new book covering Australian Studio potters will be available SHORTLY through the Shepparton Art Gallery, Austalia. The Author is Greg Hill.

A great book that impresses you with the life of a siddha.After reading the book, your faith to your guru will be aroused so much!All the bodhisattva acts of the 1st Jamgon rinpoche should be rememebered by the practitioners of all lineages.He's a good example for ALL.

This is the very best book I have ever read or seen or even heard of in the English language about China, especially about her contacts with the West, or rather, the West's contacts with her, in the last four or five centuries. The book is peerless because everything in it is taken from a first-hand witness's written account, like the Chinese man in Australia writing to friends home about how "laughable" the Western attire is! Any reader will have to agree that his laughing at Western dress is completely reasonable! And the rise of Mao and Zhou Enlai, great leaders of the Revolution which eventually resulted in the founding of the People's Republic. Like the debates in the Qing (Manchu) Court, presided over by the Empress Dowager. Like the French missionary in Shandong Province in the last century arguing with a peasant, oh, yes! an elderly peasant, who insisted that the French had "rebelled" against the Chinese Empire by doing warfare on the periphery of China. Those of such intimate, authentic, credible and facsinating details will leave an indelible impression on the memory of each and every reader! A most rewarding book to whosoever is interested in China! Or, even if you are not interested in China, this could well be a primer about things Chinese. Satisfaction guaranteed!