Synopses & Reviews
Reaktionand#8217;s new CityScopes series consists of concise, illustrated guides that provide a social and urban history from a cityand#8217;s beginnings to the present day. Written by authors with unique and intimate knowledge of each city, these books offer fascinating vignettes on the quintessential and the quirky. In the first book of the series, Linda Jaivin explores a city at the heart of one of the worldand#8217;s oldest civilizations and the capital of its newest superpowerand#151;Beijing. In Chinaand#8217;s central city, Jaivin finds thousands of years of history dating back to our ancestors, a story that includes dynastic empires, sieges, massacres, rebellions, and political spectacle.
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Recounting the lively history of the city, Jaivin discovers the Peking Man and the capitaland#8217;s many legendary incarnations, such as the Cambaluc that Marco Polo wrote about in awe. She reveals it to be full of charismatic personalities and dramatic events, a place that has produced some of Chinaand#8217;s most iconic works of literature, theater, and music. She also offers thought-provoking essays on contemporary topics ranging from the elemental problems of air and water to the vibrant art scene and the architectural adventurism of the cityand#8217;s and#147;hyperbuildings.and#8221; Generously illustrated, this guide provides helpful maps and suggested itineraries as well as practical recommendations for hotels, restaurants, museums, and other sites.
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Taking readers to lakeshores, down into the subway, and around the bustling art districts,and#160;Beijingand#160;is the ultimate introduction to this extraordinary city for travelers and armchair explorers alike.
Review
and#8220;With intelligence and wit,
Beijing is the perfect traveling companion for visitors old and new. At last, a book to carry on all of your wandering through this incomparable city.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Linda Javin writes with feeling, wit, and great insight on the history of Beijing, bringing to life the great cityand#8217;s many splendors.and#8221;and#160;
Review
and#8220;Cityscopes new guides take a different tack, weighted towards in-depth social and urban history. Its Beijing and Buenos Aires guides will fully arm visitors with context as well as must-sees.and#8221;and#160;
Synopsis
Beijing is an intimate and informed portrait of a city at the centre of one of the worldand#8217;s oldest civilizations and the capital of one of its newest superpowers. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans and their ancestorsand#151;Peking Man among themand#151;have lived here. For three and a half thousand eventful years, cities have risen and fallen in this place, five of them the capitals of dynastic empires. Among these legendary incarnations is the Cambaluc about which Marco Polo wrote in awe. For centuries, the stage for sieges, massacres, rebellions, and political spectacle, Beijing has produced some of Chinaand#8217;s greatest and most iconic works of literature, theatre, and music.
At the bookand#8217;s heart is a concise, lively history of the city, full of big and charismatic personalities and dramatic events. Thought-provoking essays on present-day topics ranging from the elemental problems of water and air to the vibrant art scene and the architectural adventurism of the cityand#8217;s and#147;hyperbuildingsand#8221; take the reader to the shores of the cityand#8217;s lakes, down into its subway system and into the bustling art districts. Generously illustrated and containing a number of useful listings, Beijing is the ultimate introduction to this extraordinary city for travelers and general readers alike.
Linda Jaivin has been a regular visitor and occasional resident of Beijing since 1980. Fluent in Chinese, she brings to Beijing not only her love of the city but a background in Chinese history, a keen eye, and the assured pen of a widely published essayist and novelist.
About the Author
Linda Jaivin is a novelist, essayist, translator, and playwright. Her books include
The Monkey and the Dragon and
A Most Immoral Woman.
Table of Contents
Prologue
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History
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1. Wild Years
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2. Khanbalik
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3. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
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4. The Qing Dynastyand#160; (1644-1911)
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5. The Republic, Japanese Occupation and Civil War (1912-1949)
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6. Revolution (1949-1976)
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7. Reform: The First Decades (1976-2007)
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8. Ringing in the New
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The City Today
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In the Shadow of the Drum Tower
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The Dragonand#8217;s Vein
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and#145;Chinese Townand#8217;
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The Circle Line
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The Thirsty City
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On the Art Trail
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The Nest, the Cube, the Underpants and the Egg
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A Taste of the City
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The Princeand#8217;s Garden
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Listings
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Chronology
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References
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Suggested Reading and Viewing
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Acknowledgements
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Photo Acknowledgements
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Index