Monday, February 16, 2015

Humour in Chinese Life and Culture: Resistance and Control in Modern Times

Edited by Jessica Milner Davis and Jocelyn Chey 
online access from JSTOR
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This book investigates the use of humor in the public sphere and in personal life in China. The contributors cover modern and contemporary forms--comic films and novels, cartooning, pop-songs, internet jokes, and humor in advertising and education. The second of two multidisciplinary volumes designed for the general reader as well as academic audiences, the book explores the relationship between political control and popular expression of humor, including the mutual exchange of comic stereotypes between China and Japan, and draws out important methodological implications for psychological and cross-cultural studies of humor.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

筆記《清明上河圖》

趙廣超 著
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也許沒有一幅作品比《清明上河圖》更能直觀詳盡地展示北宋都城汴梁風光了。圖中景物繁複,自城郊一直延伸到商業中心地帶,人物也是形形色色,三教九流一應俱全。“若非經過長時間的觀察、記錄和整理,畫家決計不可能將房屋、舟車、橋梁以及各式人物交代得這樣清晰。”在攝影術尚未誕生的、圖像相對蒼白的年代,這幅作品更是彌足珍貴,堪稱“一部宋代民生的百科全書”。並且,除去繪畫作品獨特的“寫實又寫意”的生動性,它的創作比攝影富有更深的人文內涵。

《筆記<清明上河圖>》是一本深入細緻地介紹與分析《清明上河圖》的圖文書,書中所列舉的、圖中所繪的詳細的種類與數目,讓人不得不信作者對《清明上河圖》有著常人難及的熟悉與情感。它如同一本資料齊備、製作精良的文化導遊冊,引領我們一起穿街過巷,走進畫家身處的年月與世界。

圖說以北宋時期整個汴梁的地圖開篇,從地偏人稀的阡陌城郊到逐漸熱鬧的汴河沿岸,再到人潮擁擠的虹橋,最後延展到繁華的市井商區,仿佛真的置身於汴河一帶。其間還穿插了關於藝術、歷史、經濟、建築、文學的具體獨到的解說,如散點透視與焦點透視的差異及其帶給畫面的不同、畫面弧線構圖的結構及其寬闊感、雲集的腳店與分店蘊含的無限商機、往來船舶的貿易運輸、關於城牆年代與考証的探討、宋代各種家具的集合介紹、大戶人家的日常景狀以及生活習性等等。

作者對畫中無論是密可穿針或是疏可走馬的描繪,都給予十分的關注,其文字如天馬行空、旁征博引,豐盈了《清明上河圖》所呈現的歷史輪廓,其圖文並茂的結合,勾勒出北宋時期綜合立體的時代面貌。

也許是因為作者趙廣超的藝術設計師的身份,書籍的裝幀十分精緻。古色古香的淡褐色澤配上簡潔含蓄的封面,給人清新脫俗的視覺感受。書由上下兩冊合成,上部分是以文字為主,以圖案補足,白描或彩畫穿插其中,錯落有致,渾然一體,它也許可以理解為對《清明上河圖》的解構———將整體拆成細微的片斷,配以局部插圖,一一剖析;下部分則是以《清明上河圖》全卷為主干,以文字行注,相得益彰,它保留了圖畫的原生態,讓讀者不至於望梅止渴,這也許是作者執著的追求。正如作者所說,卷軸畫變成書一般的冊頁后,也就無甚趣味了。

既可以在書中欣賞到《清明上河圖》的長卷全貌,也能隨著作者的足跡,在字裡行間與其一起感受沿岸風光與時代滄桑,在這“當年汴京的一天”的長街裡徜徉。無論從形式上或內容上看,此書的上下兩冊都可謂涇渭分明又琴瑟合鳴。

(摘錄自book.douban.com)


Monday, February 9, 2015

The Four Loves

C.S. Lewis
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"We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves."

We hear often that love is patient and kind, not envious or prideful. We hear that human love is a reflection of divine love. We hear that God is love. But how do we understand its work in our lives, its perils and rewards? Here, the incomparable C. S. Lewis examines human love in four forms: affection, the most basic, general, and emotive; friendship, the most rare, least jealous, and, in being freely chosen, perhaps the most profound; Eros, passionate love that can run counter to happiness and poses real danger; charity, the greatest, most spiritual, and least selfish. Proper love is a risk, but to bar oneself from it--to deny love--is a damning choice. Love is a need and a gift; love brings joy and laughter. We must seek to be awakened and so to find an Appreciative love through which "all things are possible."

"The Four Loves deserves to become a minor classic as a modern mirror of our souls, a mirror of the virtues and failings of human loving." —New York Times Book Review

"Lewis has a keen eye, a large measure of human sympathy, wit, and a command of simple words." —Times Literary Supplement 

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

霍亂時期的愛情 (Love in the Time of Cholera)

加.馬爾克斯 (Gabriel García Márquez)
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
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講述了一段跨越半個多世紀的愛情史詩,窮盡了所有愛情的可能性︰忠貞的、隱秘的、粗暴的、羞怯的、柏拉圖式的、放蕩的、轉瞬即逝的、生死相依的……再現了時光的無情流逝,被譽為“ 人類有史以來最偉大的愛情小說”,是20世紀最重要的經典文學巨著之一。 馬爾克斯曾說︰“這一部是我最好的作品,是我發自內心的創作。”

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, February 2, 2015

149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe: (So You Can Ignore the Others)

Julian Porter 
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
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Visit some of Europe’s greatest museums and galleries in the company of a knowledgeable tour guide.

"Who can resist an art critic with attitude?"
– Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice, Ian Binnie

"It was wonderful! Julian shared his enormous knowledge of the world’s best art with a panache that is irresistible."
– Justice Stephen Goudge, Ontario Court of Appeal

This essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the world’s greatest paintings from Giotto through to Picasso. Julian Porter’s passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. Since then, he has conducted countless tours of Europe’s famous galleries – The Louvre, The Prado, The Hermitage, The Rijksmuseum, the Sistine Chapel, and many others.

In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

世界名畫家全集達文西

吳澤義,吳龍
online access from iRead eBook
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文藝復興極盛時期藝術的確立者——達文西,不只是畫家中最傑出的天才,也是雕刻家、詩人、音樂家、建築師,亦具有機械技師、數學家、科學家的身分,可說是文藝復興時期有著最完全表現的全能型畫家。

達文西的感觸極為敏銳,往往能夠凝住事物即將飛逝的表情;不只是找到事物表象的迷人美感,同時又不會喪失物理學者與解剖學者的觀點,能成功地融合科學家的理性與藝術家的感性兩種相互矛盾的特質,成就出一幅幅構圖精確卻又情感自然流露的傑作。

本書收錄達文西畢生精彩畫作如〈東方三博士的禮拜〉、〈最後的晚餐〉、〈蒙娜麗莎〉等等,刊登多幅素描手稿,給讀者更全面的角度來認識這位文藝復興時期一代繪畫巨匠。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)