China: Empire of Living Symbols

About this book

The origins of Chinese ideographs were not known until 1899 when a scholar went to an apothecary for some medicine made of dragon bone. To his surprise the bone which had not yet been ground into powder contained a number of carved inscriptions. Thus began the exploration of the 3000-year-old sources of the written characters still used in China today. In this unparalleled and deeply researched book Cecilia Lindqvist tells the story of these characters and shows how their shapes and concepts have permeated all of Chinese thought architecture art and culture.