This book is a general introduction to the system of Hebei province Xingyiquan. Li Tianji completed the book that his father had started, and Andrea Falk did the translation. Andrea practises the style that Li teaches, so shows a good understanding of the material. This is a great book for a general overview of the Xingyiquan system, containing the five elements, twelve animals, routines, and classic materials.
This book presents a collection of archaeological and anthropological writings by Li Chi, the founding father of modern archaeology in China. It is divided into two parts, the first of which traces back the rise of Chinese civilization, as well as the origins of the Chinese people; in turn, the second part reviews the rise of archaeology in China as a scientific subject that combines fieldwork methods from the West with traditional antiquarian studies. Readers who are interested in Chinese civilization will find fascinating information on the excavations of Yin Hsü (the ruins of the Yin Dynasty), including building foundations, bronzes, chariots, pottery, stone and jade, and thousands of oracle bones, which are vividly shown in historical pictures. These findings transformed the Yin Shang culture from legend into history and thus moved China’s history forward by hundreds of years, shocking the world. In turn, the articles on anthropology include Li Chi’s reflections on central problems in Chinese anthropology and are both enlightening and thought-provoking.
After almost 60 years, first as the father and later as dean of Chinese archaeology, Li Chi has left indelible contributions to the science of humankind and of history, and his thinking still dominates his discipline in China. Born in Hupei, he grew up at home and in Peking at a time when the the old country, forced by encounters with the West, was taking its initial steps on the long road to modernization. Li Chi studied in the USA and gained a Phd from Harvard University in 1923. In 1949 he founded the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Taiwan University in Taipei, the first university program in China to train professional archaeologists. In the early 1960's he was instrumental in the organization, under Academia Sinica, of a committee on the ancient history of China to launch the preparation of a multi-authored, interdisciplinary volume on ancient Chinese history, the first draft of such effort in Chinese historiography. By the time of his death the first drafts of this volume were beginning to appear.
This book presents an anthology of English-language archaeological and anthropological writings by Li Chi, the founding father of modern archaeology in China. It is divided into 15 chapters; in the first two, Dr. Li sets the stage by introducing the principal characters involved in the first “act” of this modern archaeological drama; in the third and fourth chapters, he describes the status of Chinese archaeology during the early years of the twentieth century and highlights the contributions of prominent foreigners. Starting with the fifth chapter, Dr. Li begins detailing the excavations and describes the principle finds of the Anyang expedition. In turn, the book’s closing chapters present a summary of the findings and descriptions of some of the major publications that this monumental project has yielded. For readers who are interested in Chinese civilization, what will appeal to them most are the details of the excavations of Yin Hsü (the ruins of the Yin Dynasty), including building foundations, bronzes, chariots, pottery, stone and jade, and thousands of oracle bones, which are vividly shown in historical pictures. These findings transformed the Yin Shang culture from legend into history and thus moved China’s history forward by hundreds of years, shocking the world. The anthology also includes Li Chi’s reflections on central problems in Chinese anthropology, which are both enlightening and thought-provoking.
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