Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture (Encyclopedias of Contemporary Culture)

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Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture (edited by Edward L. Davis) is a book containing
plenty of historical information, but more importantly, it gives the reader a view to modern China. Besides having a plethora of information on culture, the book also has insight on a few major cities, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Each topic in this encyclopedia is covered briefly, giving the reader a general view of the subject. Some topics were explained more in depth, while the encyclopedia covered others more briefly. However, if a reader feels that some topic was covered too briefly and wishes to know more, the book suggests sources for more reading material. This link to outside sources supports the reader in gaining more insight on the subject at hand.

Illustrations could have been informative in some cases, for example, when describing a certain art style. Therefore, the lack of illustrations makes the encyclopedia a bit less appealing; which might cause some people hesitation to start reading it. The layout of the text was rather informal for an encyclopedia which may oppose to the readers liking and expectations.

Overall the book is a well written, informative package with a refreshing variety of topics. I would recommend this to people who are interested in China and wish to gain a better understanding of their culture and way of life. Without a doubt there is something interesting for everyone, and the variety is truly impressive.

The revised edition shown on this page (released in 2008, copyright date 2009) appears to have been substantially revised, perhaps for the better, from the 1st edition, which is the only version available for on view on Amazon as of the date of this review. However, I've examined a copy of the 2009 edition, and some of its "features" include:

@ use throughout of a pseudo-pinyin transliteration without tone markings
@ no Chinese characters anywhere (whether in the encyclopedia entries, in a separate index, etc.), including no Chinese characters for any names
@ no illustrations.

The first "feature" means you're not given adequate guidance as to correct pronunciation -- expect puzzled looks if you try to discuss what you've read with Chinese friends. The second means you're not given any guidance as to how to find references in Chinese-language material, or how to distinguish the name from homonyms -- of which there are lots in Chinese, even assuming you already know the correct pronunciation. Together, these reduce the book's usefulness to anyone with a scholarly or practical interest in China, unless you already know precisely whom and what the article you're reading is about. The lack of illustrations diminishes the book's interest to the casual reader.