The Forbidden City (Images of Asia) [Hardcover]

May Holdsworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 1999 | Series: Images of Asia

The principal residence of China's emperors for nearly five centuries, Beijing's Forbidden City was long shrouded in mystery, inaccessible both to common Chinese and to visitors from abroad. Exploring the palace's grand rituals and detailing the quotidian processes of its everyday life, this beautifully illustrated introduction goes beyond standard tourists' guidebooks to provide a detailed picture of the private world hidden behind imperial walls.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Few can fail to wonder about what it was like to live and work in the palace in the days when all political power was concentrated there. This handsome volume...will provide fresh insights for the visitor or anyone curious about such matters. Its stunning photographs and illustrations suggest the coffee table, but the text is not just for skimming. Short but informative essays deal among other things with the history and layout of the palace; the role of the emperor and the ceremonial and symbolism associated with his office; the Jesuit fathers who infiltrated the system, valued for their scientific and artistic skills but not for their faith; and the private lives of the emperors, their consorts and concubines, and the hundreds of eunuchs and serving maids who kept the system running. -- Asian Affairs, Sir Robin McLaren, former British ambassador to China --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Caroline Courtauld is Chairman of the Keswick Foundation and a documentary film producer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 88 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019590608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195906080
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,726,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Coffee-table Book  but no more, October 5, 1999

By 

C. R. Bates (Beijing China) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forbidden City: The Great Within (Hardcover)

If you want a coffee table book, then buy it. The photographs by Hu Chui are stunning, and the reproductions of Chinese scrolls and paintings are excellent.

However, the information about the Forbidden City is at the breakfast mush level - easy to digest but of little value. The information is superficial, and often inaccurate. Knowledgeable students of the Forbidden City will groan, and wince. It perpetuates blunders such as referring to the East Glory Gate as the East 'Flowery Gate,' and the Chinese advisor on eunuchs knows little about the subject. The book talks about emperors as if they all had the same personality and all did the same things.

Enjoy the pictures, but take the text with milk and sugar.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Pictures!, June 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Forbidden City (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of Chinese history or art, this is the book for you. I enjoyed this book because of the magnificent pictures, and ancient Chinese paintings depicted in it. Not only are the pictures interesting, but so is the text. It tells of......I guess you'll have to see for yourself! Great buy, all though I was afraid at first that I payed too much, after I recieved it those fears were put to rest.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Pictures But Could do more work on the Information, September 6, 2000

By 

Jun Lee (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forbidden City: The Great Within (Hardcover)

I had hoped to be reading about the Forbidden City-its origins, its designers, its layout, the function of the buildings and structures, the treasures it contained,the catastrophes it survived and so forth.

I was disappointed to find that only the first chapter was of some relevance to the Forbidden City. The rest of the chapters were devoted to the famous "inhabitants", the officers ranking system, concubines, eunuchs, the foreign priests and so forth.

The books saving grace is the breath-taking photography. But then some of the pictures I felt were rather irrelevant to the Forbidden City ie Yong Zheng's concubines, Kang Xi's various potraits.

In conclusion, this is a good book for browsing through the pictures, but not for the serious historian.