Swallowing clouds /
by Zee, A.
Published by : Simon and Schuster, (New York :) Physical details: 378 p. : ill., map ; 25 cm. ISBN:0671646656 :. ISSN:978067164 Year: 1990| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Notes | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900 - 999 | 951 Zee (Browse shelf) | Available | In Memory of : Dirk Brink | 68181 |
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| 951 Hug The invasion of China by the Western world | 951 Lat Chinese: Their history and culture | 951 Li The ageless Chinese, a history | 951 Zee Swallowing clouds / | 951.02092 Lev When China ruled the seas: | 951.025 Mon The Mongol conquest | 951.026 Cha The glory and fall of the Ming dynasty / |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 359-364).
Beijing men built a fire --
Slicing through water --
Interlude 1: phonetics, or why some characters look horribly complicated --
Sleep of the truly inebriated --
Swallowing clouds --
Chinese pigs stand --
Interlude 2: the appalling ignorance of some scribes --
A delicacy for aging men --
No contest between fish and a bear with eight legs --
Courtesans do not eat crabs --
Interlude 3: to all you carnivores --
The sweet fragrance of crops ripening --
How to avoid being vulgar --
The pockmarked woman and the pearly empress --
Interlude 4: words are like our children --
Buddha jumping over walls --
Act without acting, taste without tasting --
Interlude 5: like eating potato chips --
The sublime faith in illusions --
Pieces of her heart --
Elixirs and the food of health --
From banquets to voyages of discovery --
Epilogue: all banquets must come to an end.
Physics professor Zee writes about how to understand the menus in Chinese restaurants, explaining the characters, what they mean, and the colorful stories behind the names of various dishes. Anne Tyler (in the Washington Post) called Swallowing Clouds "a study of the very nature of Chinese culture. Zee has a quirky, personal style that draws the reader in."
68181