Chinese calligraphy is a unique visual art form that can be appreciated regardless of having previous knowledge of Chinese characters. While modern Chinese calligraphy consists of five styles, this book focuses on the semi-cursive script, a practical style that emphasizes the transition and structure between strokes. The Beginner's Guide to Chinese Calligraphy Semi-cursive Script teaches how to write the practical and artistic semi-cursive script. Based on the style of Zhao Mengfu, a master of semi-cursive script, you will learn the distinct features of the script and what exemplifies the semi-cursive style. This guide, with step by step illustrations, reduces the difficulty for beginners to learn Chinese calligraphy and is truly a must for Chinese calligraphy amateurs.

The outstanding textiles represented in this book were displayed at the Visvakarma series of exhibitions and have a wide-ranging vocabulary of design, technical skill and aesthetic brilliance. Written and edited by renowned names in textile design, this book is, indeed, a treasure for both the textile aficionado and designer.

Village of Painters profiles the West Bengali village of Naya, a small agricultural outpost that is home to a unique caste of itinerant scroll painters. The Patuas of West Bengal are a traditional artisan caste specializing in the production of painted narrative scrolls and the performance of songs to accompany their unrolling. These artisans have been plying their trade in this region of India at least since the thirteenth century and possibly earlier. Village of Painters features a wide range of contemporary scrolls and examines how their makers are keeping the art vibrantly alive in the rapidly changing cultural landscape of West Bengal.

Like most of China's amazing archaeological discoveries, the terracotta army was found by accident. It came to light in 1974 when local farmers were drilling a well. Since then, remarkable discoveries at the First Emperor's burial site have ben ongoing, revealing the wealth of China's ancient past. With contributions from leading scholars, China's Terracotta Warriors presents a panoramic view of Qin artistic, military, and administrative achievements under the powerful ruler sho proclaimed himself First Emperor of China. In addition to findings from his tomb complex, it examines the period of Chinese history preceding the First Emperor's reign (246-210 BCE) and his establishment of the Qin empire and dynasty in 221 BCE. The Qin state had been in existence for over half a millennium before the First Emperor came to the throne, and its rulers had played their parts in the evolution of a small state into a superpower. Only in recent years has that history been revealed through a series of remarkable and often accidental discoveries of tombs and burials of early Qin royals and aristocracy. In the absence of substantive and reliable written sources, it is this archaeological evidence which provides clues to Qin's rise from state to empire. China's Terracotta Warriors is published to accompany exhibitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Liu Yang is curator of Chinese art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The other contributors are Edmund Capon, Albert Dien, Liu Yunhui, Jeffery Riegle, Eugene Wang, Jay Xu, and Yuan Zhongyi.

British connoisseur describes in detail the subject of famous Japanese color prints using 274 reproductions of works by Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro, Shunyei, and other masters. Bibliography. Index.