Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment: A Journey Exploring an Ancient Chinese Art and Its History, Cultural Background, and Aesthetics
Penjing is the Chinese art of creating miniature landscapes in containers. In this fascinating and beautiful book, internationally acclaimed penjing artist Zhao first looks at the historical and cultural background of the art and discusses its development during various Chinese dynasties. The three types of penjing?tree, landscape, and water and land?are illustrated in three individual chapters; concluding chapters cover artistic renderings and display. Excellent examples of the art are given in a 24-page gallery of the author's work, with an additional 244 color photographs, 18 line drawings, a guide to Chinese pronunciation, and a chronology of Chinese dynasties rounding out the book. The lack of information on penjing makes this work a valuable addition to public and academic libraries.?Phillip Oliver, Univ. of North Alabama Lib., FlorenceCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.