Learn about Korean culture while improving your language skills!Korean Folktales for Language Learners presents 36 traditional folktales in parallel Korean and English versions on facing pages, with detailed notes and exercises aimed at beginning to intermediate language learners. Free online recordings of all the Korean stories are available to help students improve their pronunciation and comprehension skills.The stories—which gradually i...

Anyone who knows anything of Korean music probably knows something of Hwang Byungki. As a composer, performer, scholar, and administrator, Hwang has had an exceptional influence on the world of Korean traditional music for over half a century. During that time, Western-style music (both classical and popular) has become the main form of musical expression for most Koreans, while traditional music has taken on a special role as a powerful emblem of national identity. Through analysis of Hwa...

Learn about Korean culture through traditional folktales!Korean Folktales for Language Learners presents 36 traditional folktales drawn from Korea's rich storytelling tradition.The stories—which gradually increase in complexity as the book progresses—include:The Tiger with the Frozen Tail: A wily rabbit persuades a hungry tiger to break a hole in the ice of a frozen river to catch fish with his tail. ...

The publication in 1934 of Yang Chengfu's book, Essence and Applications of Taijiquan (Taijiquan Tiyong Quanshu) marked a milestone in the modern evolution of the art of taijiquan. Using what is best-termed demonstration narrative, the author presents form postures and suggested applications from his own perspective, as he performed them. This methodology renders Yang Chengfu's direct, hands-on teaching of the art with such immediacy and liveliness that the reader experiences the master’s ...

Winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Creative Communication 2015There is a treasure trove of underappreciated music out there; this book will convince many to explore it. The EconomistWhatis classical music? This book answers the question in a manner never before attempted, by presenting the history of fifteen parallel traditions, of which Western classical music is just one. Each music is analysed in terms of itsmodes, scales, and theory; its instrument...

The concept of yinyang lies at the heart of Chinese thought and culture. The relationship between these two opposing, yet mutually dependent, forces is symbolized in the familiar black and white symbol that has become an icon in popular culture across the world. The real significance of yinyang is, however, more complex and subtle. This brilliant and comprehensive analysis by one of the leading authorities in the field captures the richness and multiplicity of the meanings and applications...

In this "guided" anthology, experts lead students through the major genres and eras of Chinese poetry from antiquity to the modern time. The volume is divided into 6 chronological sections and features more than 140 examples of the best shi, sao, fu, ci, and qu poems. A comprehensive introduction and extensive thematic table of contents highlight the thematic, formal, and prosodic features of Chinese poetry, and each chapter is written by a scholar who specializes in a particular period or...

Composer John Cage is often described as the most influential musician of the last half-century. He has defined - and continues to define - our whole concept of "avant-garde", not just in music but increasingly as writer and visual artist. "The Roaring Silence" is the first full-length biography of Cage. It documents his life in unrivalled detail, interweaving a close account of the evolution of his work with an exploration of his aesthetic, political and philosophical ideas. David Revil m...

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao exhorted the Chinese people to “smash the four olds”: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. Yet when the Red Guards in Tiananmen Square chanted “We want to see Chairman Mao,” they unknowingly used a classical rhythm that dates back to the Han period and is the very embodiment of the four olds. An Anatomy of Chinese reveals how rhythms, conceptual metaphors, and political language convey time-honored meanings of which Chinese speak...

An investigation of the fictional representations of the city in contemporary British and American television drama, assessing their political, sociological and cultural implications. The book draws on the following five key case studies for specific and detailed analysis:* Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City* Homicide & Life on the Street* Queer as Folk* The Cops* Holding OnEach is discussed in terms of structure, content, characterisation and ...

American writer, composer, artist, and philosopher John Cage (1912–92) is best known for his experimental composition 4’33,” a musical score in which the performer does not play an instrument during the duration of the piece. The purpose, Cage said, was for the audience to listen to the sounds of the environment around them while the piece was performed. Groundbreaking pieces such as 4’33”, as well as Sonatas and Interludes not only established Cage as a leading ...

This unusual and interesting book is a fascinating account of the world of Chinese writing. It examines Chinese space and the political and social use of writing as propaganda, a publicity booster and as a ladder for social climbing.