This issue of A+BE addresses two critical urban issues China faces today: housing and urban renewal. In the recent two decades, the Chinese urban housing stock underwent a significant, if not extreme, transformation. From 1949 to 1998, the urban housing stock in China largely depended on the public sector, and a large amount of public housing areas were developed under the socialistic public housing system in Beijing and other Chinese cities. Yet in 1998, a radical housing reform stopped t...

"The best things in an artist's work are so much a matter of intuition, that there is much to be said for the point of view that would altogether discourage intellectual inquiry into artistic phenomena on the part of the artist." Thus writes Harold Speed in the very first line of his introduction to the book in which deconstructs the process of drawing by subjecting it to lucid intellectual inquiry. Published in 1913, "The Practice and Science of Drawing" balances its practical advice with...

Utopia is a frame narrative depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs, a work of fiction and political philosophy. Concerning the Highest State of the Republic and the New Island Utopia.

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (Modern Spanish: El ingenioso hidalgo (in Part 2, caballero) don Quijote de la Mancha, or just Don Quixote , is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. Considered a founding work of Western literature, it is often labeled "the first modern European novel and many authors consider it to be the one of the greatest novels ever written. Don Quixote also holds the distinction of being th...

Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert's acquittal on 7 Febr...

This book contains the complete Edgar Allan Poe’s tales and poems —over 135 works— in the chronological order of their original publication. Some of the most notable are: Tales: • "The Fall of the House of Usher" • "The Masque of the Red Death" • "The Pit and the Pendulum" • "The Premature Burial" • "The Purloined Letter" • "The Tell-Tale Heart" Poems: • "Annabel Lee" • "The Bells" • "The City in the Sea" • "A Dream Within a Dream" • "To Helen" • "Lenore" • "The Raven" • "Ulalume" Other Wo...

Beautifully Designed Literary Classic Rich in Drama, Romance and Heroics“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” is how Dickens' most famous work of historical fiction opens. One of the best-selling novels of all time, it has sold an estimated 200 million copies. Adapted for film, television, radio, and the stage, the novel has had an influence on popular culture since it was written.The story is set in London and Paris before and during the v...

Moby Dick is a novel by American writer Herman Melville. The work is an epic sea story of Captain Ahab's voyage in pursuit of Moby Dick, a great white whale. A contemporary commercial failure and out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891, its reputation rose during the twentieth century. D.H. Lawrence called it "the greatest book of the sea ever written." Jorge Luis Borges praised the style: "Unforgettable phrases abound." Today it is considered one of the Great American Novel...

Because words can no more hold the truth than a net can hold water, we use koans. Koans are sayings, or doings, of Zen masters, the patriarchs and Buddha. Take for example the koan: The Sound of One Hand clapping. In its entirety it reads: "You know the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" The obvious, intellectual answer is, No sound at all! But then what is this No sound? In other words, is it just silence?If one is to work on this koan, indeed on ...

This book works well as a handbook for those, who already do Mysore-practice as well for those, who want to start to practice the Mysore-style. If you haven´t done Ashtanga-yoga before, we recommend you to start the practice with qualified yoga instructor. Build your practice slowly and practice on regular basis. Focus on bandhas, dristis and ujjayi breathing. Try to maintain mula- and uddiyana bandha active during the whole practice. Work economically in the poses ie. do not overwork (or ...

Hakuin Zenji is one of Japan's most celebrated Zen masters. Tradition tells us that he single-handedly revived Rinzai Zen in Japan. He was an artist, calligrapher and writer, as well as being a Zen master. He said that writing is verbal prajna and his writings are vigorous, courageous, and always to the point. The Chant in Praise of Zazen, Zazen Wasan, is justifiably one of his best-known works.