Editors:
Comprises a set of academic discussions on Chinese coin-like charms and amulets
Covers wide-ranging topics in chapters edited and contributed by the most authoritative scholars on coin-like charms around the world
Includes state-of-the-art description and analysis of Chinese coin-like charms
Provides comprehensive perspectives on Chinese coin-like charms by world-leading scholars
Includes numerous colour photographs from the world’s foremost collections illustrating the beauty of coin-like charms as objects of fine art
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (13 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This book offers an in-depth description and analysis of Chinese coin-like charms, which date back to the second century CE and which continued to be used until mid 20th century. This work is unique in that it provides an archaeological and analytical interpretation of the content of these metallic objects: inscriptive, pictorial or both. As the component chapters show, these coin-like objects represent a wealth of Chinese traditional folk beliefs, including but not limited to family values, social obligations and religious desires. The book presents a collection of contributed chapters, gathering a diverse range of perspectives and expertise from some of the world’s leading scholars in the fields of archaeology, religious studies, art history, language and museology.
The background of the cover image is a page from Guang jin shi yun fu 廣金石韻府, a rhyming dictionary first published in the ninth year of the Kangxi Reign (1652 CE). The metal charm dates back to the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), depicting two deities traditionally believed to possess the majic power of suppressing evil spirits. The stich-bound book in the foreground is a collection of seal impressions from the beginning of the 20th century. Its wooden press board is inscribed da ji xiang 大吉祥 by Fang Zhi-bin 方質彬 in the year of bing yin (1926 CE).
Editors and Affiliations
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Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Alex Chengyu Fang
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Département des Monnaies et Médailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
François Thierry
About the editors
François Thierry was born in 1950 in Paris and, after secondary school in humanities, studied history and arts in university. He focused his research on the political history of the Late Ottoman Empire. Then he travelled extensively in the Middle East, Caucasus and Soviet Central Asia in the late 1960s and in the 1970s. After he passed the Agrégation in 1977, he became a teacher in Arts. At that time, he started to study Chinese language and history in Paris-7 University. In 1984, he was recruited by the Paris Mint Museum as research fellow for publishing the Far Eastern Coins collection and the famous Treasure of the Emperors of Vietnam kept in that institution. In 1986, he entered the Coins Department of the French National Library as research fellow for the publication of a catalogue of Vietnamese coins. In 1989 he was appointed as Curator of Oriental coins. Since mid 1980s, he started to establish close ties with Chinese colleagues and especially with the China Numismatic Society. François Thierry published many catalogues, studies and papers on Chinese, Vietnamese and pre-Islamic Turkish coins and currency. Past Chief Curator in the Coins Department of the French National Library, he is member of French Numismatic Society, the Royal Numismatic Society and the Hong Kong Numismatic Society. In 2006, he was awarded Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society for his scientific research.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Language and Iconography of Chinese Charms
Book Subtitle: Deciphering a Past Belief System
Editors: Alex Chengyu Fang, François Thierry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1793-3
Publisher: Springer Singapore
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-10-1791-9Published: 16 December 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-10-9448-4Published: 05 July 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-981-10-1793-3Published: 09 December 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 302
Number of Illustrations: 26 b/w illustrations, 266 illustrations in colour
Topics: Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, History of China