Author: BECKER, JASPER
Title: City of heavenly tranquility : Beijing in the history of China
Description: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press 2008. First Edition. An exceptional copy; fine in an equally fine dw. now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight. bright. clean and especially sharp-cornered. Literally as new.; 371 pages; Description: viii. 371p. 16 p. of plates : ill.maps ; 25 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-333) and index. Subjects: Beijing (China) --China --History. Beijing (China) --Description and travel. Summary: When the world descends on Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. it will find the results of a helter skelter rush for modernization and wealth. In the course of a thousand years. temples and shrines. palaces. and gardens had filled the walls of old Peking. Its narrow. twisting streets held the collective memories of five dynasties and turbulent events of the 20th century. It has now all been swept away to make way for a new city filled with dull. boxy high rises. rows of shopping malls. office towers blocks. and residential housing developments marching down uniform streets. The City of Heavenly Tranquility explores how and why the Chinese buried their history and destroyed one of the world's most fabled cities. virtually extinguishing the culture of one of the greatest and oldest civilizations within the span of a single lifetime. In a tour de force by a long time resident. British journalist Jasper Becker brings to life the strange and exotic lives of the emperors. eunuchs. courtesans. and warriors who for centuries ruled from behind the red walls of the Forbidden City. Becker mixes his own experiences with poignant stories from those who were destroyed in the tornado of destruction as they tried to rescue something from the past. Writing vividly and with passion. Becker shows how ruthless officials and a fiercely nationalistic government set itself the monumental mission to change the fabric of a nation - and succeeded. He also explains how those currently in power. Mao's former Red Guards. remain determined to modernize China by jettisoning the past and clearing space for the future. evicting over three million residents in Beijing alone. by Jasper Becker.Weight in Kg appr.:

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