Golden Peaches of Samarkand
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€43.99
600 ad
7th century
A01=Edward Hetzel Schafer
ancient chinese history
ancient history
archaeology
asia trade route
asian history
Author_Edward Hetzel Schafer
Category=KN
china
chinese court
chinese lore
commercial imports
dancing girls
diamonds
drugs
eq_bestseller
eq_business-finance-law
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
exotic ware
famous fruit
formal gifts
historical biography
humanistic essay
imported exotics
influence on chinese life
ivory
medieval trade
rare wood
silk road
social history
tang dynasty
Product details
- ISBN 9780520054622
- Weight: 771g
- Dimensions: 175 x 248mm
- Publication Date: 06 Sep 1985
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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In the seventh century the kingdom of Samarkand sent formal gifts of fancy yellow peaches, large as goose eggs and with a color like gold, to the Chinese court at Ch'ang-an. What kind of fruit these golden peaches really were cannot now be guessed, but they have the glamour of mystery, and they symbolize all the exotic things longed for, and unknown things hoped for, by the people of the T'ang empire. This book examines the exotics imported into China during the T'ang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907), and depicts their influence on Chinese life. Into the land during the three centuries of T'ang came the natives of almost every nation of Asia, all bringing exotic wares either as gifts or as goods to be sold.Ivory, rare woods, drugs, diamonds, magicians, dancing girls - the author covers all classes of unusual imports, their places of origin, their lore, their effort on costume, dwellings, diet, and on painting, sculpture, music, and poetry. This book is not a statistical record of commercial imports and medieval trade, but rather a "humanistic essay, however material its subject matter."
