Clunas (Chinese and East Asian Art, SOAS, London) finds that along with the exquisite material culture of the Ming period came a golden age of drama and literature that took full advantage of
the thriving printing industry. China of the Ming dynasty appeared to have it all, including intelligence and good looks, but it tended to be shallow and modish, was ruled by an unworthy elite,
and had begun to discern the contempt with which it was beheld by the West. Clunas examines the underside of this complex culture, including differences in interpretation of human agency,
differing cultures for direction and movement, cultures of text and orality, intellectual life, pleasure and play, excess, the underlying culture of violence, aging and death, and the influence
of the remnant culture of the Ming. Annotation 穢2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
