The Trail of Time
The Trail of Time
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This book is a scholarly study of a virtually unknown aspect of the history of horology (timekeeping), compiled from Chinese and Japanese historical and literary records, some of which are translated and published here for the first time. Incense timekeepers played an important role in early Chinese social and technological history, in addition to their use for time measurement. They were used in temples for religious rites, in agricultural regions for regulating water for irrigation, in palaces and government offices, and in the studies of scholars.
A fascinating compendium of knowledge about a neglected aspect of Oriental culture, this book will appeal not only to historians of China and Japan, but to the growing number of collectors and museum curators who are interested in incense clocks. It is illustrated with black and white halftones of a large number of the clocks, which are renowned for their beauty of design and quality of workmanship. The book also includes a catalogue of incense clocks which have appeared in auction houses and museums.
- Studies a virtually unknown aspect of horology (timekeeping)
- Draws on some previously unpublished Chinese and Japanese records
- Includes a catalogue of incense clocks which have appeared in sales rooms and museums
Reviews & endorsements
"...recommended to anyone with an interest in East Asian combustion horology. It is, in fact, the only full-length monograph devoted to the subject in a Western language....The wealth of illustrations at the back of the book are particularly valuable since they include photographs of items in the author's own collection that would otherwise be inaccessible to the student of such instruments. This book will probably remain the standard reference for collectors of antiques and researchers on this subject for some time to come." China Review International
Product details
- Published: November 2005
- Format: Paperback
- ISBN: 9780521021630
- Length: 368 pages
- Dimensions: 247 × 189 × 19 mm
- Weight: 0.667kg
- Contains: 143 b/w illus.
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Conventions
- Part I. Time Measurement and Incense in East Asia:
- 1. Early East Asian time measurement
- 2. Incense and the populace
- 3. Incense in religious rites
- 4. Incense for time measurement
- Part II. The Incense Seal in China:
- 5. The incense seal of Avalokitésvara
- 6. In Chinese Buddhist rites
- 7. In Chinese civil life
- 8. In Chinese social life
- 9. In Chinese and foreign writings
- Part III. The Incense Seal in Japan:
- 10. Japanese kobandokei
- 11. In Japanese Buddhist rites
- 12. In Japanese civil life
- 13. The fire in the smoke
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Illustrations
- Index.
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