Penguin Companion to China

The vastness of China and the uniqueness of its social and cultural history mean that this book provides an historical and cultural survey as background as well as the enduring features of Chinese tradition and culture so that the visitor is able to understand and interpret what he sees and what is told about China's "historical relics" as their monuments, sites, art and artifacts are now called. The examination of these key features, including historical geography, habitation, death and burial, work, government insitutions and administration, cultural ideas and the pursuit of leisure, is followed by a gazetteer covering all the major centres plus all the important historical and archaeological sites which the Western visitor is able to see.