Rare books from Orchid Press

Hanoi: Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, 1969. The official journal of archaeological research for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a complete 30 year run from the inception of this (mostly) quarterly journal in June, 1969 through to end 1998. The set includes 1,272 articles in Vietnamese, 664 of which are followed by brief abstracts in English, and 38 additionally in French. Over 500 of the articles are illustrated in b&w and, occasionally in later issues, in colour, and an additional 200 articles contain graphical information in the form of maps, charts, graphs and/or Sino-Vietnamese characters. This journal thus contains the complete published record of official archaeological activities in one of the last frontiers of archaeology in Asia. Until 1975, the journal, of necessity, covered only activities in the northern half of the country, but shortly following unification, activities are recorded throughout the territory of Vietnam as known today. Ancient Vietnam was home to some of the… Read More

Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1968. With introduction by CP FitzGerald. A collection of the published words of second President of the PRC, Liu Shao-ch'i. Liu was a tragic figure in mid 20th century Communist China, a long time associate of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, who incurred the wrath of the mercurial Chairman by having the courage to speak out against Mao's policies in the Great Leap Forward, a disastrous program that resulted in the death by starvation of millions of Chinese peasants. Mao never forgave Liu's brave opposing stance and purged him in the opening months of the Cultural Revolution some eight years later, about the time of publication of this booklet. On Mao's direct command, Liu was brutally tortured for months and eventually died as a result; Mao had his body anonymously cremated and his death remained a secret until Mao himself succumbed in 1976. In the quotes captured in this book, Liu's essential humanity and intellectual honesty are evident (in marked contrast to Mao),… Read More

Bangkok: SDI, 1999. A new edition of Tucci's seminal work on Tibetan Buddhist painting, first published in 1949, original copies of which have long been unobtainable. Based on his prodigious linguistic skills and pioneering field research throughout the Himalayan kingdoms, Tucci virtually rewrote the history of Tibetan Buddhist painting with the original post-war edition of this book and created a foundation upon which all later historical studies, particularly on western Tibet and Nepal, now stand. Tucci commences the study (text vol. I) with surveys on the literature, lineages and traditions of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and supplements this with descriptions of a number of major Tibetan monastic complexes which no longer survive, as a result of the ravages of Mao's Cultural Revolution. He then explores the thangka painting tradition in detail, covering such topics as origins, evolution, symbolism, iconometry, consecration ceremonies, as well as artistic influences from neighbouring Nepal… Read More

London: Kelly & Walsh, 1912. Second, revised and enlarged edition of Giles' monumental work, the most complete Chinese-English dictionary ever published. This massive early work still retains rich value as a reference for both student and researcher to the present day--while virtually all currently available Chinese English dictionaries consist of less than 9,000 characters, Giles' work includes some 13,848 distinct characters. Again in marked conrast to current works, all characters are reproduced in a large, easily viewed scale. Pronunciation is provided in Romanized Beijing (Mandarin), Cantonese, Hakka, Fuzhou, Wenzhou, Ningpo (of which Shanghainese is a relative), Yangzhou, Sichuan and 'mid-China' dialects, as well as in Korean, Japanese and Annamese (Vietnamese). Annexes include table of Imperial Chinese official ranks, a huge list of family names, incuding many now very rarely encountered, a list and chronology of Chinese dynasties, topographical details including provinces… Read More

Er You Mountain Publishing House, 1917. The West Lake area, near Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, has been valued as a destination for travellers seeking outstanding scenic beauty since the 9th century. The subject of numerous classical paintings, literature and poetry, it has welcomed scholars, pilgrims, philosophers, monks and foreign envoys for over a thousand years. Many sojourners have left their mark in the form of numerous gardens, temples and pagodas constructed over the intervening centuries. In 2011, UNESCO declared the Lake and its surrounds a World Heritage Site, stating at the time that "The West Lake has influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries and bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition of improving landscapes to create a series of vistas reflecting an idealised fusion between humans and nature." The present map, a large scale woodblock print, dated 7th year of the Republican era (1917), illustrates and… Read More

Tokyo: Mayuyama & Co., 1976. Tokyo-based Mayuyama & Co., founded 1906, is Japan's premier Asian antique art gallery and remains one of the most prestigious dealers of pan-Asian arts worldwide. With their impeccable connoisseurship, Mayuyama's objects have enriched some of the world's great private and institutional Asian art collections; the Metropolitan Museum, the Seattle Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art to name just three. To celebrate 70 years of their successes, Mayuyama published this deluxe two volume edition, originally offered only to clients and not for public sale, showcasing material that they had sourced and sold over the years; in all over 2100 artifacts are illustrated and described. Volume 1 concentrates on early Chinese ceramics while Volume 2 features Chinese jade, bronze & stone sculpture and paintings as well as masterworks in all of these media from Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and Persia. A principal reference work for dealers and collectors in… Read More

n.p.: n.p., 1917. This photo album records the tour of American diplomat, journalist and editor George Martin and his wife throughout the Far East in early 1917. Marvin (1873-1955), an alumnus of Groton School and Harvard, was appointed early in the new century as US Deputy Consul-General and Marshal, stationed at Mukden, China, the first US consulate to be established in Manchuria. He held this position, under Willard Straight, until 1908. From 1909-10 Marvin acted as a public relations officer for the Chinese Imperial government, also a period in which he worked with Straight and others surreptitiously to oppose Japanese influence in Manchuria (see ref.). Marvin later edited Asia Magazine (a prominent liberal academic journal focussed primarily on China and owned by the Straight family), during which he leveraged his long friendship with Franklin Delano Roosevelt - he had taught the Roosevelt children at Groton - to write for the journal. Marvin passed away in Washington DC in 1955; the album was… Read More