Kates--a native American--immersed himself in the inner world of Peking by living a simple and leisurely life in a traditional house inside the old Imperial City in Peking. Consciously reconstructing the lifestyle of the vanished scholar class, Kates came to know China as few other Westerners have known it. Kates offers in this volume a celebration of a city, its buildings, its people and way of life, its customs, and its rhythms and moods, capturing those aspects of Peking that today exist merely as memories. Kates' rare understanding of China's cultural heritage enables him to convey to the reader his admiration for the Chinese sense of harmony and proportion in all things. This edition of Kates' book, which first appeared in 1952, includes an introduction by Pamela Atwell, the author of British Mandarins and Chinese Reformers: The British Administration of Weihaiwei (1898-1930) and the Territory's Return to Chinese Rule.

    A little boy outwits his friend in Taiwan's annual island contest to raise the fattest pig for the Pai-Pai festival.

    Focusing on the actual rather than the theoretical observances of the religion, he gives an exhaustive account of the monastic system and the style of life of both monk and layman. His study makes new information available for the Western reader and calls into question the whole concept of the moribund state of Chinese Buddhism.