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Dreams of Spring: Erotic Art in China : From the Bertholet Collection | 
 enlarge | Creator: L. C. P. Bertholet
Publisher: Pepin Press
Category: Book
Buy Collectible: $78.00
New (1) Used (5) Collectible (1) from $78.00
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 995045
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 207
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 11.8 x 10.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 9054960396
Dewey Decimal Number: 709
EAN: 9789054960393
ASIN: 9054960396
Publication Date: October 1, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Condition: Very Good +; Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine; bkcs
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Product Description
Erotic art is an eminent part of the cultural heritage of ancient China, and was already flourishing in pre-Imperial times. With its peak during the late-Ming period, this art remained a fixed feature in Chinese literature and visual arts until well into the 20th century. At its best, Chinese erotic art is a search for beauty in all its manifestations, for not only does it offer stimulation, it provides a source of great aesthetic pleasure. It never presents sex in a crude or pornographical way, but within a framework of beauty and harmony, enhanced with details of a profound or symbolic nature. DREAMS OF SPRING presents for the first time the treasures of one of the world's most important collections of Chinese erotic art. The text and descriptions in this book are the result of many years of scholarly research by one of the principal authorities in this field; Rev. Yimen, who studied Chinese history and literature at the major universities of China, before devoting herself to this neglected field of China's spiritual traditions
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| Customer Reviews:
Great pictures, complete collections, the best I've seen May 5, 1998
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
My friend give me this book as a birthday gift to teas me. She didn't know that my father collect some of it's kind for his literature studies (seriously) since fifty years ago till he passed away seven years ago. I've been reading this kind of pictures and books in my father's lab located at his University in Taipei since I was little. The contents are erotic but artful,cuturing and healthy. The printing of this book is very good. It's a very sophisticated book. It's great for your bed- room collection and art collection. It's the best...
Gorgeous and varied May 23, 2005
wiredweird (Earth, or somewhere nearby)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book. It's coffee-table sized, allowing reproductions large enough to show their many details. Every image is beautifully printed, with lush, strong color. The examples cover a variety of styles. Most of them are paintings on paper or silk, though a few ceramics and other works appear. Notes are sketchy, but most of the images seem to date from the 17th or 18th century forward.
Across the whole period covered, a few things stand out. First is the whole tone of the works: they all depict affection between the players. Some of the pictures show an illicit love, or a senior wife unhappy at attention given to a concubine. None of scenes depict coercion or aggression, however. They are all about people happy together, or who were happy until found out. The second is the wide ranges of practices. Most scenes depict coition, in numerous, often improbable poses. There are also repeated themes of caresses, genital kissing, toys, multiple players or helpers, and same-sex couples. Although the male usually held the dominant position, nearly every practice was practiced for him and her both, by him and her both.
The paintings usually display intricate detail in the surroundings, to invoke rich furnishings, fine clothes (often discarded), or outdoor scenes. Most of the reproductions here are large enough for even fine detail to be visible. In fact, the relatively few small pictures became frustrating, since it was harder to read the finer marks in the pictures.
Text is very helpful. It often explains fine points that I might not have understood otherwise. It also contains extracts from stories and poems about physical love, and the first section skims nearly two thousand years of Chinese history. I found that helpful for placing the pictures and passages shown in a larger historical context. Given its generally useful content, I found it nearly maddening that so few of the comments told when, where, or by what artist any picture was created. Just a few sentences more per page would have made a huge difference.
There's a lot to say about the images, the culture behind them, and the historical shifts in surroundings, practices, and visual style. I'll let you see that for yourself, though. This book really isn't about the text, it's about the pictures.
//wiredweird
If you must have a pillow book February 13, 2001
leonel rs (Ciudad de Mexico.)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
When reading the introductions and admiring the illustrations i felt i was before art so wise and so deep i felt happy. Very simple and very true. Reading this won't make you want to run away from it but rather takes you inside the scenes. You certainly want to be part of the escenarios. The tenderness and passion of chinese erotic art has quite a different flavor from the more agressive, macho-like of the japanese. They make a good combination, though. See and enjoy.
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