The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of t'Ang Exotics

by Edward H. Schafer

Book Overview

In the seventh century the kingdom of Samarkand sent formal gifts of fancy yellow peaches, large as goose eggs and with a color like gold, to the Chinese court at Ch'ang-an. What kind of fruit these golden peaches really were cannot now be guessed, but they have the glamour of mystery, and they symbolize all the exotic things longed for, and unknown things hoped for, by the people of the T'ang empire.

This book examines the exotics imported...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520054628
• ISBN13: 9780520054622
• Release Date: September 1985
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.0" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Golden Peach of Literary and historic value

... I haven't read any book like this for a long long time. The flowing texture of writing, the unique choice of organization, the depth of the author's knowledge in T'ang empire and its relation with city-states in Serindia as well as other peripheral states, the grasp of Chinese classical literary texts, of this book, clearly set a high standard that's hard to surpass. This is not a chronicle of events between 7 and 10th century. There is no clear time axis to the theme. Yet it reveals to us a vivid, alternative facade of T'ang empire. It is not an overstatement to say, for me, it is rather shocking to find out that so many things that are considered quintessentially Chinese are actually product of people of many origins. For example, in Chapter II Men | Musicians and Dancers, the most celebrated Chinese classic "Rainbow Chemise, Feathered Dress" was actually a rendition of Serindian song "Brahman". (This song is now lost. Once rediscovered by a lyricst of Sung era, 2-3 centuries later. Lost again later on). This once again strengthen my view of Sinic culture as a fruition of multi-cultural interation. I do wish author had put in the book a timetable of major political events. He had only one for dynasties timetable, and one succession table for T'ang Emporers. For example, when he repeatedly referred to the conquest by T'ang (Emporor Tai Chung) of Kogoryo, if he has a table for political events we wouldn't have to confer a history book to find it out what year that's and how that's related to other major events (such as Rebellion of Rokhsan). Except this tiny blemish, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history as well as cultures. To wrap up this petite review, I would like to put down a few footnotes to the book, for other intelligent readers:1. The Grand Canal (referred to by the Author as "The River of Transport", a literal translation) was built in the reign of Emporer Young, Sui Dynasty which preceded T'ang. This one thousands odd miles long acquaduct contribute greatly to the nation's unity, prosperity. Perhaps, for the first time, the economy of the south and the north are truely united. 2. In the book, Author translated Chinese old names for Rome as "the Great Chin". This is correct only in modern times if one is to interpret the word "Da Chin"(Rome) literally. According to some scholar, Da Chin came from the ancient word "Dasina" which means "the one from the west". The other proper name for Rome is "Fu Lin" which derived from "FRome", a phonetic variant of "Rome".Enjoy the book

A Masterpiece

I felt the need to write a review after the previous review. The book's title is purposely vague and mysterious (GOLDEN apples? Samarkand?); it's the sub-title which clarifies and tells quite explicitly that this is a book on the physical culture (exotics) of the Tang Dynasty. Why anyone could mistake such a wonderful book for anything else...

Singularly Superlative

I myself am not a scholar of China. I found this book while doing a search online about Samarkand, for an historical fiction novel I'm working on. This book tempts me to drop everything else I'm doing in my life, and just study China all the time. Let me just quickly point out that there are only three or four illustrations in this book, and that they are in black and white. The constant references in other reviews of this book to its "gorgeousness," and beauty, apply to the style in which it is written. It really is a pleasure to read this work. Every page brims over with measured, cadenced sentences that just flow, like terraced waterfalls of prepositional phrases. It all sounds so natural that one suspects that Mr. Schafer actually spoke like this. It simply doesn't have the feel of extensively edited prose... In reading this book, oddly enough, it is best to start with the introduction, and the first chapter, pausing to dwell carefully upon the last two sections of the first chapter, entitled "Exotic Taste" and "Exotic Literature." Then, I recommend taking some time to just browse back and forth, to see what catches your eye. The book isn't really set up to be read straight through cover to cover -- it's more of a wandering browser's feast. Also, it's not a bad idea to return periodically to the table of contents, just to reinstate and solidify your own sense of the context, and the taxonomy of all these funky knick-knacks. Finally, there are kind of a lot of footnotes, but it's usually worth being patient and flipping back and forth to the back of the book. Most of then are pretty interesting. Some of my personal favorite bizarre, hilarious sections in this book are as follows... "Lamp Trees," "Water Sheep and Ice Silkworms," "Feather Garments," "Dragon's Blood," "Python Bile," "Fish Tusks," (?!?!) and "Fire Orbs." These sections are extremely well presented, placed with related items in eighteen carefully thought out categories, such as Aromatics, Textiles, Industrial Minerals, Sacred Objects, Wild Animals, and so on. Each topic is presented interestingly, with discussions of it's significance, and often with reference to folktales, historical tidbits, or other means of placing the exotica in even cooler contexts. If you get this book, and enjoy it, I'd like to recommend "Passing Strange and Wonderful," by Yi-Fu Tuan, which is a sort of global historical survey of aesthetic awareness. Chapter nine, especially, deals with the T'ang dynasty, and therefore probably has enhanced relevance for anyone who actually is reading this review. If you enjoy surveys of the unusual, especially in (roughly) this time period, then I'd like to seize this opportunity to recommend "Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750" written by two eminent historians of science, Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park. It focuses upon Western societies, but has many interesting thematic parallels to this very enjoyable work. I wish I were some kind of m

The Most Gorgeous Work of Scholarship I've Ever Read

In the course of acquiring a PhD and writing about 25 books, I've encountered a LOT of scholarly works, but never one as richly textured, evocative, and just plain beautiful as THE GOLDEN PEACHES OF SAMARKAND. It lives up to its title, which is a hard enough act to follow, and takes readers through the splendor and tragedy of T'ang Dynasty China, including the revolt of An Lushan (Rokshan).He has another book out, THE VERMILION BIRD, which deals with Southeast Asia.Schafer strikes me as a sort of literary Marco Polo, opening up a strange new world for the specialist and nonspecialist alike.Five minutes after encountering his book in the NY Public Library (it had been recommended to me by a scholar at Columbia), I knew I was going to have to buy it. It has enriched my cultural life.Susan Shwartz

Superb scholarship on China's exotic material culture

This remarkable and highly readable book abounds with information on tribute goods sent to the T'ang Court from all over Asia. These exotic materials included plants, animals, perfumes, drugs, jewels, books, even slaves. Schafer identifies each item as they appeared in the extant writings of numerous Asian and European cultures, and provides anecdotes and stories related to them. Did you know ambergris was known as "dragon spittle" in eleventh century China? Reading this book is like opening a chest filled with the most wonderful treasures in the world.