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BOOK REVIEWS
on his blackwood cage-bed which is decorated by painted porcelain panels, and a glimpse into a corner of the monk's kitchen.
The third group of 35 photos are portraits of the monks who inhabited the monasteries of Hua Shan. Hedda Morrison must have been quite a personality to be appreciated and trusted by the monks in such a short time, that she could catch their faces in so many moods and showing so vividly their characters.
Although the photos were taken in 1935 they were not published before 1975. In 1935 it was possible for anyone who would brave the steep cliffs and the narrow mountain paths to enjoy the beauty and the peace, to purify one's mind and unite with the Tao. There is not much chance of going there today, nor of finding monks enacting dances symbolizing the cosmic battle of nature (plates 43, 44). The photos are thus a priceless record of the faces of Hua Shan, their value enhanced by their poetic quality.
The texts are of minor importance but help us to understand the basic Chinese thinking that the individual must be in harmony with the universe.
Hong Kong, 1975.
HELGA WERLE
SEALS OF CHINESE PAINTERS AND COLLECTORS OF THE MING AND CH'ING PERIODS. REPRODUCED IN FACSIMILE SIZE AND DECIPHERED. REVISED EDITION WITH SUPPLEMENT. By Victoria Contag and Wang Chi-ch'ien (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1966. pp. Ixviii+726. Illustrations. Paperback issue 1974, HK$50.
The academic interest of collecting ancient seals in China was generally developed during the first 150 years of the Ch'ing period (1644-1911) and subsequently sub-divided into several offshoots: such as collecting ancient official seals, an interest related to the study of government organization; or collecting seals of the Han (204 B.C.-220 A.D.) and pre-Han period, connected with either an artistic interest in the archaic style of Chinese sealscript or a paleographic interest on etymology. Following these trends, however, the cited scholastic interests are replaced in the 20th century by a more specified academic practice; for instance, to collect seals of established artists and learned art collectors of previous periods. By so doing, the collected seals can serve students of Chinese art,