Search Results: Titles starting with K from Orchid Press

Bangkok: White Lotus, 1996. This book is a record of the myths and tales of the Kachin peoples of Burma amongst whom the author lived. He discusses his findings with the indigenous specialists in the Kachin religion, the Jaiwa, who are ritual bards or reciters of the myths and tales in question. As a direct result of Edmund Leach's work, Political Systems of Highland Burma, the Kachin people played a major role in the development of social anthropology. Leach made it clear that we can only comprehend the nature of culture and society in Southeast Asia if we understand that each such society is the outcome of processes of inter-group political and social relations, where the boundary of each such group is set by the existence and organizational character of its neighbors. He showed that Kachin society of the mountains of northernmost Burma had its principle structural limit in the neighboring Shan system of lowland principalities. The Shan are Tai speaking people. Kachin society was shaped by its… Read More

Phnom Penh: Kambuja Private Printing Office, 1965. A large format, luxurious publication reviewing events in Cambodia over the month prior to each publication. Covering politics and diplomacy, economics, culture, sports, fashion, social and world events, managed by the socialist head of state, King Norodom Sihanouk, every issue commencing with a lengthy editorial by the king. In places stridently and/or satirically anti-American, the publications also prominently feature the accomplishments of the great man himself - Sihanouk was apparently not only a master statesman on the world stage, but also an accomplished composer and some issues include musical scores composed by the king. A fascinating view of the state of the nation, a few years prior to the military coup that overthrew Sihanouk and during height of the Vietnam war on the country's eastern border. Collection includes Iss. No. 3 June 1965: 118 pp. 2 col. maps (1 tipped in), b&w photos, some foxing on cover; No. 4 July 1965: 118 pp.,… Read More

The Center for the Study of Korean Arts, 2007. Subtitle 'Painting & Calligraphy XX: For the 400th Anniverary of Uam Song Siyeol'. Journal illustrating some of the masterpieces of paainting and calligraphy by the mid-Choson Period neo-Confucian scholar and artist Song Siyeol (1607-1689), held in the private Kansong Museum of Art. One of the lesser known artistic treasures of Korea, the Kansong Museum, nestled in a wooded area in the northern suburbs of Seoul, was founded by the late scholar and connoisseur Jon Hyong-pil. The Museum, now operated by Jon's sons, houses a collection remarkable for both its diversity and quality, including a number of objects designated as National Treasures. Text in Korean. 212 pp., 100 colour plates of Song's magnificent work, mostly focussed on literati subects such as the grandeur of nature, mountains and water ('sansu') and the hermit scholar... First Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good. 24.5 x 24 cm.

Seoul: The Center for the Study of Korean Arts, 1995. Hidden in a quiet residential area in northern Seoul, the Gansong [Kan Song] Museum of Art was the first private museum in modern Korea, established just prior to WWII. The collection amassed by the founder includes many superb works of art, particularly in the areas of painting and ceramics, among which are a number of Korean National Treasures. The museum typically opens briefly to the public for exhibitions twice a year, in spring and fall; each exhibition is documented in an issue of the museum journal, of which this is no. 49. The present volume focuses on figural paintings of the 18th century, including Daoist and Buddhist worthies, portraits of nobles and so-called 'genre paintings', depicting common folk going about their daily lives, many of which are lively and humourous. Scholarly essays; text in Korean. Spine a little sunned small crease in back cover; otherwise internally a new copy. 110 pp., 2 col. and 42 full page b&w… Read More

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 1998. Invaluable research tool for scholars and laymen with interest in the remote and spectacular Karakorum Himalaya, a region nevertheless both fragile and at risk from the onslaught of civilization. 96 pp., over 950 entries, author and geographical location indices. Hard Cover. New/new. 21.5 x 15.2 cm.

Bangkok: White Lotus, 1997. A classical anthropological monograph written at a time when it was expected that there should be at least one book on each 'tribe', and for some time this was considered the one book on the Karen. It is full of data and, ironically, this book is still the most recent general description of basically all aspects of Karen culture in Burma. Since it was written 75 years ago there are evidently many current questions which the book cannot answer. But it remains an important ethnographic study which has been widely read and widely quoted. Reprint of the 1922 original edition. 350 pp.. Reprint edition. Soft Cover. New/n/a. 21 x 14 cm..

Bangkok: White Lotus, 1999. This daring book, the most accessible contemporary account of Burma's civil war, unravels a complex story that encompasses more than a dozen armies, scores of ethnic groups, involves the opium warlords of the Golden Triangle, and the rise of the democracy movement inside Burma. For the last 50 years Burma has been torn apart by political and ethnic insurgencies, shut off from the outside world, and forgotten. Today the country is ruled, as it has been since 1962, by a brutal, corrupt, and incompetent military dictatorship. The author, a freelance journalist, made his first trip into insurgent Burma in 1989. Since then he has traveled extensively, both alone and with insurgent groups, including an overland trip in the company of Karen and Burmese student soldiers to the Andaman Sea, a clandestine boat trip down the Irrawaddy River, a jungle trek in search of rhinos, and an attempt to photograph Burmese slave-labor camps. This fast-paced and personal narrative captures… Read More

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2009. A new edition of a classic on Malay weaponry and war, originally published in 1936 in an extremely limited printing now virtually impossible to find. In addition to his work in description and classification of all sorts of Malay weaponry, Gardner spent significant effort in discussions on the origin of the kris and its close association with occult beliefs among Malays, an interest of Gardner's which was to have a huge effect on him, later in life. Following his retirement from the British Civil Service in Malaya, not long after the original publication of this book, Gardner returned to the UK, where he focussed his interests on modern witchcraft, his writings and efforts eventually serving to revive the tradition. Garner is considered by many to be the 'Father of the Wicca Movement'. 144 pp., 91 b&w plates of photos and drawings, illustrating several hundred weapons, glossary, bibliography, biographical sketch of author.. Second edition. Soft Cover.… Read More

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2021. A new edition of a classic on Malay weaponry and war, originally published in 1936 in an extremely limited printing now virtually impossible to find. In addition to his work in description and classification of all sorts of Malay weaponry, Gardner spent significant effort in discussions on the origin of the kris and its close association with occult beliefs among Malays, an interest of Gardner's which was to have a huge effect on him, later in life. Following his retirement from the British Civil Service in Malaya, not long after the original publication of this book, Gardner returned to the UK, where he focussed his interests on modern witchcraft, his writings and efforts eventually serving to revive the tradition. Garner is considered by many to be the 'Father of the Wicca Movement'. 144 pp., 91 b&w plates of photos and drawings, illustrating several hundred weapons, glossary, bibliography, biographical sketch of author. . Second edition. Hard bound. New.… Read More

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

Bangkok: River Books, 2010. This book focuses on two aspects of Khmer ceramics -- their beauty and their meaning -- and looks at them through the extraordinary private collection of Yothin Tharahirunchot. This book aims to explore the meaning of Khmer ceramics within the context of their function and to call attention to their aesthetics. The largest and most complete in the world, the collection of Yothin Tharahirunchot comprises some 160 pieces and reflects the owner's knowledgeable eye, keen sensibility, and enduring passion for Khmer ceramics. Yothin Tharahirunchot invited renowned ceramics expert Dawn F. Rooney to research and publish the collection. Furthermore, two Thai scholars, Krisda Pinsri and Pariwat Thammapreechakorn were engaged to research specific aspects of the subject. Their findings are presented for the first time in this book. Both papers are expansive and explore understudied areas of Khmer ceramics. To convey the beauty of the wares, Yothin Tharahirunchot invited Robert… Read More

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2003. An excellent source for anyone who is interested in a brief account of the history and culture of this once great empire. The author, a renowned scholar of Buddhist Central Asia, turned his attentions to SE Asia following his retirement from the University of London. During subsequent years in Cambodia, he has travelled widely in the country and also visited many of the archaeological sites in Thailand that bear witness to the vast extent of the Khmer civilization. In addition, driven by his well known intellectual curiosity and seemingly boundless energy, Snellgrove has read widely in order to place the many sites described in their proper historical perspective. 163 pp., 84 colour and 2 b&w plates, 5 maps, glossary, bibliography, index. New printing with corrections to the original edition. A new/unread copy.. First edition, corrected. Soft Cover. New. 23 x 12.7 cm.

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2005. The artist Sappho Marchal was the daughter of the renowned French conservator of Angkor, Henri Marchal. She spent the early years of her life in Cambodia, surrounded by the magnificent ruins of the Khmers, and produced the present study at age 23. Her fine line drawings present the myriad details of ornament and costume depicted on the stone reliefs of Angkor Wat with a clarity that could not be captured, even then, on film. Since that time, many of the stone carvings have severely deteriorated, rendering Marchal’s drawings all the more valuable as a record for present-day students and restorers of Angkor. A translation, by Merrily Hansen, of the 1927 French edition. 128 pp., 44 b&w plates including numerous line drawings.. First English Edition. Soft Cover. New. 21.5 x 15.2 cm.

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2005. The artist Sappho Marchal was the daughter of the renowned French conservator of Angkor, Henri Marchal. She spent the early years of her life in Cambodia, surrounded by the magnificent ruins of the Khmers, and produced the present study at age 23. Her fine line drawings present the myriad details of ornament and costume depicted on the stone reliefs of Angkor Wat with a clarity that could not be captured, even then, on film. Since that time, many of the stone carvings have severely deteriorated, rendering Marchal's drawings all the more valuable as a record for present-day students and restorers of Angkor. A translation, by Merrily Hansen, of the 1927 French edition. 128 pp., 44 b&w plates including numerous line drawings. . First English Edition. Hard bound. New. 21 x 15 cm..

Bangkok: White Lotus, 1999. This book contains information on all the Khmer edifices in the present-day Cambodian provinces that were formerly under Siamese control. They comprise Melou Prey, Sisophon, Battambang and Siem Reap. The record emphasizes the Khmer inheritance in the fields of archeology, inscriptions and etymology of place names. Numerous descriptions and floor plans of temples and temple ruins are included. The author deals extensively with the significance and provenance of various texts found on these edifices. If not a tourist guide in the traditional sense, this book, as an exhaustive and detailed record of Khmer edifices, many of which are in much a poorer, or even plundered state today, is intrinsically a call for urgent action to save what still remains. First English translation of the 1901 French edition. 318 pp., illustr. & drawings, 5 maps. New/unread copy; covers lightly tanned as is common with this publisher's books.. First English Edition. Soft Cover. New/n/a. 21 x 15 cm.. Read More

Bangkok: White Lotus, 2005. This volume analyses the development of Thai forestry from the founding of the Royal Forest Department in 1896 up to the present day, focusing particularly on one of the most controversial state forestry programs in Thai history, the military-led Khor Jor Kor project (1990-1992). The Khor Jor Kor project aimed to reorganize land use in all of Thailand's 1,253 National Forest Reserves. Behind the project was a powerful alliance of army generals, forestry officials, and pulp and paper companies. Had it gone through, thousands of families living in forest areas would have been evicted from their homes to make way for commercial plantations of eucalyptus. However, Khor Jor Kor led to massive conflict and sustained protests. Under the repressive conditions of the Suchinda dictatorship, farmers developed a civil disobedience strategy that finally stopped the project in July 1992. This book tells the story of that resistance movement and argues that it was a key link in the… Read More

Yangon: Parami Books, 1996. An historical novel, based on the life and times of the 11th century Burmese king, Anawrahta, considered to be the father of the modern country. The novel encompasses high adventure, bravery and romance and brings this period in Burmese history alive, as the nation is knitted together and Buddhism is embraced by the populace. The author, Khin Myo Chit (1915-1999) was an award-winning writer, journalist and political activist. As new. 234 pp., 1 col. plate, 5 maps.. Third edition.. Hardbound. Fine/Fine. 24 x 16 cm..

New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. This volume tells the story of the life of the former King of Thailand, and, by the time of his death, his seventy-year rule - how a Western-raised boy came to be seen by his people as a living Buddha, and how a king widely seen as beneficent and apolitical could in fact be so deeply political and autocratic. Banned in Thailand, as is any/all commentary even remotely critical of the royal family. "One of the most important books on Thailand to appear in English." Ian Buruma, New York Review of Books. xi, 499 pp. First Edition. Hardbound. New/new. 24 x 16 cm..

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2005. Subtitle : 'The First Mission of a Burmese Minister to Britain, 1872.' Following the Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852-3), the British occupied approximately half of the Kingdom of Burma, effectively controlling the entire Kingdom's access to the sea, and thus its ability to engage freely in international trade. Yet the British neither formally annexed nor declared free the remaining portion of the Burmese kingdom. Min-don, the newly crowned king of Burma, walked a fine line with his powerful foreign 'guests', attempting to balance cordiality toward the intruders with at least the appearance of independent authority over the remaining, unoccupied, part of the kingdom. An uneasy balance between co-operation and antagonism thus characterized the attitudes of both the Burmese and British authorities toward one another, a balance that became increasingly strained following the bitter experiences of the British in India in 1857, and Calcutta's… Read More

Bangkok: White Lotus, 1997. The book provides insights and guidance into the practice of dynamic meditation, which derives from the saying of the Buddha "Whenever you see things, just see. Whenever you listen, just listen. Whenever you know, just know." The book explains the difference between static and dynamic meditation, and also traces the author’s own search for true awareness. He was a pupil of Buddhadasa. 166 pp.. First Edition. Soft Cover. New/n/a. 21 x 15 cm..