Guan Yu was a minor general in the early third century CE, who supported one of numerous claimants to the throne. He was captured and executed by enemy forces in 219. He eventually became one the most popular and influential deities of imperial China under the name Lord Guan or Emperor Guan, of the same importance as the Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin. This is a study of his cult, but also of the tremendous power of oral culture in a world where writing became increasingly important. In this...

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a classic historical novel of enormous influence, is considered to be one of the four great Chinese classic novels. Written by Luo Guanzhong, a scholar who lived in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, it chronicled the efforts of the Wei, Shu, and Wu kingdoms to reunite the empire at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. This fascinating period in Chinese history inspired many other authors, poets, artists, and playwrights, including Luo Guanzhongs novel, w...

This ten-volume series is a complete pictorial rendition of China's foremost historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The classic by Ming Dynasty writer Luo Guanzhong is based on the history of the Three Kingdoms when the states of Wei, Shu and Wu emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty and began to fight for power and sovereignty. It vividly depicts a series of famous battles and hundreds of historical characters in one of the most turbulent periods in China's long hi...

「讀書」這件事被社會型塑的太過艱澀而不可親近了，讀Facebook的訊息其實也是一種「讀」，分享貼文上面寫上一些你對這篇分享文章的想法其實也是一種「筆記」。讀書其實有很多形式，只是我們最容易有刻板印象的就是坐在角落揮汗如雨的讀，但是，如果連想起來都覺得很痛苦的話，你怎麼會想要「去讀書」甚至「一直讀書」？如果我們升學管道就是那幾個，不免俗地必須接受大考們的洗禮時，我們要用甚麼姿態、甚麼心境、怎麼準備這些生命必經之事？

▍三國名將如何成為眾人崇拜的信仰對象▍全新視角，理解關公傳奇的興起與千年流變▍國際知名漢學家田海，探究信仰、傳說與文化的精心力作由凡入聖，勾勒關羽的封神之路關公，是神龍化身、是佛教中的伽藍尊者、是道教中的三界伏魔大帝，本為凡人的關羽，是如何經歷不同的歷史時代，成為人們口中的關聖帝君、千萬人崇祀的神祇，甚至成為遍及華人圈的信仰？在關公信仰的流變過程中，我們將會看到什麼樣的時代背景與集體記憶？史料中的田野，信仰裡的民間文化過往認為，《三國演義》的出現與流行，推動了關公崇拜。知名漢學家田海提出了全新觀點，認為民間口耳相傳的傳說，才是擴散關公信仰的主要動力。各種口傳文化中，記載了不同面向的關公，也呈現人們對祂的各種期待，祂是雨神、財神、武神、文神……這些傳說軼事散落在歷代材料中，田海憑藉著傑出的史家技藝，在史料之海中進行田野考察，重新理解並構築關公信仰發展的脈絡。

Localization and mapping play a critical role in the autonomous task execution of mobile robots. This book covers the theoretical and technological aspects of robot localization and mapping, including visual localization and mapping, visual relocalization, LiDAR localization and mapping, and place recognition.It provides the theoretical foundations of robot localization and mapping. It employs both traditional methods, such as geometry-based visual localization, and state-of-the-ar...

Provides coverage of the major theories and technologies involved in the lifecycle of 3D video content deliveryPresenting the technologies used in end-to-end 3D video communication systems, this reference covers 3D graphics and video coding, content creation and display, and communications and networking. It covers the full range of key areas from the fundamentals of 3D visual representation to the latest 3D video coding techniques, relevant communication ...

It is well known that the Soviet Union strongly influenced China in the early 1950s, since China committed itself both to the Sino-Soviet alliance and to the Soviet model of building socialism. What is less well known is that Chinese proved receptive not only to the Soviet economic model but also to the emulation of the Soviet Union in realms such as those of ideology, education, science, and culture. In this book an international group of scholars examines China's acceptance and ultimate ...

Site characterization is indispensable to good geotechnical or rock engineering practice as every site is unique, but technical, budget, time, or access constraints typically result in only a tiny fraction of the underground soil and rock in a site being visually inspected, sampled, or tested. This leads to a long- lasting challenge of sparse measurements in geo- sciences and engineering. This book introduces Bayesian compressive sensing or sampling (BCS) as a highly efficient spatial data...

Semi-arid regions are ecological security barriers that prevent arid regions from expanding and turning into deserts. The expansion of arid regions and desertification seriously threaten ecological security, and human society cannot achieve sustainable development in an insecure ecological environment. As the transitional zone between arid and humid regions, semi-arid regions lay the foundation of ecological safety for the development of human society.This book provides an overview...

This book analyzes how Chinese people use their time, including how busy Chinese seek a healthy work-life balance, how some children win from the outset in terms of education, and how people pursue quality of life outside of or after work. General readers will get a vivid and detailed impression of the way Chinese people spend their time, while researchers will find a wealth of phenomena and data for analysis from both economic and social perspectives.The research presented here wa...

This book presents an overview of advanced biophysical techniques that can be used to understand the physicochemical properties of biomolecules and biomaterials and expand their potential for biomedical applications. It is split into two parts, the first covering advanced biophysical techniques and the second covering bioscience applications. Adequate knowledge about the behavior of biomacromolecules is essential for standardizing their applications in various industries. These properties ...