| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.5

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the AHR online. About 308 words from this article are provided below; about 545 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the American Historical Association, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time. AHA members can go to the AHA individual membership section to locate their member numbers.
If you are not a member of the American Historical Association, you can:: • Join the AHA and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the American Historical Review.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the American Historical Review (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the American Historical Review.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.5 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Asia

Victor Cunrui Xiong. Sui-Tang Chang'an: A Study in the Urban History of Medieval China. (Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies, number 85.) Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan Press. 2000. Pp. xiv, 370. $50.00.

This monograph on one of the most important capital cities ever built in imperial China is a welcome addition to the recent proliferation of writings on Chinese cities. Developed from Victor Cunrui Xiong's doctoral dissertation, the book reexamines Chang'an in terms of its urban and socioeconomic development rather than simply the physical and royal aspects of the city. Based largely on traditional scholarship of Chang'an, modern archaeology, and contemporary studies of the city, the book also integrates secondary studies on historical, institutional, ritual, monastic, economic, and social issues in order to provide a comprehensive account of the capital. 1

After an introduction, the volume is organized into ten chapters. The story begins with an account of a totally different city of the same name from the Han to the Northern Zhou. Though Xiong explains that both cities were located in close proximity and that "old Chang'an had many physical links and intangible ties to its Sui-Tang successor," the relevance of this account to the subsequent Tang capital could have been made more apparent. Chapter two focuses on the origin of Chang'an's urban form and layout. After revisiting the Naba-Chen theories and a thorough discussion of the location of critical components of the city as well as the canonical prescriptions of Kaogongji, the author attributes the layout of the capital to its chief architect Yuwen Kai's preoccupation with geomancy. Given the importance of Chang'an's layout as a prototype that inspired the plans of many other East Asian cities, this aspect probably deserves some mention if not elaboration, either in this chapter or elsewhere in the study. . . .

There are about 545 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.