Books published by Leiden University Press

Tulou are traditional fortified multifamily dwellings prevalent in southern Fujian. In this 34st volume of the ASLU series Renyu Wang discusses three aspects of Chinese tulou heritage management. He first examines the tulou interpretation prevailing in southern Fujian. Based on building studies, oral history, genealogies and interviews, Wang tries to reconstruct a relatively complete landscape biography to describe the essential episodes of built environment evolution in the Hekeng River Valley. This biography highlights the part non-tulou architecture and non-agricultural economic forms have played in the evolution of the settlement environment. It then discusses the regulations and laws which may have direct impact on not only the built heritage but also the life of local lineage society and criticizes the harsh control of the local government over local people's built heritage and their environment in the name of heritage preservation. Further, Wang examines the roles of different stakeholders in the heritage framework concerning the use of local people's built heritage. And finally he explores the possibility of reaching equilibrium among all the heritage players in the form of contracts, and offers some suggestions to the stakeholders getting involved in the tulou management issues.Renyu Wang majored in linguistics and cultural studies (BA) in mainland China and obtained his Master's degree in cultural heritage studies from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL). He has worked in various positions in the fields of archaeological heritage management.

How is it possible that three playwrights in the early modern Dutch Republic wrote dramas based on contemporary political events in Asia? Reflecting on this remarkable phenomenon, "Staging Asia" traces the passage of the stories surrounding three political revolutions from seventeenth-century Asia through to the Dutch Republic and their ultimate manifestation as dramas. This book explores the nature of the representation of the Orient in these plays and evaluates how this characterization was influenced by the channels that these dramatists relied on to gather information for their works. As these dramas exhibit strong connections to the Dutch East India Company, this work additionally examines the role of that enterprise in disseminating information on Asia and producing imagery about the Orient. Manjusha Kuruppath received her PhD from the Department of History, University of Leiden. Her research interests include literary history, history of the Dutch East India Company and early modern Asian history.

This volume focuses on reconstructing the daily lives of Bronze Age farmers as well as the landscape for their subsistence practices. Doing so, Wild West Frisia analyses the separate components comprising Bronze Age subsistence (i.e. crop and animal husbandry, hunting and gathering) rather innovatively: instead of summarizing the known data for each subsistence strategy and drawing conclusions solely based on these observations, this study first determines what may have been present yet perhaps is no longer visible. Contrasting this expectation with the actual archaeological data reveals missing elements, findings for which include recognizing that wild resource exploitation was perhaps equally if not more vital to farming life than crop and animal husbandry. Comparing the case-study area of West Frisia, the Netherlands, with north-west European coastal communities in general, local variation appears to be a consistent feature of Bronze Age farming. It can in fact be regarded as a common feature of subsistence during this time. Yvonne F. van Amerongen is a palaeo-ecologist at the archaeological company EARTH in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

Over the past decade the Middle East has undergone huge geopolitical shifts, including widespread war and violence, the collapse of numerous regimes, a changing American role, a restored Russian presence, and the emergence of ISIS. In this book Graham Fuller addresses the character of these shifts and how they will shape the future of this tumultuous region as well as the role of major outside powers.Fuller firstly focuses on Shari'a law and its appropriate role, if any, in the politics and governance of the Muslim world, thereby further exploring why identity may be the most important factor in examining Middle East politics today. Next he addresses the current Shi'ite-Sunni conflict, not simply by scrutinizing the essentially theological approach found in most Western analysis but also through better understanding the many more extra-religious factors behind the scenes. Finally the author claims that the appearance of ISIS has stretched the perennial phenomenon of Political Islam to the extreme. What, then, does ISIS imply for the future of the Middle East and for Islamist movements in general, not to mention for Muslims' understanding of Islam itself?Graham E. Fuller is a former Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council at CIA in charge of long-range forecasting. He has lived and worked in the Middle East for nearly two decades. He has written numerous books on Middle East politics and Islamic movements and Eurasian geopolitics, recently Turkey and the Arab Spring: Leadership in the Middle East.

Poetry expressing criticism of social, political and cultural life is a vital integral part of Persian literary history. Its principal genres - invective, satire and burlesque - have been very popular with authors in every age. Despite the rich uninterrupted tradition, such texts have been little studied and rarely translated. Their irreverent tones range from subtle irony to crude direct insults, at times involving the use of outrageous and obscene terms. This anthology includes both major and minor poets from the origins of Persian poetry (10th century) up to the age of Jâmi (15th century), traditionally considered the last great classical Persian poet. In addition to their historical and linguistic interest, many of these poems deserve to be read for their technical and aesthetic accomplishments, setting them among the masterpieces of Persian literature.

This book is intended for Chinese Studies majors, China-focused students in other fields, heritage learners, and professionals. It will help improve vocabulary and grammar competence, and foster reading strategies and writing and translation skills, for use in academic and professional settings. Paint Feet on a Snake *is available in full-form and simplified character editions*is aimed at learners of Mandarin with a command of about 850 characters and 1200 vocabulary items*is suitable for language acquisition programs and for programs combining linguistic and cultural competence*has been optimized in pilot editions at Leiden UniversityLin Chin-hui is lecturer in Mandarin at the University of GöttingenMaghiel van Crevel is professor of Chinese language and literature at Leiden University

This volume explores the production and use of medieval manuscripts that contain classical Latin texts. Six experts in the field address a range of topics related to these manuscripts, including how classical texts were disseminated throughout medieval society, how readers used and interacted with specific texts, and what these books look like from a material standpoint. This collection of essays also considers the value of studying classical manuscripts as a distinct group, and demonstrates how such a collective approach can add to our understanding of how classical works functioned in medieval society. Focusing on the period 800-1200, when classical works played a crucial role in the teaching of grammar, rhetoric, and dialectics, this volume investigates how classical Latin texts were copied, used, and circulated in both discrete and shared contexts.Contributions by Robert Gary Babcock, David T. Gura, Erik Kwakkel, Irene O'Daly, Mariken Teeuwen and Rodney Thomson.Erik Kwakkel is Associate Professor in palaeography at Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society and Principal Investigator of the NWO-funded research project 'Turning Over a New Leaf: Manuscript Innovation in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance'. 'Again, this is a well-edited volume of engaging, innovative and path-blazing papers. The book represents an impressive contribution to scholarship on a variety of medieval topics as well as a number of classical authors and texts.' AIDAN KEALLY CONTI, Associate Professor Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, University of Bergen, Norway

Persian in Use is an elementary Persian language and culture textbook designed for first-year language students at a university level and specifically focused on teaching contemporary Persian as it is actually used. With its colorful and lively design, the textbook offers an integrative approach combining new vocabulary summarized thematically and lexically, interactive dialogues, straightforward explanations of grammatical features, engaging classroom and homework exercises, and samples of literary and popular writings.

Abu ¿Abdollâh' Jafar ibn Mohammad Rudaki (c. 880 CE-941 CE) was a poet to the Samanid court which ruled much of Khorâsân (northeastern Persia) from its seat in Bukhara.He is widely regarded as "the father of Persian poetry, for he was the first major poet to write in New Persian language, following the Arab conquest in the seventh and eighth centuries, which established Islam as the official religion, and made Arabic the predominant literary language in Persian-speaking lands for some two centuries.In the tenth century the Caliphate power, with headquarters in Bagdad, gradually weakened. The remoteness of Khorâsân, where Rudaki was based, provided a hospitable atmosphere for a "renaissance" of Persian literature. Persian poetry¿now written in the Arabic alphabet¿flourished under the patronage of the Samanid amirs, who drew literary talent to their court. Under the rule of Nasr ibn Ahmad II (r. 914-943), Rudaki distinguished himself as the brightest literary star of the Samanid court.This book presents Rudaki as the founder of a new poetic aesthetic, which was adopted by subsequent generations of Persian poets. Rudaki is credited with being the first to write in the rubâi form; and many of the images we first encounter in Rudaki's lines have become staples of Persian poetry.