In this evocative essay on the cultural and social history of a unique and fragile city, Jonathan Porter examines Macau as an enduring but ever-changing threshold between two worlds, the West and China. Founded by the Portuguese in 1557, Macau emerged as a vibrant commercial and cultural hub in the early seventeenth century. The city then gradually

Macau: The Imaginary City

Porter, Jonathan

Reference

Routledge

For many people who have encountered it, Macau makes a deep impression on the imagination, as if the city were not entirely real, or rather, not of the real world. Macau often seems dreamlike, as though it were sustained by the effort of some powerful imagination.”In this evocative essay on the cultural and social history of a unique and fragile city, Jonathan Porter examines Macau as an enduring but ever-changing threshold between East and West. Founded by the Portuguese in 1557, Macau emerged as a vibrant commercial and cultural hub in the early seventeenth century. The city then gradually evolved, flourishing first as a Eurasian community in the eighteenth century and then as an increasingly Chinese city in the nineteenth century. Macau became a modern manufacturing center in the late twentieth century and is now destined for reversion to the People's Republic of China in 1999.The city was the meeting ground for many cultures, but central to this fascinating story is the encounter between an expansive, seaborne Portugese empire and the introspective, closed world of imperial China. Unlike the other great colonial port cities of Asia, Macau did not provide natural access to the hinterland, and this geographical and historical isolation (there is still no airline or railroad that can take you to Macau) has fostered a unique balance of cultural influences that survives to this day. Poised on the periphery of two worlds, an isolated but global crossroads, Macau's unique cultural and social melange illuminates crucial issues of cross-cultural exchange in world history.Establishing Portugal and China as distinct cultural archetypes, Porter then examines the subsequent encounters of East and West in Macau from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. Avoiding the traditional linear chronological approach, Porter instead looks at a series of images from the city's history and culture, including its place in the geographical context of the South China coast; the architecture of Macau, which reflects the memories of its historical passages; the variety of people who crossed the threshold of Macau; the material culture of everyday life; and the spiritual topography resulting from the encounters of popular religious movements in Macau.Jonathan Porter concludes his literary journey by reflecting on the character and meaning of the many cultural and social influences that have met and mingled in Macau. His words and photographs eloquently capture the essence of a place that seems too ephemeral to be real, too captivating to be anything but an imaginary city.

Macau: The Imaginary City (New Perspectives in Asian Studies, 195)

History

Americas

Westview Press

"For many people who have encountered it, Macau makes a deep impression on the imagination, as if the city were not entirely real or, rather, not of the real world. Macau often seems dreamlike, as though it were sustained by the effort of some powerful imagination." In this evocative essay on the cultural and social history of a unique and fragile city, Jonathan Porter examines Macau as an enduring but ever-changing threshold between East and West. Founded by the Portuguese in 1557, Macau emerged as a vibrant commercial and cultural hub in the early seventeenth century. The city then gradually evolved, flourishing first as a Eurasian community in the eighteenth century and then as an increasingly Chinese city in the nineteenth century. Macau became a modern manufacturing center in the late twentieth century and is now destined for reversion to the People’s Republic of China in 1999. The city was the meeting ground for many cultures, but central to this fascinating story is the encounter between an expansive, seaborne Portuguese empire and the introspective, closed world of imperial China. Unlike the other great colonial port cities of Asia, Macau did not provide natural access to the hinterland, and this geographical and historical isolation has fostered a unique balance of cultural influences that survives to this day. Poised on the periphery of two worlds, an isolated but global crossroads, Macau is a unique cultural and social melange that illuminates crucial issues of cross-cultural exchange in world history. Establishing Portugal and China as distinct cultural archetypes, Porter then examines the subsequent encounters of East and West in Macau from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Avoiding the traditional linear chronological approach, Porter instead looks at a series of images from the city’s history and culture, including its place in the geographical context of the South China coast; the architecture of Macau, which reflects the memories of its historical passages; the variety of people who crossed the threshold of Macau; the material culture of everyday life; and the spiritual topography resulting from the encounters of popular religious movements in Macau. Jonathan Porter concludes his literary journey by reflecting on the character and meaning of the many cultural and social influences that have met and mingled in Macau. His words and photographs eloquently capture the essence of a place that seems too ephemeral to be real, too captivating to be anything but an imaginary city.

Macau : The Imaginary City : Culture and Society, 1577 to Present (New Perspectives on Asian History)

Eliot Porter: The Color of Wildness is the first in-depth retrospective of Porter's work. Over the course of his long career, Porter has photographed familiar landscapes, like the coast of Maine where he spent childhood summers, as well as well as strange, remote places like the Galapagos Islands. With the success of his Sierra Club publication In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World, Selections and Photographs by Eliot Porter (1962), Porter became an ambassador for environmental causes. His ecological interests led to a fascination with humanity's cultural roots. An essay by curator John Rohrbach addresses Porter's break with the classical techniques of the master Modernists Paul Strand and Ansel Adams. An essay by Porter's son Jonathan, who often accompanied his father on photographic expeditions, discusses Porter's lifelong love of the natural world, his working methods, and his interests outside of photography. Rebecca Solnit's essay positions Porter's work within the environmental movement and the political climate of the 1960s. “[Porter's images] ... are secure in the history of the medium and contribute to the highest standards and achievements of the art.” --Ansel Adams

The Color of Wildness: A Retrospective, 1936-1985

Arts & Photography

Rohrbach, John

Individual Artists

Aperture

Berkeley 1972 University of California. Chinese Research Monographs Number 9. 8vo., 151pp., index, wraps. VG.

Tseng Kuo-Fan's Private Bureaucracy (China Research Monographs)

Asia

Univ of California Inst of East

This clear and engaging book provides a concise overview of the Ming-Qing epoch (1368–1912), China’s last imperial age. Beginning with the end of the Mongol domination of China in 1368, this five-century period was remarkable for its continuity and stability until its downfall in the Revolution of 1911. Viewing the Ming and Qing dynasties as a coherent era characterized by the fruition of diverse developments from earliest times, Jonathan Porter traces the growth of imperial autocracy, the role of the educated Confucian elite as custodians of cultural authority, the significance of ritual as the grounding of political and social order, the tension between monarchy and bureaucracy in political discourse, the evolution of Chinese cultural identity, and the perception of the “barbarian” and other views of the world beyond China. As the climax of traditional Chinese history and the harbinger of modern China in the twentieth century, Porter argues that imperial China must be explored for its own sake as well as for the essential foundation it provides in understanding contemporary China, and indeed world history writ large.

Imperial China, 1350–1900

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Beyond the Blind: Season One

Beyond the Blind: Season One is a collection of stories told by outdoorsman Jonathan Porter with a twist of excitement and intrigue designed to make you laugh as well as make you think about some interesting, life-changing insights. Porter uses some of the experiences he has enjoyed over his many years of chasing ducks and geese around the great state of Louisiana to grab your attention and point you to some greater and more meaningful aspects of life. This unique book is intended for anyone who loves the outdoors; appreciates the ups and downs not only of the hunt, but of life in general; and is not afraid to be challenged in his or her personal life.

Biographies & Memoirs

WestBowPress

WestBow Press

Wonderful Adversity:IntoAfrica is the story of Jonathan, a survivor with extraordinary optimism, honesty and energy. Against the odds, he has positively overcome many life changing challenges.  This story starts with Jonathan being expelled from school. Subsequently, accidents and injuries changed his planned career, resulting in him achieving successes in engineering, building and flying light aircraft, whilst working across continents. However, his path to success is laced with adversity.  Wonderful Adversity is the theme of a series of books, aimed at inspiring and motivating the reader through the authors’ personal experiences woven into a story, of which Wonderful Adversity: Into Africa is the first.

Wonderful Adversity: Into Africa: the adventure of overcoming misfortune (Volume 1)

Porter, Patricia

Literature & Fiction

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Porter, Jonathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Porter, Jonathan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Porter, Jonathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Macau: The Imaginary City

Macau: The Imaginary City (New Perspectives in Asian Studies, 195)

Macau : The Imaginary City : Culture and Society, 1577 to Present (New Perspectives on Asian History)

The Color of Wildness: A Retrospective, 1936-1985

Tseng Kuo-Fan's Private Bureaucracy (China Research Monographs)

Imperial China, 1350–1900

Imperial China, 1350–1900

Beyond the Blind: Season One

Beyond the Blind: Season One

Wonderful Adversity: Into Africa: the adventure of overcoming misfortune (Volume 1)