Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100 pays tribute to the remarkable achievement of artistic renaissance at 100. It traces the lean beginnings of Lim Tze Peng's early years, relives the times of controversy over the artist's innovations in Chinese calligraphy, and celebrates his breakthroughs. Throughout the book, attention is paid to Lim Tze Peng the man, the foundation of everything that is admirable about Lim Tze Peng the artist. It looks at the man behind the art, and how art has given life to him and his family.Farmer, teacher, principal, and artist, Lim Tze Peng counts Lee Man Fong, Cheong Soo Pieng, and Liu Kang as his mentors. These men, like the others from the pioneering generation of Nanyang artists, are no longer around. Lim Tze Peng remains standing, a witness to and player in Singapore's art history since the 1940s.His life started late; everything got going only after the ripe old age of 80. A Cultural Medallion winner at 82 and a Meritorious Service recipient at 95, Lim Tze Peng is used to the twists and turns of life and has been trained by experience to endure the vagaries of fate. You could describe his art as the art of perseverance. The works he produces these days need to be seen to be believed. Bigger, bolder, and boasting far more colour than ever before, his art is as invigorating as that of a young man, whilst embodying the soul of a sage.At the heart of this book is the word 'soul'. What pushes a man at the age of 100 to continue breaking new ground in his life's work? How has he been able to surprise not just the art community but himself?This is Woon Tai Ho's second book on a Singaporean artist. His first, To Paint a Smile, is about the artist Tan Swie Hian.

After Confucius is a collection of eight studies of Chinese philosophy from the time of Confucius to the formation of the empire in the second and third centuries B.C.E. As detailed in a masterful introduction, each essay serves as a concrete example of “thick description”—an approach invented by philosopher Gilbert Ryle—which aims to reveal the logic that informs an observable exchange among members of a community or society. To grasp the significance of such exchanges, it is necessary to investigate the networks of meaning on which they rely. Paul R. Goldin argues that the character of ancient Chinese philosophy can be appreciated only if we recognize the cultural codes underlying the circulation of ideas in that world. Thick description is the best preliminary method to determine how Chinese thinkers conceived of their own enterprise. Who were the ancient Chinese philosophers? What was their intended audience? What were they arguing about? How did they respond to earlier thinkers, and to each other? Why did those in power wish to hear from them, and what did they claim to offer in return for patronage? Goldin addresses these questions as he looks at several topics, including rhetorical conventions of Chinese philosophical literature; the value of recently excavated manuscripts for the interpretation of the more familiar, received literature; and the duty of translators to convey the world of concerns of the original texts. Each of the cases investigated in this wide-ranging volume exemplifies the central conviction behind Goldin’s plea for thick description: We do not do justice to classical Chinese philosophy unless we engage squarely the complex and ancient culture that engendered it. An electronic version of this book is freely available thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched, a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open-access version of this book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means that the work may be freely downloaded and shared for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. Derivative works and commercial uses require permission from the publisher.

Dusk is that brief period of the day before nightfall. But when a rainbow appears after dusk, it is special, almost a divine apparition. The phenomenon, though rare, is not science fiction. Rainbows do appear after dusk. This unusual story is a celebration of mind over matter, life over death, and love over fear. Rainbow after Dusk builds on Soul of Ink to continue telling the Lim Tze Peng story, shifting the focus to the artist's most important works, starting with his Kampong series, to Chinatown, and then his all-important Singapore River works. Told with brushes and paints, the colours used in the narrative give his story a unique visual power. In many ways, his works act as a record of the life and time of a Singapore that no longer exists. Through honest and sometimes heart-wrenching interviews, the artist tells his own life story through his artwork.But the centenarian is not one to just reminisce. This book also looks at how this artist forces himself into the present and now. When his mobility is compromised, when he can no longer paint on location, his active and creative mind takes over. The subjects stay the same, but the approach to these subjects is entirely conceptual and imaginary. No longer a prisoner to what lies before him, he allows his mind to remember and see in vivid colours. More important, he releases the mind to his heart. He wants his audience to feel what he paints, not just see what is before them.

Spanning decades of research, this compelling social history tells the stories of ordinary people in modern Japan. Tatsuichi Horikiri spent a lifetime searching out old items of clothing—ranging from everyday kimono, work clothes, uniforms, and futons to actor’s costumes, diapers, hats, aprons, and bags. Simultaneously he collected oral history accounts to shed light on those who used these items. Horikiri reveals not only the difficult and sometimes desperate lives of these people, most from the lower strata in early twentieth-century Japan, he illuminates their hopes, aspirations, and human values. He also explores such topics as textile techniques, the history of fashion, and the ethnography of clothing and related cultural phenomena. Having been wrongly accused and tortured by the Japanese military police in China during World War II, Horikiri takes a deeply empathetic view of all those who struggle—from peasants and coal miners to traveling salesmen and itinerant performers. This personal connection sets his account apart, giving his writing great power and immediacy. Students and scholars of Japanese history, as well those interested in material culture, labor history, and feminist history, will find this book deeply illuminating.

Over the past two decades, Singapore has advanced rapidly towards becoming a both a global city-state and a key nodal point in the international economic sphere. These developments have caused us to reassess how we understand this changing nation, including its history, population, and geography, as well as its transregional and transnational experiences with the external world. This collection spans several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and draws on various theoretical approaches and methodologies in order to produce a more refined understanding of Singapore and to reconceptialize the challenges faced by the country and its peoples.

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It is my pleasure to introduce this 2013 publication by the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U.S. Army War College, the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), and the United States Pacific Command, focusing on A Retrospective of the People's Liberation Army in the Hu Jintao Era (2002-12). The papers in this book provide a valuable and insightful review of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) many impressive advances over the past decade. Solid scholarship on changes taking place in the PLA helps us understand how the Chinese view the employment of military power to support broader policy aims. A historical review of patterns and developments in training, operations, acquisitions, and political military relations can greatly assist that understanding. The outstanding work in this jointly sponsored study is an important contribution toward this end. This volume provides unique insights into the PLA's achievements over the span of Hu Jintao's tenure...

How does a certified accountant become an artist? How did the world of finance instruct his art to make him the unlikely artist that he is today? How has his art been able to bring so much joy to Singaporeans and foreigners alike? Art of Joy unravels the fascinating story of Yip Yew Chong, from the moment his ability to draw was spotted in kindergarten, his early humble years in Chinatown, the strong bond with his mother, grandmother and aunt, to his marriage, children and corporate success.This book tells the story of planning for one's second act, and how that can be more successful and more fulfilling than the first. Few know that Yip only started painting murals in 2015, or that he only devoted himself to his craft full-time in 2018. Yip's success in painting came only after his success in the world of finance, but painting was his first love. He cradled this love through his corporate life, never letting go, and switched to paint full time only when he was ready. The art of joy is also the art of knowing what makes us and keeps us happy, and how that happiness is shown and shared.

PN Balji is a veteran journalist with more than 40 years’ experience in Singapore journalism and has worked in five newspapers, three of them as Editor. His experience spans print, broadcast and digital journalism. He is one of Singapore’s most well-known media personalities and has provided communications advisory services to both public and private sector organisations in Singapore, including government ministries, statutory boards and tertiary institutions.