For the fourth edition of his much-heralded The Arts of China, last published in 1984, Michael Sullivan has thoroughly revised and expanded this classic history of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the 1990s. He draws on archaeological discoveries in the last two decades of the twentieth century that have enriched scholars' understanding of both prehistoric and ancient Chinese civilizations. At the same time, research on more recent dynasties has led to fresh interpretations of well-documented historical events and artworks. Also, China's dramatic opening to the outside world since the 1980s has triggered an explosion of contemporary Chinese art, on which Sullivan is the foremost Western authority.

Written in the engaging and lucid style that is Sullivan's hallmark, The Arts of China is readily accessible to general readers as well as serious students of art history. Discussing more than three millennia of Chinese artistic endeavor, Sullivan introduces not only artworks, but also the social, political, religious, and philosophical contexts in which they were created.

This fourth edition has more than 380 illustrations; many are new and nearly half are in color. With this edition Sullivan has abandoned the Wade-Giles system of romanization in favor of the official Chinese Pinyin, now widely accepted by Western readers. These improvements assure that The Arts of China will remain the most comprehensive and widely read introduction to the history of Chinese art.

[英]邁剋爾•蘇立文（Michael Sullivan，1916—2013）

牛津大學聖凱瑟琳學院榮譽退休院士，曾在劍橋大學、斯坦福大學等多所高校和研究機構從事教學及研究。榮獲過美國國傢人文基金會、古根海姆基金會、洛剋菲勒基金會等多所機構頒發的多項榮譽和研究基金。

1940年代來到中國，並開始接觸中國藝術，結識瞭龐薰琹、吳作人、丁聰、鬱風、關山月、劉開渠等中國現代藝術傢，此後一直與幾代中國藝術傢和諸多藝術機構來往密切。畢生專注於中國藝術的研究和傳播，是最早嚮西方引介中國現代藝術的西方學者之一，並成為這一領域的國際權威。著有《中國藝術史》《20世紀中國藝術與藝術傢》《東西方藝術的交會》等多部深具影響力的專著。

譯者簡介

徐堅

中山大學曆史學係教授。畢業於北京大學考古學係，後赴美國普林斯頓大學藝術考古係和英國牛津大學東方學部學習，曾擔任美國巴德學院訪問助教授及法國高等人文和社會科學基金會愛馬仕學人。研究領域包括東亞及東南亞青銅時代考古學、考古學理論和考古學史、早期文明比較研究、工藝美術和小藝術傳統、瀕危檔案、文化和族群研究。 著有《暗流：1949年之前安陽之外的中國考古學傳統》等，譯有《閱讀過去》《考古學思想史》和《理解早期文明》等作品。