Chapter 1 Wood,a Favor with Man 1
Entrance to the East 2
Wooden Houses 5
Worship of a Single Log 7
Wood as the Foundation 9
Chapter 2 Carpenters 13
Lun Bian and His Carriage 14
Master Carpenter Lu Ban 17
Carpenters in Folklore 20
Chapter 3 Traditional Buildings 25
The Earliest Use of Wood 26
Characteristics of Ancient Buildings 29
Timber for Official Buildings 33
Structural Carpentry 35
Folk Arts and Crafts 39
Chapter 4 Visits to Palaces 41
Epang and Weiyang Palaces 42
A Glimpse of Major Palaces 44
Traditional Roofs 48
Height,Colors and Grades 49
Big Trees 52
Chapter 5 Memories of Quadrangular Residential Compounds 55
Quadrangular Residential Compounds and Hutong 56
Under the Same Roof 58
Patriarchal Clan Rules and the Clan System 61
Retrogressing Individuals 65
Chapter 6 The Mean in the Wood 69
Doctrine of the Mean 70
Happiness of the Rational 73
Chinese Buddhism 75
The Taoist Spirit 79
Chapter 7 The Corbel Bracket as an Example 83
Oriental Structure 84
The Main Beam 87
Dismembering of Corbel Bracket 89
Chapter 8 The Arc of the East 93
Perfection of the Facáde 94
Man as an Integral Part of Nature 96
Primitive Forms of Worship 101
Graceful Curves 104
Chapter 9 Garden Aesthetics 107
Strolling in Garden 108
Garden of the Creator 111
Borrowing Scenes 113
Wangchuan Garden 116
Chapter 10 Furniture of the East 119
Looking for Sandalwood 120
Grains and Painting 122
Mortise and Tenon Joints 124
Furniture of Ming and Qing Dynasties 126
Chapter 11 Chopsticks as the Fulcrum 129
Lengthened Fingers 130
Chopsticks vs.Knife and Fork 132
Taboos and Superstition 134
Chapter 12 The Final Lodging 137
Mystery of Cliff Coffins 138
Outlook on Death in the East 140
Chapter 13 Wood Artistry 145
Wood Carving 146
Legend of the Pear Garden 149
Traditional Musical Instruments 151
Chapter 14 Vessels on the Sea 155
Sail on a Raft 156
Zheng He's Voyages to the West 159
Maritime Exclusion 162
Chapter 15 Eternal Fields 163
Living in the Fields 164
Return to Han and Tang Dynasties 167
The Laws of Nature 172
Appendix:Reference Books 176