{"title":"Hardie Alison","description":"\u003cp\u003eHardie Alison offers readers a distinctive blend of historical insight and cultural exploration, with a particular emphasis on nuanced, illustrated narratives. Their works often delve into the intricate histories of landscapes and traditions, providing a rich visual and textual journey through time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFocusing primarily on topics within history and military, Alison's books invite readers to explore the subtle interplay between environment and heritage, making each title a compelling study of past worlds rendered vividly for a contemporary audience.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"an-illustrated-brief-history-of-chinese-gardens-by-hardie-alison-9781938368875","title":"An Illustrated Brief History of Chinese Gardens","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are many books published in English on Chinese gardens, but the majority are primarily picture books with little informative content. With a large number of illustrations of Chinese gardens, ancient paintings, block prints, and other artefacts, \u003cem\u003eAn Illustrated Brief History of Chinese Gardens\u003c\/em\u003e is a social history of Chinese gardens and focuses on how gardens have functioned and been used in Chinese society through the ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eApart from the aesthetic or philosophical aspects of Chinese gardens, you may see how gardens functioned as real estate, how they gave opportunities of employment to skilled artisans, how they opened up outdoor space to both elite and lower-class women, and how they allowed men of different social classes and of different ethnicities to interact and gain mutual benefit; in short, how the existence of gardens exerted an influence on society as a whole.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the same time, the reader can find how the wider society, and even socio-economic changes beyond China's own borders, had an impact on how gardens in China developed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47485818405100,"sku":"9781938368875","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781938368875-an-illustrated-brief-history-of-chinese-gardens.jpg?v=1775715882"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/hardie-alison.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}