Peter Kupfer Knihy

The narrative intertwines personal reflection with historical exploration as a son embarks on a long journey to discover the life and legacy of his Jewish father in Nazi Germany. Through a poignant blend of memoir and history, the book delves into themes of identity, loss, and the impact of the past on the present, offering a profound look at family heritage and the shadows of history.

This volume summarizes the results of a research project organized at Mainz University in Germersheim, Germany. It focused on the Jewish community in Kaifeng in China (12th to 19th century). In recent years, increasing research has been done about the history and culture of the Jews in China, and in the future, more academic interest in all questions connected with it can be expected. Main topics are the perception of Chinese Judaism in European history as well as in Chinese society itself, the self-image of the descendants in Kaifeng and their present status in China, and how China deals with foreign ethnics and religions as part of its own history and identity. These topics were discussed from various interdisciplinary points of view. The authors from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Great Britain, France, and Germany are prominent sino-judaists who present their latest results of research in the light of new facts and approaches.

In seiner ambitionierten Untersuchung der chinesischen Weinkultur erforscht der Autor die weitreichenden eurasischen Verbindungen seit dem Neolithikum. Er bietet eine interdisziplinäre Gesamtschau, die Wein und Alkohol aus verschiedenen Perspektiven betrachtet, darunter Archäologie, Anthropologie, Geschichte, Ethnographie, Soziologie, Politik, Ökonomie, Religionsphilosophie, Diätetik, Literatur, Linguistik und Kulinaristik. Das Buch hebt die Parallelen und möglichen Vernetzungen mit anderen Zivilisationen Eurasiens hervor und untersucht universale Merkmale der Alkoholkultur. Wesentliche Impulse stammen aus biomolekularen Analysen der frühesten Weinspuren in Georgien (ca. 8000 Jahre alt) und im zentralchinesischen Jiahu (ca. 9000 Jahre alt), wo das älteste bekannte alkoholische Getränk der Menschheit nachgewiesen wurde. Besonders bemerkenswert ist, dass China eine der reichhaltigsten und vielfältigsten Ressourcen an Vitis-Arten besitzt. Der Autor skizziert die Geschichte des Traubenweins (putaojiu) und des Phänomens jiu (alkoholische Getränke im weitesten Sinne) im chinesischen Raum und beschreibt die Entwicklung des Weins durch verschiedene Epochen und Dynastien, stets im Kontext der weitreichenden Zusammenhänge mit anderen eurasischen Kulturen, insbesondere der persisch-iranischen Welt.

In October 2007 renowned experts from different countries assembled at the University of Mainz in Southwest Germany to discuss new insights into Chinese wine culture and latest research results from different academic perspectives. During this symposium it has been confirmed that China has one of the longest traditions of viticulture and grape wine. This volume contains 16 revised and enlarged papers from the conference and represents the first attempt to establish an interdisciplinary research forum on Chinese wine culture. In order to encourage a broad international discourse on the topic, the book has been designed as a bilingual Chinese-English publication.