内容简介
Beginning in the 1980s, over many years and many journeys,Daniel Schwartz has patiently and obsessively photographed one ofmankind's supreme monuments—the Great Wall of China. Schwartz wasthe first foreigner ever to be allowed to see so much of the Wall.From the border of North Korea westward he traveled throughmountains and deserts and frozen grasslands to the borders ofCentral Asia. China's new policy of openness encouraged him torevisit the Wall and to photograph areas that had been closed evento him on previous journeys. This extraordinary project is at oncea beautiful photographic essay, an intriguing conceptual artproject, and a personal odyssey. As Schwartz has said: "I went toChina to find out what I was capable of...I wanted to do it becauseit was impossible. I wanted to find out where the boundaries of theimpossible lay and how close I could get to them." To place thephotographs in context, the Chinese historian Luo Zhewen, who hasdedicated his life to a study of the Great Wall, has written anessential brief history. Also included is Jorge Luis Borges's shortmeditation "The Wall and the Books" and an extract from FranzKafka's illuminating short story "The Great Wall of China." TheGreat Wall is acknowledged as the world's most amazing man-madeartifact. Daniel Schwartz, with his profound and hauntingphotographs, has made not only a unique document but a book that isa work of art in itself. 149 duotone photographs and 6 maps. --Thistext refers to the Hardcover edition.