China Books

Dr. Lee offers thought provoking insights and recommendations on doing business in Asia, based upon years of personal experience. Interesting contrasts of Asian and Western cultures help to explain the different approaches to business. His advice on the important subjects of negotiation and conflict resolution provide valuable guidance on how to avoid common misunderstandings and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. This book is great for those interested in doing business in China and is recommended reading by the nation's top business school.

Explaining China is a favorite avocation of many Chinese in the West. They usually state that Chinese and Western values are opposed, and that Chinese values are not only different but superior. This fairly typical book can be straightforward and informative, particularly when the author discusses the decision-making process in China and warns that `yes' and `no' probably don't mean what the average, unsubtle American understands them to mean. But stay skeptical of the author's generalizations about Chinese (Dragon) and Western (Cowboy) motivations. He stresses the supposed "collective" disposition of Chinese, but anyone with China experience will wonder just how "collective" the Chinese really are. In an often-used saying, the Chinese compare themselves to grains of sand - to emphasize their difficulty in getting together and cooperating. Sometimes the book describes fact, and sometimes fantasy that Chinese wish were fact. It can be as useful to know a people's fantasies as it is to know their facts so, properly read, we find this book to be a useful addition to the bibliography on doing business in China. (There are, by the way, some annoying proofreading errors, most egregiously the erroneous pinyin spelling of the Chinese word for face.)

Dr. Lee covers a lot of subject matter in Cowboys and Dragrons. This is not a travel or "how to" book. This is a hands on reference piece that aims at breaking down cultural myths between the U.S. and China that have historically promulgated misunderstanding between the two countries. Dr. Lee emphasizes the necessity of having a historical and cultural understanding of the United States and China before entering into or embarking on business dealings between the two countries. He poses philisophical questions to the reader in order to uncover fundamental truths about human relationships. Furthermore, he provides practical advice on how to make a U.S./China business deal work to the benefit of BOTH sides.

If you ever wondered why Chinese bow and avoid direct eye contact versus the American norm of firm handshakes and looking someone squarely in the eye or how to better understand the nuances of business language among both cultures, this book will explain it all.

Cowboys and Dragons will surely become a must read among business school students, entrepreneurs, executives, and individuals that plan or or are currently doing business in China. Keep this book handy.

So, how did I like this book? This thirteen-year-old girl makes me cry, she is so determined, so stubborn, so absolutely resolved to succeed.

One day she can't find her pen. "You're probably going to start laughing," she says. "A pen. What a minor thing to get so distressed about! I saved up my pocket money for two weeks. My mother had given me some money with which to buy bread. For days I had only eaten yellow rice. I preferred going hungry and economising (sic) so that I could buy the pen. How I suffered for that pen!"

[That pen] "made me understand the meaning of a difficult life or a happy life. Every time I see the pen it's as if I were seeing my mother. It's as if she was encouraging me to work hard and make it into girls' senior school. Now I've disappointed my mother. What am I but a useless burden? At school I lead a life which isn't worthwhile. I couldn't make it into the girls' school. What's the use of going on?"

But then she always pulls herself up. "But I must think positively. I have to succeed. I will. I really will find an ideal job. And I'll be happy with it."

Now that I've finished it, I think I can't remember a book which touched me more deeply. How can anyone persevere in the face of such poverty and hardship? And yet she does, and to such a great benefit for at least for a few.

Ma Yan is 13 years old and is told by her mother that she needs to leave school and work in the fields to pay for the education of her two younger brothers. But Ma Yan dreams of getting an education to pull her family out of the desperate poverty that they suffer every day. In this book we follow her diary through ages 12 and 13 as she struggles with going to school in miserable conditions with never enough food to eat, desperately trying to succeed against all odds. But her fate catches up with her when she is 13 years old, as her family can no longer afford to send her to school. She is destined for a hard life working in the fields...until a miracle occurs. This heart-wrenching journal full of courage and determination is a must-read for all girls who have dreams of their own.

Our whole family enjoyed this book, especially our 12-year-old daughter!

We meet Ma Yan when she's thirteen and in the last year of her primary school. She lives in the dormitory during the week and makes the twelve and a half mile walk home every weekend. Her life revolves around school and the absolute necessity for her to do well, while her very existence is consumed with thoughts of food and constant hunger. Ma Yan's story is of her struggle to survive and break out of this terrible poverty.

"How wonderful it would be if I could stay in school forever," says Ma Yan, but in 2001 she knows that will never happen. Life in rural China is hard. In the village of Zhangjiashu, thousands of miles northwest of Beijing, the way out is by getting an education. If a family is able to provide the funds for school, the boys are the lucky recipients.

Ma Yan's mother understands her daughter's passionate plea to remain in school. Determined that her daughter have a better life, Ma Yan's thirty-three year old mother sacrifices even more and travels two hundred and fifty miles away to earn the money needed for her daughter to return to school. In many ways, this is as much the story of the mother as it is the daughter.

In short daily entries, Ma Yan tells of life in and out of school. Her desperate need to succeed, her emotional upheavals, the intense rivalry between students, the enormous sacrifices made by her parents, and the "cruel life" lived by her octogenarian grandparents pull the reader deeper and deeper into Ma Yan's world and reveal an ordinary girl living a life few of us can imagine.

Although this is essentially a young adult book, the story has the power to capture the imagination of adults. In my humble opinion, Ma Yan's Diary should be mandatory reading for all.

An excellent resource for china. The author does not fabricate or exaggerate anything that he doesnt seem to know about the country and he applies written tetimony form people who have worked and lived there.

I am a business strategy consultant with a reasonable amount of China experience. I have to say that this book provides the best balance of concise presentation, expert insight, and enjoyable narrative of any China business book I've read.

Too many books on the subject of doing business in China are written by quasi-experts who comment on broad trends that are either obvious or false conventional wisdom. Mr. Plafker's book shows a level of China business acumen that can only be garnered from years of experience. The anecdotes are at once entertaining and insightful. I have successfully used a number of the stories when consulting for clients. I had a recent client engaged a one-man consultancy offering "expertise" in China market entry. The client was shocked when I was able to guess (based on Mr Plafker's anecdotes) that the expert had (1) boasted about the number of visits he had made to China and (2) gone on at length on the need to hand over business cards with two hands. The consultant turned out to have little true expertise, and I established my credibility.

This book is a must-read. For those that are new to business in China, it is a more nuanced and insightful primer than any other you will find. For old China hands, the book is a useful tool to help you synthesize the body wisdom that you have accumulated.

This is a must-read for any Western business people venturing into China.

As a Chinese living in US for 10 years, I am amazed by Ted's understanding and appreciation of some of the subtleties of the Chinese culture, e.g. reluctance to say no, huge concern for one's face or mianzi. His treatment of the expat life in China is objective and comprehensive. He also paints an excellent picture of what aspects of China are morphing to be more western-like. His opinions and advices are specific, and backed by facts and his 18-year first-hand experience on the ground. For the thorniest issue, corruption, Ted gave a sound advice of never getting your foot wet in it.

Ted's writing is easy to read. The summaries at the end of each chapter are very useful references.

One thing Ted did not give enough coverage, in my opinion, is the implication of the strong nationalism sentiment reinforced by the Chinese Community Party through the schooling system as well as the media. A lot of Chinese people view the Western powers as greedy and unfriendly because of the humiliation and exploitation suffered by the Chinese in late 1800's and early 1900's. That sentiment is at the root of a lot of the sensitivities.

Another thing I did not quite like is that the catchy subtitle is somewhat misleading. A more accurate subtitle would be "What you have to know before and during doing business in China". But that is a petty flaw in a no-nonsense book.

Particularly impressive is the author's approach at presenting the Chinese thought process in such a manner that Westerners can not only understand the Chinese psyche, but respect and learn from it as well. This book was perhaps one of the most enlightening books I have read in a while. There is a a concerted effort to show business protocol and potential avenues of entry, but more importantly this book addresses the fundamental social concepts that need to be FULLY understood before attempting to grow in China.

Of the vast number of books about China, this one is a very useful account of how successfully doing business in China. Western Managers at the forefront in China should read this book which brings together a lifetime of research and practice on China.

Doing business in China!
Relation, Relation And Relation....

If you are using your American or European style to work and even partner with China's firms, you must be failure in the end.

Relationship with the Government and officials are the major concerns when you stepping into the door of China.

Think Global and hire Local Chinese people is the only way to have the final success with your partner in China.

China means: " Always in the historical culture "
So don't think about China with your American Standard !

Try to learn with your local Chinese people (doer)

Anyway, China is opened now and also needed to face the ways for WTO ! Reckon, China can learn from their European and American business partners from today.

This is an excellent book on marketing, management, and working in China. Informative, up to date, and useful, including for people with long-term experience in Asia.

A useful and down-to-business book on the new economic giant - China. The cultural, economic, social and managerial wealth which the book covers about business in China is professional, broad, and very applicable. I knew China is growing, but I did not know to which extent, why, or even how to participate. The author does not only describe the current situation in China, she also gives a very good insight into the mentality of Chinese, their business attitude, and how to face Chinese in countless day-to-day business situations. A very good introduction and also an excellent companion for any business trip to China, including for experienced China-travelers. The book is informative, detailed and captivating, and I recommend it for anyone interested in China. - far beyond the business.

I have been living in China for years, working in textiles. After reading the book, I now much better understand many of the problems I had, and I wish I would have been able to purchase such a book earlier. It offers great examples of successful business practices and management in China, but also a broad range of pitfalls and mistakes and how to avoid. Particularly I like the lists and tips, which give helpful summaries for important topics.
This is a book I have been waiting for some time. A good summary of a complex topic, and highly recommendable for foreign managers that have to go to and work in China.
Merci!

This book was written at the end of his lifetime by this extraordinary Mongolian Lama (teacher) who first brought Tibetan Buddhism to America in 1955. Geshe Wangyal was teacher to several generations of students, among them some of the most famous names of Tibetan Buddhist translation and exposition today. The book, a compilation of various translations from the Tibetan, was made under his supervision at the monastery he founded in New Jersey. It is his utterly straightforward, sincere, and authentic offering of the Teaching (Dharma). Geshe Wangyal does not hold back, giving us everything we need to know. "Do not just accumulate sensless bits of knowledge," he tells us, "when studying the Teaching, but try to increase your understanding."

Its contents (briefly summarized below) span the full range of Buddhist teachings:
1. Begins with an introductory by Geshe Wangyal in which he offers the unique pure presentation of the Tibetan overview of the Teachings revealing the hidden threads that link the various selections of his book together.
2. There is a colorful and fabulous history of the Dharma, featuring tales of the great teachers.
3. A section of eloquent, vivid, and touching stories of the previous lives of the Buddha, as well as of one of his female disciples.
4. Then a text of precepts -- kernel-like nuggets of advice from the spiritual lineage of teacher to student -- on the bringing of the practice of Dharma into one's everyday life. (When asked which was most important teaching a famous teacher replied, "The precept of the Lama.")
5. Finally the book concludes with a number of pivotal texts by Tsong-kha-pa, the 15th century founder of the Yellow Hat sect. These set forth his exquisite yet precise delineations clarifying the Buddhist path to enlightenment, some with commentaries. Included is the immensely beautiful and profound enlightenment poem, written upon his realization of emptiness and dependent origination as being the same, praising the teachings of the Buddha. "Such...[teachers]...as Tsong-kha-pa...did not create new teachings, but rather, clarified the original word of the Buddha...."

This is a real book. Its feet are firm upon the Earth, while it plumbs the depths and soars into the rainbow sky. Geshe Wangyal plainly gives us this gift without the least bit of technical language, allowing the book to be enthralling and enlightening for anybody, from the total newcomer to the most avid expert on the subject.

A treasury of delight, nutrition to the starving mind, contains the quintessence of Dharma. Conspire to share the thrill.

Enter the gateway to the Door of Liberation

This book was written at the end of his lifetime by this extraordinary Mongolian Lama (teacher) who first brought Tibetan Buddhism to America in 1955. Geshe Wangyal was teacher to several generations of students, among them some of the most famous names of Tibetan Buddhist translation and exposition today. The book, a compilation of various translations from the Tibetan, was made under his supervision at the monastery he founded in New Jersey. It is his utterly straightforward, sincere, and authentic offering of the Teaching (Dharma). Geshe Wangyal does not hold back, giving us everything we need to know. "Do not just accumulate sensless bits of knowledge," he tells us, "when studying the Teaching, but try to increase your understanding."

Its contents (briefly summarized below) span the full range of Buddhist teachings:
1. Begins with an introductory by Geshe Wangyal in which he offers the unique pure presentation of the Tibetan overview of the Teachings revealing the hidden threads that link the various selections of his book together.
2. There is a colorful and fabulous history of the Dharma, featuring tales of the great teachers.
3. A section of eloquent, vivid, and touching stories of the previous lives of the Buddha, as well as of one of his female disciples.
4. Then a text of precepts -- kernel-like nuggets of advice from the spiritual lineage of teacher to student -- on the bringing of the practice of Dharma into one's everyday life. (When asked which was most important teaching a famous teacher replied, "The precept of the Lama.")
5. Finally the book concludes with a number of pivotal texts by Tsong-kha-pa, the 15th century founder of the Yellow Hat sect. These set forth his exquisite yet precise delineations clarifying the Buddhist path to enlightenment, some with commentaries. Included is the immensely beautiful and profound enlightenment poem, written upon his realization of emptiness and dependent origination as being the same, praising the teachings of the Buddha. "Such...[teachers]...as Tsong-kha-pa...did not create new teachings, but rather, clarified the original word of the Buddha...."

This is a real book. Its feet are firm upon the Earth, while it plumbs the depths and soars into the rainbow sky. Geshe Wangyal plainly gives us this gift without the least bit of technical language, allowing the book to be enthralling and enlightening for anybody, from the total newcomer to the most avid expert on the subject.

A treasury of delight, nutrition to the starving mind, contains the quintessence of Dharma. Conspire to share the thrill.

Enter the gateway to the Door of Liberation

This book was written at the end of his lifetime by this extraordinary Mongolian Lama (teacher) who first brought Tibetan Buddhism to America in 1955. Geshe Wangyal was teacher to several generations of students, among them some of the most famous names of Tibetan Buddhist translation and exposition today. The book, a compilation of various translations from the Tibetan, was made under his supervision at the monastery he founded in New Jersey. It is his utterly straightforward, sincere, and authentic offering of the Teaching (Dharma). Geshe Wangyal does not hold back, giving us everything we need to know. "Do not just accumulate sensless bits of knowledge," he tells us, "when studying the Teaching, but try to increase your understanding."

Its contents (briefly summarized below) span the full range of Buddhist teachings:
1. Begins with an introductory by Geshe Wangyal in which he offers the unique pure presentation of the Tibetan overview of the Teachings revealing the hidden threads that link the various selections of his book together.
2. There is a colorful and fabulous history of the Dharma, featuring tales of the great teachers.
3. A section of eloquent, vivid, and touching stories of the previous lives of the Buddha, as well as of one of his female disciples.
4. Then a text of precepts -- kernel-like nuggets of advice from the spiritual lineage of teacher to student -- on the bringing of the practice of Dharma into one's everyday life. (When asked which was most important teaching a famous teacher replied, "The precept of the Lama.")
5. Finally the book concludes with a number of pivotal texts by Tsong-kha-pa, the 15th century founder of the Yellow Hat sect. These set forth his exquisite yet precise delineations clarifying the Buddhist path to enlightenment, some with commentaries. Included is the immensely beautiful and profound enlightenment poem, written upon his realization of emptiness and dependent origination as being the same, praising the teachings of the Buddha. "Such...[teachers]...as Tsong-kha-pa...did not create new teachings, but rather, clarified the original word of the Buddha...."

This is a real book. Its feet are firm upon the Earth, while it plumbs the depths and soars into the rainbow sky. Geshe Wangyal plainly gives us this gift without the least bit of technical language, allowing the book to be enthralling and enlightening for anybody, from the total newcomer to the most avid expert on the subject.

A treasury of delight, nutrition to the starving mind, contains the quintessence of Dharma. Conspire to share the thrill.

Enter the gateway to the Door of Liberation!

A Note of Some Import:
This is the original hardcover edition of this text also offered by Amazon under the same title as a paperback. Unless you are a rare book collector, it would be worth your while to see their alternate offering

A history book that you can't put down? One that you want to read again and again? This is that and more. So well written and without judgements, it manages to evoke emotions and makes history live. This is an excellent book, with amazing pictures.

The Dragon Empress Dowager of China.There are pictures of her, her court her time as well as eunuchs.There are some rare pictures, that one does not normally see in other books.If you are interested in reading about this strange person and like who she was, or fascinated by her time and history read this book.

Marina Warner made her reputation with this book, a lavishly illustrated history of the Empress Dowager and the world she knew. It is wonderfully well written and succinct. Swift moving enough for a 12 year old, but the history it told was so thorough and so accurate that I was able to come back to the book ten years later, having studied the Qin and Ming in college, and marvel at how much truth she had put in so few pages.

Neither a deep work of scholarship nor a startling revision, this smooth and balanced study puts Tz'u-Hsi in context, explaining how she shaped (and failed to shape) the world around her. The lavish pictures push this book close to a coffe table work, but the whole is just the sort of thing to excite someone just getting interested in history, or in China.
I don't know what Marina Warner thinks of her early work, thirty years on. I think it a job well done.

This book is actually several stories about the Dream-of-Jade Cat and the Emperor. There are beautiful illustrations and the stories good, this book is rated for ages 9 - 12 and I agree.

The stories are:
How Dream of Jade Looked at the Emperor
How the Dream-of-Jade Cured the Emperor
How the Dream-of-Jade Made the Emperor Laugh
How the Dream-of-Jade Chose a Gift
How Dream-of-Jade Wrote the Law

Come laugh with me and allow an Imperial Feline to draw back the veil of Time that obscures Imperishable Truths. You doubtless know Lloyd Alexander as a prolific writer & author of medieval fantasies. In "Dream-of-Jade" his wonder-filled stories tell us about ancient China and Emperor Kwan-Yu. "Jade" is the cat who stole his affections.

The author dedicated his book to "my dear cats who told me these tales." Fables can be enjoyed 'time and again' - - these were first published in CRICKET magazine in 1976. We learn how historical events were clarified by the wisdom of "Jade": how she cured the emperor, wrote the Law, and most importantly made the emperor laugh. Her beautiful green eyes & white fur is realistically portrayed through the artistry of D. Brent Burkett. He, as well as the cat, get in a few 'swipes' at pompous know-it-all bureaucrats. Some of the tongue-in-cheek humor may be lost on the youngest listeners but they will love the highly stylized speech with "important" words, and the rhythm of complicated 'titles' - such as this on page 36: "the Glittering Repository of Highly Valuable Objects."

If we listen attentively as any cat lover should, we will realize there are often lessons for adults to be found in children's picture books. Reviewer mcHAIKU suggests that you allow yourself to be hypnotized by "Dream-of-Jade."

Dream-of-Jade is a fabulous and fantastic story that emphasizes kindness, generosity, diplomacy, and common sense. The setting is beautiful, the characters are delightful, and nestled throughout the stories are bits of humor, pieces of irony, and the occasional new vocabulary word. Mr. Alexander's book is smart and charming, and as good a read for adults as it is for children. As an added bonus, the artwork, while more impressionistic than many children's books, adds to the flavor of the story quite well, providing a detailed enough view of events that one can see them while not detracting from the reader's eager imaginings.

My friend give me this book as a birthday gift to teas me. She didn't know that my father collect some of it's kind for his literature studies (seriously) since fifty years ago till he passed away seven years ago. I've been reading this kind of pictures and books in my father's lab located at his University in Taipei since I was little. The contents are erotic but artful,cuturing and healthy. The printing of this book is very good. It's a very sophisticated book. It's great for your bed- room collection and art collection. It's the best...

When reading the introductions and admiring the illustrations i felt i was before art so wise and so deep i felt happy. Very simple and very true. Reading this won't make you want to run away from it but rather takes you inside the scenes. You certainly want to be part of the escenarios. The tenderness and passion of chinese erotic art has quite a different flavor from the more agressive, macho-like of the japanese. They make a good combination, though. See and enjoy.

This is a wonderful book. It's coffee-table sized, allowing reproductions large enough to show their many details. Every image is beautifully printed, with lush, strong color. The examples cover a variety of styles. Most of them are paintings on paper or silk, though a few ceramics and other works appear. Notes are sketchy, but most of the images seem to date from the 17th or 18th century forward.

Across the whole period covered, a few things stand out. First is the whole tone of the works: they all depict affection between the players. Some of the pictures show an illicit love, or a senior wife unhappy at attention given to a concubine. None of scenes depict coercion or aggression, however. They are all about people happy together, or who were happy until found out. The second is the wide ranges of practices. Most scenes depict coition, in numerous, often improbable poses. There are also repeated themes of caresses, genital kissing, toys, multiple players or helpers, and same-sex couples. Although the male usually held the dominant position, nearly every practice was practiced for him and her both, by him and her both.

The paintings usually display intricate detail in the surroundings, to invoke rich furnishings, fine clothes (often discarded), or outdoor scenes. Most of the reproductions here are large enough for even fine detail to be visible. In fact, the relatively few small pictures became frustrating, since it was harder to read the finer marks in the pictures.

Text is very helpful. It often explains fine points that I might not have understood otherwise. It also contains extracts from stories and poems about physical love, and the first section skims nearly two thousand years of Chinese history. I found that helpful for placing the pictures and passages shown in a larger historical context. Given its generally useful content, I found it nearly maddening that so few of the comments told when, where, or by what artist any picture was created. Just a few sentences more per page would have made a huge difference.

There's a lot to say about the images, the culture behind them, and the historical shifts in surroundings, practices, and visual style. I'll let you see that for yourself, though. This book really isn't about the text, it's about the pictures.

//wiredweird

This book stands out as a breath of fresh air compared to many other very well written books about families in China's recent history. It is a saga of generations of scholars and how they lived, struggled, and persevered. The book is a memoir, an epic story, an autobiography, and a biography of the author's father, a leading scholar of international law who returned to China at the dawn of the new communist China upon completing his Ph.D. in the US.

The book was inspired by poems collected by the author's father that were written for him by his father. The author depicts the stories of each family member spanning three generations. Returning to their roots and passing along deep understanding and appreciation were the themes that played out in each generation of the family and epitomized by the title of the book. Each story is painted in vivid color with a genuine and unpolished brush. I felt that I was not reading a book; rather, I was living their lives with them through the ups and downs. I felt their pain and joy, and her family became mine. Even though I grew up in China in a similar period as the author did, I never got to know China in this kind of intimate way until I read this book. I thank the author for giving me this special gift.

Woven in the fabric of each story are beautiful tales full of cultural wisdom that are uniquely Chinese. "The Bridge of Knowing Fish" and "the Story of Tui-Qiao" are just two examples. Reading this book is a culturally enriching experience for Chinese or westerners alike.

Standing straight with honesty and pride is the image that I see from this beautiful family. Their love and support for each other endured and strengthened them through the darkest period in China's history. Injustice, humiliation, loss of loved ones, and suppression--none of these ever shook their faith, dignity, integrity and a sense of destiny.

Readers of this book also gain a special insight into the country of China today. Through the window of this family, I feel that one can draw an understanding of where the strength of the country comes from.

I could not put the book down, and at the same time, I did not want to finish reading the book too soon. This is a rare find that I am glad I did not miss. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in China in general; or who would like to learn Chinese contemporary history, sociology, anthropology, family structure, and women's studies. No matter what the reason, you will come away richer in mind and stronger in spirit.

This is a great autobiography. True and original!
Different from the books of the genre that are focused on the last fifty years in China and written by the people from the "red upper class," so to speak, this book is about the life of the people who were powerless and more likely to be the targets of the political movements happened so frequently in China during that period due to their family background.

With her love, the author told us an amazing family story of three generations.
Her family members were highly educated in both Chinese and Western cultures. Her grandparents would have lived a comfortable life if China had not been rifted with warfare in the 1930s and the early 1940s. The ruthless, hostile political circumstances in the last century in China destroyed their good life and filled their life with frustrations. They were not characteristically strong people, except the author's maternal grandfather, but they courageously maintained their belief in life and in the goodness of human nature, even after the loved ones' deaths. Even under heavy political pressures, they never stopped loving each other, as well as others.

Writing her story mainly by portraying the family members without strictly following major events chronologically, the author seemed making a photo album for her loved ones. In China, under "red terror" some people were forced to denounce their elders and their friends by breaking off their relationship with them. It's also a common practice during that period to destroy their family albums and old pictures. Only when one keeps this in mind, can he understand how important this album created by this book is to her family and how important the similar books are in general in terms of searching an untold history.

In many places, the author showed us Romanized Chinese words and expressions followed by rich, vivid explanations. She also told us many well-known, moving Chinese stories in this book. All these make this book very helpful to Westerners in studying and understanding Chinese language, culture, and history.

A book that is very well written, interesting, true and unique!

Through its vivid, detailed and truthful descriptions, the book let me relive that part of history in China as an ordinary Chinese who had a similar background and stimulated tremendous emotional resonance in me. The book truthfully recorded and lively depicted what an ordinary intellectual family had been through in the past century, especially in the past 50 years. A part of Chinese history that is too important to forget and so important to China's future development.

Unlike many books of this kind that focused on upper class Chinese and their political or personal secrets, this book focused on how ordinary Chinese lived through that part of history with its many vivid, detailed and humorous stories, happy and sad. Therefore, this book can bring you much closer to the real life of Chinese and make you understand China and Chinese people much better.

Another uniqueness of the book is that it's very rich in cultural contents. The stories it tells were richly supported by many cultural backgrounds and descriptions. It's a good book for non-Chinese readers to understand Chinese social and cultural backgrounds and to learn Chinese culture.

I hail the author for her unique and creative efforts in writing the book and strongly recommend it to readers, Chinese or non-Chinese.