China Books

This is a great book that provides a in-depth analysis on Chinese political thought and Chinese ideal personality as well. I highly recommend to those who are interested in Chinese culture, history, and philosophy.

As China emerges as a world political and economical power the necessity to understand her sociopolitical and cultural development is obvious.

Xuezhi Guo of Guilford College offers in "The Ideal Chinese Political Leader" an analytical and thought provoking exploration of the Chinese political Culture through historical and contemporary perspectives on Legalism, Daoism (Taoism) and Confucianism, as well as the relevant historical characters, from Confucius to Mao, that shaped these disciplines. The function of Confucianism, as political thought, is shown through the works of early ideologue scholars as well as the adaptation of orthodox political philosophy by contemporary leaders to form China's modern political ideology. Moreover, Guo draws a linear connection between the events of early Confucianism and the ultimate development of Chinese communism through a retrospective analysis of its ideological origins.

I highly recommend this book for anyone investigating the development of the Chinese political and philosophical culture.

I bought this book after reading Jonathan Mirsky's highly positive and alarming review in the Wall Street Journal. Mirsky is right. This is an important book that policy makers and jouranlists in China, Taiwan, the US and European countries must read. Major investors and people concerned about world peace, prosperity and stability should read it too. This is a powerful and poignant assessment of how serious the consequences of a war across the Taiwan Strait will be and how important it is that all those involved must work together to pre-empt China from using force against Taiwan, as it will involve the US in a war against China, and drag Britain, Japan and other countries into it.

This is an excellent book. The introductory chapter in particular is fantastic. I was concerned about the China-Taiwan tension but did not realize the potential costs of such a conflict could be so high. Now I am convinced that everything must be done to pre-empt hostilities from breaking out between China and Taiwan.
The book as a whole is very interesting and clear in explaining complex military issues in a language that is accessible. It is well structured and put together. It reads more like a single authored book than a collaborative volume. I think it is an important book that should be widely read.

based on, more often than not, updated version of lectures, of which all but one -- that of R. Barnett's excellent paper -- were given at 'Mythos Tibet' symposium held in Bonn, in May 1996. Participants from various fields of Tibetology, social and cultural anthropology, historical studies, Tibet support activism, etc. guarantee multi- and interdisciplinary approach to interested laymen and specialists alike. Bountiful illustrations, endnotes, incomplete index, and exhaustive bibliography.

The first segment focuses on 'Missionaries & Scholars', and the historical development of certain images they filtered through/(mis)construed. Rudolf Kaschewky - The image of Tibet in the West before the 19th c.: References from Herodotus & Claudius Ptolemaios through the Portuguese Jesuit Antonio Andrade's Ladakhi mission and his Italian brother Ippolito Desideri's stay in dBus-gTsang less than a century later to the Augustinian monk Antonius Georgius's "Alphabetum Tibetanum". John Bray - 19th and early 20th c. missionary images of Tibet. Per Kvaerne - Tibet images among researchers of Tibet.

Part Two 'The Sight of the "Other"' investigates a number of aspects of the Western (and Chinese) views of Tibet "against the backdrop provided by their social, political, and ideological contexts." (p. xii) Alex C. McKay - The British construction of an image of Tibet (highlight, henceforth abbreviated: hl): "The failure to establish an image of Tibet fully consistent with the Tibetans' self-image was partly due to both the inherently class-based and imperial perceptions of the cadre officers {of British India} and their alliance with the ruling elite within Tibet. But it was principally the result of Whitehall's refusal to recognize Tibetan independence." (p. 85) That is Tibet as a pawn in the 'Great Game' being played primarily by Britain, Russia (at the turn of the 20th c.), and China at the time. Peter H. Hansen - Tibet and the cinema in the early 20th century. Thomas Heberer - Old Tibet a hell on Earth? The myth of Tibet and Tibetans in Chinese art and propaganda (hl): the Hans' projections/misrepresentations labelled 'exotic-erotic, patriarchal-pedagogical, historical (or rather historicizing)-primitive'. Sadly missing from the list -- and for that matter, not only from this very article but from the entire tome -- is the priest-patron/guru-disciple/spirito-political (mchod-yon) angle that had been a determining factor in the relationship between the heads/luminaries of various Tibetan sects/schools/lineages and the imperial court; especially under the Mongol (Yuan) and Manchu (Qing) rule of China, and to a much lesser extent under the Ming dynasty as well. For more on this, consult the 1990s titles by Seyfort Ruegg. Poul Pedersen - Tibet, Theosophy and the psychologization of Buddhism. Frank J. Korom - The role of Tibet in the New Age movement. Donald S. Lopez Jr. - The image of Tibet of the great mystifiers (hl): The renowned Tibetologist singles out surgical fitter Cyril Hoskin turned New Age impostor under the widely known pen name Lobzang Rampa for analysis. He honestly admits that "it is not simply that the scholar needs the dilettante in order to define his identity. {L. R.} is rather like the glud, the ransom {...} offered to the demons in a Tibetan exorcism ceremony in exchange for the spirit of the possessed {...} So Rampa is given to the public, who does not care what the scholar says, and he derives his livelihood in the bargain. In return, the scholar, by renouncing the public, receives symbolic capital by disavowing that upon which he is ultimately dependent"{...p. 199} Peter Bishop - Not only a Shangri-la. Images of Tibet in Western literature. Heather Stoddard - The development in perception of Tibetan art. From golden idols to ultimate reality.

According to the compilers' Preface (p. xii), "{t}he authors in Part Three have taken it upon themselves to comment on various aspects of Tibetan culture in relation to our images of Tibet." Basically this segment dubbed 'Standpoints' picks up the thread where it has been left off. P. Jeffrey Hopkins - Tibetan monastic colleges. Rationality versus the demands of allegiance. Robert Barnett - "Violated specialness". Western political representations of Tibet (hl) deals with the exiled Tibetan government's changing tactics in light of their Western reception (political and civilian). "{T}hey {the Western one-worlder globalists} offered a language that could be used ambiguously so that the domestic audience would see it as criticizing China while Chinese officials might be persuaded that the criticisms were sufficiently mild so as not to be threatening to fundamental concerns {i.e., profit to a select few and oppression for the masses; one market, one consumer...} They avoided terms referring to total destruction, nationhood, territory, or status {...p. 291} {A} shared linguistic framework within which Chinese and non-Chinese political forces can conceal their differences and, by exploiting its ambiguities, find themselves within what is in effect an alliance in diminishing or neutralizing the claims of Tibetan nationalists." (p. 297) Calculated charade and hypocricy, in other words! This rhymes with the remark Hugh Richardson (British Trade Agent at Gyantse and Officer-in-Charge at Lhasa from 1936 to 1940, 1946-7; and then in the capacity of representative for the independent government of India from 1947-50) had made: "{t}he British Government ... sold the Tibetans down the river {...} I was profoundly ashamed of the government." (p. 86) For this latter authority's collected writings on Tibetan history and culture, try to obtain "High Peaks, Pure Earth" edited by the late peerless Michael Aris, and published by Serindia (London) in 1998. Elliot Sperling's '"Orientalism" and aspects of violence in the Tibetan tradition' (hl) demystifies the non-violent notion of the Tibetan politico-religious arena by emphasizing the responsibility of the 5th Dalai lama Ngag-dbang bLo-bzang rgya-mtsho in recruiting the military aid commanded by the Qoshot/Oirat Mongol Gushri khan to overthrow the alliance that had been forged between the gTsang-pa rulers (sde-srid) and the Karma-pa (especially the Red Hat (zhwa-dmar) branch) sect then in power, thereby establishing dGe-lugs-pa theocracy/hierocracy in 1642. The author backs up his assertion by quoting relevant passages from the Great Fifth's autobiography (rang-thar) under the ultra short title "Dukuula" (Sanskrit name for a particular plant and the fine cloth or raiment made of the inner bark of this plant). The same source was used by Samten G. Karmay, who arrived at a somewhat different conclusion in laying the blame for the Mongols' armed intervention on the councillor-secretary (zhal-ngo) bSod-nams chos-'phel's (1595-1657) treasonous falsification of his master's order. (cf. 'The fifth Dalai lama and his reunification of Tibet', in: "The Arrow and the Spindle" (vol. I) pp. 509-10, 1998 Kathmandu; the article originally appeared in French, in the compendium "Lhasa, Terre du Divin", ed. Francoise Pommaret, 1997 Geneva) Helena Norberg-Hodge - Tibetan culture as a model of ecological sustainability: based on field research in Ladakh, we assume. Graham E. Clarke - Tradition, modernity, and enviromental change in Tibet. Toni Huber - Shangri-la in exile. Representations of Tibetan identity and transnational culture. Jamyang Norbu - Behind the lost horizon. Demystifying Tibet. Dagyab Kyabgön rinpoche - Buddhism in the West and the image of Tibet.
In the concluding essay 'Between Shangri-la and feudal oppression. Attempting a synthesis' (hl), convenor-editors Thierry Dodin and Heinz Rather pull together the multifarious threads of former themes.

Bod rang-btsan dang rgyal-lo/May Tibet be victorious and self-governing!

This is a great book if you want to learn more about the reality of Tibet, rather than the numerous romantic myths that have been spawned about it in the West. Having lived from my teens to mid-Twenties in a Canadian community where Tibetans were resettled, I can tell you first hand that they are no more good or bad in general than any other people group. Reading a book like this will save you a lot of wasted time in building up fantasies and having them disappointed. It will help you deal with the more obvious problems, like Lobsang Rampa's fictions, as well as gain a more balanced view of the often over-stated claims about Tibetan Buddhism, environmentalism, peacefulness, and all the other projected idealisms that go into changing the actual particulars of real Tibetan society and history into the Shangri-La of Western desire.

Often overlooked in favor of the more explicitly political of his contemporaries (most notably, Lu Xun), Shen Congwen's work is richly textured, complex, and lyrical. Shen is a writer who brings the China of his past and present alive without the overburdening and unreal pressure of trying to save it. Nostalgia breathes through his pastoral countryside scenes, and his urban landscapes reveal a fractured, paradoxical consciousness--both unsure and hopeful. In many ways Shen plays the anthropologist to Lu Xun's politically ultra-conscious social engineer. And in this sense he seems more real to a modern reader. He approaches his subjects with less judgment, and with much less baggage. While others try to give life to Chinese society through social change and self-criticism, Shen is more invested in the life that is already there. Certainly he expresses his opinions about many aspects of Chinese culture throughout his stories, but he avoids the beat-you-over-the-head approach. In many cases, it's difficult to really assess what he thinks, which makes exploring his work a more challenging, and satisfying, adventure.

The translations in this edition are smoothly rendered and very readable, although the edition suffers, I think, from its diverse group of contributors. Without a single translator it is difficult to achieve a continuity of style and substance. But all in all this collection is a tremendous addition to the English-accessible literature of modern China. Shen is brilliant and poetic, but in a subtle, understated way. The entire collection is infused with a cocktail of profound nostalgia for the past, hope for the future, and, most of all, the beauty and innocence of the living present.

Often overlooked in favor of the more explicitly political of his contemporaries (most notably, Lu Xun), Shen Congwen's work is richly textured, complex, and lyrical. Shen is a writer who brings the China of his past and present alive without the overburdening and unreal pressure of trying to save it. Nostalgia breathes through his pastoral countryside scenes, and his urban landscapes reveal a fractured, paradoxical consciousness--both unsure and hopeful. In many ways Shen plays the anthropologist to Lu Xun's politically ultra-conscious social engineer. And in this sense he seems more real to a modern reader. He approaches his subjects without judgment, and with much less baggage. While others try to give life to Chinese society through social change and self-criticism, Shen simply and beautifully reveals the life that is already there.

The translations in this edition are smoothly rendered and very readable, although the edition suffers, I think, from its diverse group of contributors. Without the unifying vision of a single translator it is difficult to achieve a continuity of style and substance. But all in all this collection is a tremendous addition to the English-accessible literature of modern China. Shen is brilliant and poetic, but in a subtle, understated way. The entire collection is infused with a cocktail of profound nostalgia for the past, hope for the future, and, most of all, the beauty and innocence of the living present.

Great book on a little reported subject-POW life during the Korean War. Mr. Zellers does an awesome job conveying the fears and hopes of POWs during that time. You can viscerally feel their fear through his writing. I highly recommend this moving book to anyone with even a passing interest for Korean War history.

Larry Zellers, a newly married Methodist minister serving as a missionary and teacher in a small South Korean town near the 38th parallel, was taken prisoner in the early days of the Korean War. He and his fellow prisoners were American combat soldiers who were the very first to arrive in Korea from bases in Japan. The youngest among them had received only minimal combat training. All of the mean were inadequately trained and furnished with sometimes malfunctioning weapons. After being taken prisoner by the North Koreans, the men suffered incredible hardships of cold, hunger, physical abuse, lack of medical attention, fatigue, fear isolation, and intimidation. In Enemy Hands is Zellers' first-hand story of his captivity from June 25, 1950 to his release in 1953. Throughout his personal account Zellers shows that, despite the opinion that POWs live only for themselves, many in the camps worked to help others and conducted themselves with honor. Zellers became a U.S. Air Force chaplain after his release. In Enemy Hands is a valued, important, biographical contribution to the growing body of Korean War literature and a much appreciated contribution to any academic, public library military history collection.

This is William Marshall at the top of his form, writing once again about the police officers of Yellowthread Street in British Hong Kong. Chief Inspector Pfeiffer, Inspector O'Yee, and Auden and Spencer are challenged this time by a locked room mystery, a mysterious assignment for O'Yee "from Headquarters", and by a congenial set of brothers who are into fantasy fulfillment as psychotherapy. Marshall skilfully weaves the three stories together; all 3 denouements are superbly done.
I can regularly be seen on the D.C. Metro, when reading a Marshall book, with my eyebrows way up my forehead, as Marshall either turns the tension up yet another notch, or describes some of the most bizarre scenes in crime fiction. This time, my facial muscles hurt from the scene with Spencer and the seagulls. Not to be missed!
Marshall is one part Ed McBain's 87th Street police procedurals, one part Janwillem van de Wetering's Gripstra/De Gijr existential police procedures in Holland and elsewhere, and one part Frederick Forsyth, in terms of the suspense involved. With ingredients like that, how can you miss?

If you have not read any of Marshall's Hong Kong Police stories you have missed a real treat. Hard to find, but worth the effort. Makes you want to put Hong Kong back in the hand of the Brits today just to ensure the continuation of these characters. Wow!

This is a stupendously good book for those with any interest in the 3 phases of Buddhist development--the early period of the Buddha and his disciples and the so-called "Old Wisdom" phase of Buddhism, the Mahayana phase, and, especially, the rise of Vajrayana/Tantrayana/Mantrayana. This last phase is what Snellgrove specializes in and he has done an impressive job of presenting his vast erudition to the reader.

Many people will come to Snellgrove's Indo-Tibetan Buddhism specifically due to their interest in and perhaps practice of Vajrayana Buddhism of the Tibetan variety and will be most drawn to the book's Part V on Buddhism's introduction to Tibet and its flourishing in that land.

But many of us, interested in the precise details and mysterious enigmas of the formative period of Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism as it arose in India, will find Snellgrove's very long Part III on the rise and complex development of Vajrayana to be SUPERLATIVE--probably the best overall treatment of this multi-faceted topic in the English language. (Note: Part III is pp. 117-303 in the Shambhala 2002 revised, single-volume edition, and so, at over 180 pages, not including many other references to tantra elsewhere, and maps, footnotes [so much easier to read than endnotes!], etc., represents a book-length treatise on just this one topic.)

Snellgrove knows **many** of the few dozen most important of the early, middle, and late Buddhist tantras in their original languages, and offers lengthy quotes from the most relevant passages in each of these tantras to illustrate or back up a point he is making in his text. He is, truly, one of the world's experts on Buddhist tantra, and explores interesting themes and discrepancies I've not seen with any other writers on the topic, even the prodigious Alex Wayman (not to mention younger writers like Thurman, Hopkins, et al.).

Moreover, he brings a candor to the topics at hand, showing how the Buddhist tantras diverge on important topics, such as the specific Deities in the 3- and 5- and 6-Buddha families, and on the controversies over whether sexual yoga and the offering of "foul" sacramental ingredients are to be literally enacted or performed only symbolically. He also demolishes the later Tibetan idea that any of these tantras can really be hierarchically ordered according the the well-known (but dubiously based) "four classes" (Action Class, Performance Class, Yoga Class, and Highest Yoga Class tantras).

I could go on and on about this wonderful Part III, which is so filled with delightful surprises and riveting insights. If one has ANY interest in Buddhist tantra and likes a writer who doesn't "dumb down" his subject matter but goes into the rich details on a wide array of topics connected with tantra, then just this Part III alone is worth the price of the book.

But then one also gets with this book all its other parts, such as Part IV's information-rich treatment of Buddhism as it developed in Central Asia and Nepal, and Part V on the schools of Buddhism in Tibet.

Get the book and learn something from an expert (and non-apologist) about the crucial set of developments in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.

I recommand this book for one who want a good reference book on Tibetan Buddhism. This book is imformative and has a reasonably comprehensive coverage on all the most important areas in Tibetan Buddhism. This book is certainly a good bargain and has a good "useful information per dollar" ratio, especially when compared to many other books in the market.
This book has also been referred to and cited by many other scholars and is a respected authority in this area.

This is a hard to find book. If you can get your hands on a copy, you won't regret it! I LOVE THIS BOOK. Full of color illustrations, easy to follow text. Explains rituals and beliefs about Tibetan Buddhism. A must have, even for long time practioners. If not for anything, then for the wonderful photos. I would give more stars if I could.

Even before the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, Westerners have looked upon Tibetan Buddhism as a source of timeless wisdom and inspiration. Unfortunately, many of us who participate in the practice of the religion find themselves as lost as a deer that stares with confusion into the headlights of an oncoming car. Robert Thurman has been through that already. In 1964, he became the first American to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk, by the Dalai Lama no less! Four years later, he left that life to pursue an academic career; he now chairs the department of Religion at Columbia University. Having lived in both cultures, (not to mention the fact that he is literally a genius) qualifies him as our guide for this magical mystery tour. If you read this book, you will then recognize at least some of what is going on in any Tibetan Buddhist ritual or celebration which you will ever witness. As an added bonus, reading this book will give you gobs of insightful trivia for interesting dinner-table conversation. The pretty pictures make this a suitable coffee-table book for illiterates; this book has something for everyone

China surpassed Japan in 2003 to become America's 3rd largest trade partner, after Canada and Mexico. Indeed, it won't be long - a couple of years at most - before China overtakes Mexico's position. In addition, China is already the world's 4th largest merchandise trader after the US, EU and Japan, and one of the top leading overall (merchandise plus services) trading nations of the world. By the end of this decade, perhaps before then, China will take over Japan's place as the world's 3rd largest overall trader in both merchandise and services - an astonishing performance for a country which practically did zero trade with the rest of the world only 25 years ago.

Policy-makers and businesspeople everywhere, and in America especially, need to sit up and listen to the sound, balanced, non-partisan, and cool-headed analysis by one of the world's leading experts on China and its role in the global trading system. And his name is Nicholas Lardy of the Brookings Institution.

Globalization is the hot topic and major concerns for every government and enterprises in 2002.

How China can integrate into the Global ecomony ?
And How Hong Kong can still alive when facing the competition with China in 2003?

Mr. Zhu Rongji (Prime Minister of China) has spoken to all elite people and officials when trip to Hong Kong in November, 2002.

Hong Kong is facing the highest un-empolyment percentage in 2002 and it is over 8% of the total population now.

How to make Hong Kong can be rapid changing in the next decade? There are no industrial development as before due the higher costs than other provinces in China. So China will give them more pressure when getting the orders from Oversea's markets.

Reckon you can see the speeches of " Zhu Rongji " in his last trip to Hong Kong.

China and Hong Kong are the Business Partners since 1983.
But now they are the competitor in every business development.
So how Hong Kong can stay alive when facing the Global economy?

Hong Kong can only run their own way and don't let China copy their old ways.

Although it is not easy to go the new way, it is their own choice.
Don't think too late and must run from this minute.

E-commerce and E-business development is the only way to go and reckon it can work more faster than China's doer.

Hong Kong should be forgotten your doer's way and think to re-enginnering in your business structures and models.

Hard work is the old fashion for Hong Kong now.
New Fashion is the new ideas and new models when stepping into the E-business.

Hope Hong Kong's government can bring up all the elite people to come across the crisis of economy and deflation in the next decade.

This is one of my most used, most favorite cookbooks and believe me, I have a lot of cookbooks. I love this book b/c every recipe tastes great! I love the pictures, the text, everything! Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Just the soup recipes alone are worth the price but really, every recipe I have ever tried is great!

this book has lots of super delicious recipes, and their easy to follow too. 1 of my fave recipe books 2 thumbs up! :O)