China Books

"The Opium Debate And Chinese Exclusion laws In The Nineteenth-Century American West" by Diana L. Ahmad (Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Rolla) is the story of a mid-nineteenth century 'war on drugs' and immigration restriction policies carried out by governmental agencies. Professor Ahmad articulately explains how anti-Chinese propaganda and the spread of opium addiction led to exclusionary immigration laws and the attitude that the Chinese and the recreational use of opium associated with their communities were a danger to the national economy and middle-class Anglo-American domestic life. A fascinating and scholarly study that features extensive notation, an exhaustive bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "The Opium Debate" is as informed and informative as it is well organized and 'reader friendly'. This is an impressive and very highly recommended contribution to academic library 19th Century American History reference collections and reading lists.

Not being a historian, I have little background in the history of the American West. I really enjoyed this book which undertakes the study of the Chinese in the American West from a new angle and makes the story both informative and interesting. The book is well researched and talks about a seldom discussed topic. We are made aware of the reasons for excluding an element of society, whether right or wrong. Drugs are not a recent phenomenon and it is fascinating to see how they played a role in our country's early history. This book is an easy and interesting read.

"Oranges on Golden Mountain" is an excellent children's book. The text by Elizabeth Partridge is complemented by Aki Sogabe's colorful illustrations.

"Oranges" tells the story of Jo Lee, a Chinese boy who emigrates to California, where he works as a fisherman with his uncle. He misses his mother, who is still in China, but he plants orange branches that she gave him to take on his journey.

This is a realistic immigrant story with some fantastic/supernatural touches that evoke traditional Chinese beliefs. Illustrator Aki Sogabe creates many memorable scenes: a letter writer engaged in Chinese calligraphy, the Dragon King flying over a stormy ocean, Jo Lee tending his orange saplings, and more. To sum up: this is an excellent book for children of all cultures.

Jo Lee has to leave China because his family orchard can not support everyone after two dry years in a row. Mother uses the last of the money Father sent to get Jo Lee to Fourth Uncle in California. She knows he will have food there and learn to fish. Jo Lee's comfort is that he can send his Hun, his dream spirit, to keep in touch with his family in China. He leaves his family orchard for California with the bundle of orange tree twigs his mother gives to him. When he reaches Golden Mountain, Fourth Uncle helps him plant the twigs.

When the orange twigs root and bloom, Jo Lee's hope bloom too. Then, when he sleeps, his Hun travels to China to tell his mother. A heart-tugging story of the sacrifice made by a Chinese boy to help his family during hard times.

The cut paper drawings, by illustrator Aki Sogabe, beautifully compliment this story. The white caps,the swirling water, the fishing net, the misty Hun, and the clouds are superb illustrations for this simple little story.

Petron Pacific, Inc. has benefited significantly from David S. Wu's book Organizing for Profit in China: A Case Study Approach. We are a global import-export trading and distribution company ranked by Inc. 500 as the 45th fastest growing privately owned U.S. Corporation in 2005. We import steel, wire, electrical, construction, agriculture products and raw materials from India, China, Europe, South America, and other countries. Our customers are wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers, and we have offices and warehouse facilities in the U.S.A., India, China, Canada, and Europe. Additional corporate information is at www.petronpacific.com.

This was the first case study book on making more money in China. The 30 minute workbook was really great.

Very impressive list of endorsements also.

With the exploding contemporary art scene in China, the book is already a bit out of date. New prominent artists such as Maleonn (a.k.a Ma Liang) have emerged during the last couple of years.

Not enough attention has been given to photography in the world's most populous nation. This is a survey that will help the rest of the world develop a more thorough notion of new art in an old nation.

This book contains 150 pages of beautiful color photographs as well as an easy to use index section. It is an excellent source for identification of these very collectible plates, and even gives a rarity guide. Provides information on the manufacturers, as well. An invaluable guide to the oyster plate collector!!!!

Although the 2 plates I have are not featured in the book, there are pages and pages of color pictures and information that are really informative. There is also a chapter or two on oyster "trivia". For the price, this book should be a hardback, but otherwise the content is relavent and beautifully laid out. I highly recommend it to anyone who is even thinking about starting a collection. I never dreamed there were so many exotic oyster plates from so many different places!

I decided to buy this book a few months ago at a ceramics show because I was not satisfied with the quality of my ceramic painting skills.

I don't really consider myself to be the "artistic" type, but I have to say that I have been painting some great looking pieces lately. In my ceramics class I finally feel like I know what I'm talking about.

I've never taken the time to review a book before, but I feel that this book deserves to be recommended since it was *actually* helpful to me, and I was not even aware of some of the techniques described in the book before I picked it up.

This is one of the few books that I use on a regular basis in my ceramics class.

Takes a lot of the guess work out of painting ceramics!

If it were an option I might have given four and a half stars instead of five, but this is still a "how-to" book that you can really use.

This book has everything you need to paint french dolls of all kind. It's very detailed and it shows you all the french dolls that you can rep-roduce and each maker in detailad description and photos. I give it 5 stars and am very hap-py with this book.

I have been painting dolls over 15 years,This book was one of the first I bought and still use.It has step by step painting of the french dolls with excellant detaiil and photos of eyelashes and brows.A must have for the dollmaker,Also many upclose color photos.

I picked this book up on recommendation from a friend, and was intrigued from the first page. Ms. Lin has a beautiful writing style, and she writes very simply and elegantly about her family's home village-- from the legends around it to the real people in her life who loved it. Her quiet poetry keeps the book twisting from past to present-- even a brief geneology section, which could otherwise be dry, is enlivened by historical notes and comments on each person's career and family. I'm amazed at how far back this history has keen detail-- it makes me realize how fractured my own family tree is, and how young my country! A quick, charming read.

"Parasol Tree Village" is more than just a delightful story of the Lim family. In addition to providing detailed genealogical charts, this little book includes not only charming legends such as the story of the Tree King God, but also the family legends, nursery rhymes and lullabies that are a part of the author's heritage. Ms. Lin summarizes in an interesting way the tale of Emperor Zou, his vicious nephew-emperor and his evil concubine, Dah-chi. She also gives an account of the belief in the Goddess of All Trades, Mah-tzo. All of this is written in a beautiful, poetic style. The reader will discover unexpected gems; an explanation of Chinese astrology, and beautiful sayings that were handed down in the author's family, one of which is "A centipede has a thousand feet, but it crawls no faster than a snake".

Anyone interested in folklore, the cultural heritage of the Taiwanese people, and Chinese history should own this small volume.

Very informative book with page after page of fascinating photographs. Well worth the money and a great addition to any porcelain, parian subject library.

This book is an absolute must for every serious collector of English parian. It contains a wealth of information about the history and popularity of this highly specialized porcelain.

The hundreds of photographs and sketches help guide the collector and dealer alike in accurately describing and categorizing their examples.

If I have to describe the book in one word, it would be "awesome". Justin Hill was so brilliant that when you read this book, you can feel the pain that each character felt. It was literally like watching a movie. I really wish somebody would make this into a film. It took me two days to finish the whole book. I just couldn't put it down.

The story evolves around the life of a girl called Little Flower who grow up to be Concudine Yu. She was also one of China's greatest female poet. it depicts the chinese culture and way of life in the 800-900 AD brilliantly.

Lily has found love and security as a child which she feels entitled to as an adult. Her husband's infidelity which is only seen in her eyes, has devastated her beyond reason. Her poetry is a way of showing life, the pain of it and the underlying calm of it. Lily is determined and full of strength but is this part of her downfall, her pride? The passions in this book grip the reader with such an intensity that when you have finished reading this book you will sit and stare and wonder because it will all seem so real that it is hard to walk away.......