Chinese Books

"China's Digital Dream" is a highly interesting book. The editors Zhang Junhua and Martin Woesler chose the approach of juxtaposing opposed views from contributing scholars from mainland China, Hong Kong, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. The book sheds light on different aspects of the rapid development of Internet in China and concomitant phenomena including 'unrequested side effects' like political maturity.
Topics discussed are e.g. information warfare, e-government, the digital divide, human rights and the footrace of restriction and circumvention of censorship.
Among the authors are Guo Liang from the Academy of Social Sciences Peking, known from his recent survey, scholars from the RAND Center, the London School of Economics, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and from different universities in China and abroad.
The texts are descriptive and at some parts really exciting - an informative, useful and with its humoristic insights amusing book.

"Peter Thomas in der Heiden"

In their book `China's Digital Dream' Junhua Zhang and Martin Woesler introduce the implementation and expansion of the Internet in China. In 13 contributions the reader is provided with a general view on it's development and impact on Chinese society, politics, economy, and culture. The contributors cover a wide range of subjects, running from the expansion of the Chinese e-commerce, the Chinese approach to e-government, new e-learning strategies in the education policy to recent developments in the field of information warfare. Some articles are enriched by substantial statistical data, visualizing their argumentation.
A focal point of the book is the extensive description of the development of Internet surveillance: Numerous examples illustrate the background and methods applied by the government in order to control Internet users, websites and service providers. The authors shed light onto some weak points of these systems and show how Internet users still manage to keep their unrestricted access to information.
Moreover, the Internet policies of other East- and Southeast Asian countries are presented. The reader learns a lot about the different strategies of Southeast Asian governments targeting the utilization, promotion or restriction of this new communications medium. This deepens the reader's understanding of the change of Chinese internet policy.

The authors - all well-known scholars from the People's Republic of China, the United States and Germany - do not only choose different perspectives and topical focal points, but some of them also hold opposing views. The reader therefore gets acquainted with different approaches and becomes familiar with the interdependencies, e.g. between economical benefits and political costs. Subjects like online-trading and media-surveillance are dealt with in numerous publications already. This book goes beyond these traditional subjects and conveys a vivid impression of the "informatization" across all parts of society.

The development of the Internet in China progresses so rapidly, that it seems almost impossible to gain a complete overview and to pay the necessary attention to all current developments. China's Digital Dream fulfils this desideratum to a great extent: On 325 pages the reader gets a vivid impression of the development of the contemporary Internet in China. Most important, the book provides a good forecast how China's digital dream could develop in the future.

It's an opportunity to read this book, it gave me the chance to review and understand the background of these students' encounters in lives, although their stories were not such a fantastic & successful one, but they became a group of rather outstanding and brilliant figures in China. Their stories should inspire the younger generations.

In this modern world, lots and lots of Chinese students who came over to foreign lands, not only U.S.A. but some other countries such as New Zealand, tended to complain about the treatment received from their host countries, but should they read through this book and they would accept that these were the facts of lives.

Being a foreinger in this foreign land myself, I would recommend the Chinese students to understand the hard fact of lives. How this group of Overseas Students from China encountered. And hopefully that would be an inspiration to their own encounter.

As it is popular to study science and technology in the west, it is not uncommon to hear that So and So is the first in China these days. While many are highly exaggerated claims. This is an authorative book on the detailed study of first 123 Chinese boys sent by the Chinese imperial court under Yung Wing to go to Hartford, Conn. learning about the language, cultural and
science. Most became well established as adults in foreign service, engineering, as well as outstanding military officers.

This is a facinating biography on these young teen boys. When they returned to China they actually faced prejedice and skeptism. As we look back they actually contributied much to the transformation of modern China. I was fortunate to have been brought up in a family with much foreign educated engineers and have a deep appreciation of
how modern education can change our society.

Often people say that Frank Chin is an activist. This is true, but we shouldn't forget that he is also a writer. After all, it was his play Chickencoop Chinaman that help open doors for Asian American artists. In this book you will read eight great short stories by Frank Chin. The stories include: "Railroad Standard Time", "The Eat and Run Midnight People", "The Chinatown Kid", "The Only Real Day", "Yes, Young Daddy", "Give the Enemy Sweet Sissies and Women to Infatuate Him, and Jades and Silks to Blind Him with Greed", "A Chinese Lady Dies", and "The Sons of Chan". After reading these stories, you will understand why Chin won the American Book Award.

If you liked Frank Chin's book Donald Duk, and enjoy the short story collections that are sprouting like weeds these days, you'll like this one. :)

And if you liked Maxine Hong Kingston's book The Woman Warrior, and know how much Mr. Chin doesn't like the Mulan spoof Kingston put it, then read the Afterword to this volume (this one alone is a laugh and a half).

Cultures and customs are explored in Chinatown by William Low.

Young readers visit a city within a city, where streets of herbalists, tai chi masters, and outdoor fish market abound. This colorful section of New York City will prove fascinating to young eyes as they're introduced to people with a different heritage.

As always, knowledge and understanding promote friendship.

In this story, with beautiful jewel-toned illustrations reminiscent of Hopper's paintings, a young child, accompanied by his grandmother, shows the reader various aspects of his life in an urban Chinatown. The busy urban setting takes on the elements of smalltown life as the pair cross a street, watch tai chi practicioners, greet the street cobbler, and visit the produce market, the fish market, the herbalist, a kung fu class and other fascinating places. The story culminates at a parade celebrating Chinese New Year. The colorful pictures, rich with detail, and simple, informative text give lots of opportunities for discussion. My two-year-old son has loved this book from the first time we read it, and requests it over and over again.

This is an outstanding book on the social and historical development of the New York Chinese community at the turn of the century. Liu begins with and focuses on the 1909 murder of Elsie Sigel - a White woman - whose dead body was found in a trunk in the apartment of one of her lovers Leon Ling. Ling, a Chinese male, and the primary suspect in the case - who was never caught. The narrative - a discourse analysis is based on careful and extensive research is really a critical examination of the social workings of 1900s New York and the looks at the way a society runs itself. Lui uses an extensive range of primary sources - in both English and Chinese. Lui's study is an analyses of the numerous issues spun around the case rather than the facts of the case itself.

The Chinatown Trunk Mystery is an actual case study that worked as an "I told you so" about all the fears and concerns which have roots in the "Yellow Peril" narrative. In the early 1900s, and this is old news, race did matter. Elsie Sigel was not what people painted her out to be. Was she even really a missionary? Contradictory stories abounded about Chinese men. On the one hand, Chinese men were seen as asexual but on the other hand the public and media accused Leon Ling are seen as predatory.

The Chinatown Trunk Mystery is a departure from the "conventional wisdom" or "conventional narrative" of Asian America. Adding complexity to a story that is usually told in a textual format that looks like a textbook, Lui destabilizes the conventional format - in this book, all the folks that you thought were good were not actually good. She takes care to bring us into the story so we understand the process of inventing narratives about people, places, and things that were not even part of the actual event. Careful attention to her note shows that the murder mystery began outside of Chinatown proper (Lui 53). It was in the interest of particular people with agendas to maintain the narrative - even if most of the data on the case was never really substantiated and stories seemed to contradict each other. In short, nothing really substantial was resolved about the case. Much of the evidence was hearsay and inconclusive but the narrative spun around what little was there was spurious at best. As mentioned previously, Lui uses an extensive range of primary documents and representations. An analysis of the discourse reveals that is less about the facts of the case but rather how societies run and how people manage themselves.

In effect, the book is all about the "invention" of Leon Ling, Elsie Sigel and a bevy of characters surrounding the two. Lui is not only a credible historian but also a narrative craftsperson. Lui spins a yarn no less impressive than the actual events themselves. Her writing style accommodates the uninitiated and non-academic and engages both audiences which is appreciated for its clarity and simplicity.

Miguel Llora

Lui has written a wonderful book that uses a murder in New York to examine the complexity of race and gender in New York at the turn of the nineteenth century. Her research is first rate and the narrative she shapes is enthralling. One highlight of the book is the discussion of the ways that the Chinese community mobilized to defend itself from the attacks on Chinese, and Asians in general, that followed the discovery of the body. Her narrative is crisp and her analysis sharp.

This is an outstanding textbook on Chinese Americans - the most successful ethnic minority in the United States. From history, scholarly achievements to economic and political successes - the book offers a wealth of data and information about Chinese Americans. A must for every student and teacher in history, ethnic studies and political sciences.

Chinese America - Stereotype and Reality is a fascinating book about this often overlooked ethnic minority. From historical immigration records to the latest political and economic achievements, the book offers the most detailed information available about the Chinese in America until today.
The author shows that she has detailed knowledge about the Chinese in America. Hundreds of tables and graphs substantiate her theories and findings, and she is able to explain facts, figures or legislation in a captive language.
The book is also well structured, and a thorough index helps to find many past or present topics. The book is a treasure trove for all those interested in Chinese Americans - from historians and ethnologists to simply everyone interested in the Chinese and their society.
A thoroughly researched book with many facts and figures: Chinese America is a well-written and highly recommended book for everyone interested in this ethic minority.

This book combines the literary approach and the socio-political approach in such a delightful manner that it may be considered as both history of literature and literature on history. As a history, it is amazingly informative of the Chinese Americans' life in the past one and half centuries, their weal and woe, tears and laughters. As literature, it is surprisingly readable, and full of sensible judgments from literary perspectives.

The design of the jacket cover, however, somewhat falls short of doing full justice to the quality of the book. Especially, the Chinese graphs in the background might mislead potential readers to think that Chinese American literature is more Chinese than American, a misconception that the author himself endeavors to correct in the book.

Do you know what happened to the altar food left open in the Wild West by early Chinese immigrants? You can find the answer in Xiao-huang Yin's path-breaking book Chinese American Literature since the 1850s. The volume is a careful study on Chinese American cultural and historical experience seen through a fascinating reading and documentation of Chinese American writing over the past 150 years. I think Yin's book is a fine example of what the Chinese call "yasu gongshang," i.e., to be appreciated by both the academic and general audience, perhaps the highest standard for all writing.

Yin has offered to the field of Chinese and Asian American studies the first comprehensive overview of Chinese American literary experience from the beginning of Chinese settlement in North America down to the present time. I believe Yin's book has redefined and enriched our perception of Chinese American literature in two significant ways: first, his research has offered us a fuller and engaging look at the early Chinese immigrant writing of the 19th century, and more importantly, it embraces the entire world of Chinese American literature in both Chinese and English. Although it is the concensus of the field that bilingual and transnational approach is most desirable in Chinese American studies, truly bilingual and transnational research is still very hard to find. Yin demonstrates that bilingual and transnational approach is not only most fruitful but also a necessity in Chinese and Asian American studies. What is most impressive is the sense of balance Yin's commentary achieves in dealing with varied voices, often contending, in the worlds of Chinese America. The seven chapters of the book not only includes a historical in-depth view, but also incorporates distinctive perspectives such as immigrant, Eurasian, second-generation, American-born, native-Chinese/American, anti-/pro-assimilation, etc, which together constitutes a rich, diverse, and often contradictory, picture of Chinese American experience. Last but certainly not the least, trained as a cultural historian and Asian Americanist, Xiao-huang Yin combines the best of solid historical research method with an acute literary sensitivity that produces a powerful effect.

Even though this is an academic book based on solid research, it is surprisingly a very easy read. Here is the good news for the general reading public: there is no hard-to swallow academic jargon in Yin's book. Another aspect I find that it is such an entertaining read is that his notes are full of "gems." Not only will you find who ate the altar food, you can also find, for instance, who said "white man first, socialist second," who's the first Chinese graduate from an American college, how much money a Chinese-language writer in America makes, etc. Given the increasing importance of the Chinese American community in the making of a multicultural America, Yin's timely book is well-suited to benefit the general reading public in their understanding of major (cross-) cultural issues facing Chinese American communities not only historically but also in the ever-changing dynamics of the present.

I bought this for my wife. She did not read it but I have. The portraits are of people with different experiences. It's a good read.

These are the first-person stories of some fifteen ordinary families - some composed by the subjects and some generated as oral histories - together with oodles of family photos - some in Old World regalia, some in tee-shirts and cut-offs; a cowboy, a NASCAR driver, a decorated Veteran, a Louisiana sheriff, a ballerina, an artist in his studio, a multi-millionaire real estate magnate with her bare feet up on her desk. They, like you and I, are all immigrants or the descendents of immigrants. In this album, the immigrants are Chinese.

In the current malodorous sump of American politics, where Screaming Heads on TV have more influence than face-to-face time with neighbors or books, certain demagogues have done their utmost to foment fear of immigration and loathing of immigrant groups who bring different religious cultures. The Chinese were subject to just such virulent racism during the last decades of the 19th Century. A national law was passed, by the Congress of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, to exclude the Chinese from immigration. They were branded as unassimilable, in large part because of their religion, or lack of a proper religion from a WASP perspective. They were called morally degenerate, phsyically unappealing, unsanitary, and over-sexed. It was a felony in many states for a "white" person to marry one. Certain writers, including Madison Grant, warned that they would outbreed the "great race" of Northern Europeans, that they had aspirations in fact to do so and to dominate the world.

One chapter in this book, concerning several generations of the Wong Family in Albert Lea, Minnesota, has powerful personal meaning to me. I was born on a farm near Albert Lea. My father was an immigrant and my mother's family were "old world" in all but clothing. There was one Chinese restaurant in the whole county, owned by the one Chinese family in Albert Lea, the Wongs. My mother went to high school with a Wong girl. I'd like to brag that they were friends, but the Wongs of her generation don't remember having friends until they moved away to Chicago and New York. One of the Wong girls married a Haitian in New York, becoming Eleanor Wong Telemaque, a writer. Shawn Wong also became a writer and a race-car driver. Eleanor's daughter Adrienne became a ballerina and married Philip Nash, of Irish and Japanese descent. I'm afraid my mother and her siblings lost a huge opportunity; the Wongs were probably the most interesting neighbors they had in Albert Lea, Minnesota in the 1930s.

There is no other resource like this encyclopedic book. It is the foundational piece for identifying family crests and mottos on European and British Armorial Porcelain made in China in the 18th and 19th centuries. David Howard's life work is represented in this tome, essential to all who really love Armorial porcelain. There is a second volume that carries the rest of Howard's work, as well as several smaller books that he wrote.

For serious collectors of armorial porcelain this is the definitive work. Over 6000 coats of arms are illustrated and described in considerable detail. Howard is the generally recognized expert in the field.

The pictures are absolutely stunning. Excellent coverage of the various types of chinese kites, beautiful color rendering. I gave my brother, a real kite professional, my copy, then regretted it so much I went and got another. An incredible bargain.

This book is excellent! Great pictures, great explainations, and instructions. The art of the kites was fully explained and examples were given. Overall, it is wonderful for those interested in making kites.