2 comments about China The Beautiful (Beautiful Cookbook).

1. This book encompasses all regions- not just Canton. And its genuinely authentic- just like what you would find at fine restaurants in China (i've been there). A lot of great regional recipes (good schezuan).

   If i had to pick one cookbook for restaurant style chinese food, this would be it. Note,though, that: a) its authentic and assumes some knowledge (not a starter cookbook); and b) its not exactly homestyle comfort food. The dishes are spectacular, though. Beautiful coffeetable book.




2. This was my very first "Beatiful Cookbook". I used it all the time, until it mysteriously disappeared after a dinner I cooked for friends... I am a Chinese food junkie and felt lost without it until one day at an airport bookstore found it again and was overjoyed to pay FULL price and cram it into my bulging suitcase.
   It was worth it! I had an asian friend who read the book and was amazed at how authentic the dishes are. While I haven't been adventurous enough to make some of the dishes, I still love the photos and history, and have many favorite recipies!

5 comments about 365 Days in China Calendar 2008 (Picture-A-Day Wall Calendars).

1. For anyone who has been in China or for anyone who wants to go, this calendar is a marvelous display of nature and daily life in China. Lisa See's texts are as lovely as the photographs by Keren Su.



2. I purchased this calendar last year and was pleased with the photos, and this years calendar is just as good if not better. Each month features a province in China and then each day has a smaller photo which would also be perfect for photos for your child's lifebook because the photos of temples, objects, countrysides and people. The provinces featured in this year's calendar are: Guangxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanghai, Shanghai, Sichuan, Shandong & Shanxi, Zhejiang, Beijing which is for the month of August to celebate the 29th Olympic Games and it's slogan - One World One Dream. There is only 1 photo in this month that is of the Millennium Monument and is a small photo. Guizhiu, Anhui, Xinjiang,Yunnan finish out the year.
   
   Lisa See write information on each province and there is also a small black outline of China that shows you where this province is located in China. Keren Su who is the photographer for all of the photos did a fantastic job! I am planning on using the photos of the calendar for photos for my daughter's lifebook. And if your child is from one of the provinces mentioned about you have a nice write up on that province.



3. We got this calendar to get us excited for our trip to China next year to adopt our daughter. There are tons of beautiful pictures of all different regions. Very nice.



4. This is the second year I've bought this calendar. Likely, I will buy it every year. It's gorgeous with great tid-bits about China. As a mother with 2 children from China, it is a nice addition to the play area.



5. I love this calendar. Every day that I look at my calendar by my desk, I long to be back in China again. The photos are gorgeous and the text is quite informative, especially because the calendar doesn't just focus on the most famous places in China. In fact, when I took the calendar down temporarily, I got complaints from my office mates that they missed the China calendar--and not one of them is a sinophile like me. Don't buy it if you don't want your wanderlust awakened. It will make you discontent sitting in your cubicle when you could be out exploring the Chinese countryside.
   
   Reviewed by Barbara Strother, author of Moon Living Abroad in China (Living Abroad).

3 comments about The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Penguin Classics).

1. The Classic of the Mountains and Seas is a geographical gazetteer of ancient China and a catalogue of the natural and supernatural fauna and flora allegedly dating back to the 8th century BCE and spanning a period of perhaps a millennium. It is also a repository of strange spirits, curious folkways, medical beliefs, and other related oral and written traditions of earlier origins.

   In many ways, this Chinese classic bears some similarity in content and theme to the Hippocratic treatise "Airs, Waters, Places," although it is not commonly associated with being a part of the Chinese medical corpus as the latter is in Greek medicine. For, like this ancient Greek treatise, The Classic of the Mountains and Seas is based upon a philosophical and scientific premise of nature--the Chinese "Weltanschauung." The Chinese quest for a harmonious union between themselves and their biophysical and socioanthropological environment gave rise to such a "world concept" in which people and their way of reasoning were conceived of as being an integral part of the cosmos and intrinsically interjoined with the spiritual, physical, and moral "influences."

   Dr. Birrell's translation makes for an interesting read, with her scholarship enhancing our appreciation and understanding of this fascinating work. Her detailed Introduction is most helpful in acquainting the reader with the historical background of The Classic of the Mountains and Seas. Its shortcomings lie in its lack of numeric footnotes, a more specialized bibliography, a concordance with Romanization and Chinese equivalents, and her rendering of the place-names and denizens found in this zoomorphic setting.

   One can never be too careful when it comes to the translation of ancient Chinese words, for it is not uncommon to find that many of them have been vitiated by the bland assumption that they meant then what they mean in later dynastic periods; accordingly, such assumptions can be distorted or entirely false. One of the pleasures found in ancient languages lies in their implicitness, whereas, modern languages revel in their explicitness. Fortunately, the rich resources of English are capable of coping reasonably well with the varigated shades of the implicity found in the former. Dr. Birrell has attempted to avoid this pitfall, although I question some of her renderings as being too much of an effort to appeal to a more popular readership.

   For those readers wanting to further explore the many ethnographic features of this setting, the following works are recommended:

   (In Russian) E.M. Ianshina entitled, Katalog gor i morei (Shan Hai Tszin), or "A Catalogue of Mountains and Sea: The Classic of the Mountains and Seas."

   (In Chinese) Yuan Ke's Shan hai jing jiao zhu, or "A Critical Commentary on The Classic of the Mountains and Seas."

   (In French) Rémi Mathieu's two-volume Étude sur la Mythologie et L'ethnologie de la Chine Ancienne.

   (In English) Richard E. Strassberg's A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas.




2. Although I agree with the earlier reviewer's complaints about the absence of helpful apparatus -- to which I would add the difficulty of converting references using traditional Chinese section titles into parts of Birrell's translations -- I rate the book considerably higher. Descriptions and quotations tended to make it sound like Pliny's "Natural History," only dull. Birrell has made it read like an appendix to a Chinese Ovid, but more entertaining. Earlier attempts at translation that I have seen (mainly, it is true, of passages, often discontinuous) have been, at least from my point of view, almost unreadable. The self-imposed burden of trying to identify places and tribes can reduce even a few pages of what is reputed to be a fascinating, and sometimes whimsical, work to something more like an ordeal to read. To say nothing of the careful reproduction of Chinese names, which mean nothing to a reader who needs an English version!
   
   Birrell has chosen to treat the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" as a somewhat eccentric work of literature, which can be read for pleasure, like "Mandeville's Travels," or, to use other medieval European examples, Bestiaries and Lapidaries (accounts of strange beasts and the miraculous properties of precious stones). Although some sections are more consistently interesting than others, most pages hold something to keep the reader's attention. Since I can't judge the plausibility of Birrell's translations of Chinese names, I will say that I found her versions amusing. (I also noted the apparent ultimate source of the "Pokemon" convention that strange animals are named for the sounds they make, which happen to have meanings.)
   
   As a long-time reader of myths and legends, fantasy, and science fiction, I have fairly high standards for the entertainment level of a book about strange lands, peoples, and creatures. Taken as a whole, I found Birrell's translation entertaining and intriguing. Its major defects (lack of aides to the reader) could be, and I hope will be, repaired in some expanded edition in the future. For now, I am grateful to have it. The ethnographic, religious, geographical, and historical implications are fascinating -- and more properly the subject of a full commentary than a literary work for the Penguin Classics.



3. The reviews I read here for this book bamboozled me into buying it. I can only assume they are full time academics: no other explanation can be offered for their myopia.
   
   The book is admirably done, and the freeish rendering of Chinese mythological names is fine. The difficulty is that this is nothing but an extended catalogue, without stories or plot. It's a list. The descriptions are so unbelievably wierd that it's much fun to read for a page or two, but it's all so much the same, that after two paragraphs you've read it all. To call this a major source for Chinese mythology is simply untrue. Those interested in that subject should get a copy of The Journey to the West, or Chuang Tzu, or the stories of Pu Song Ling. To offer this to the reader as any sort of a narrative is an outright lie.
   
   The academic twits who have reviewed this so far do not seem to appreciate that just because a book's content is fictional doesn't make it fiction.

1 comments about It's All Chinese to Me: An Illustrated Overview of Culture and Etiquette in China.

1. It's All Chinese to Me: An Illustrated Overview of Culture and Etiquette in China is a straight-talk, no-nonsense introduction to basic Chinese culture and rules for politeness. The simple, cartoony, black-and-white illustrations help drive home these absolute "must-know" lessons for tourists and business travelers - especially anyone responsible for business negotiations! The advice ranges from common faux pas to avoid (never give clocks or cut flowers as a gift - they symbolize approaching mortal death), to the titanic importance of allowing others to "save face" (never rebuke a Chinese person in public!), to how one should behave when invited to another's house (guests should always leave a little food on their plates - too much left suggests that the food was bad, and a clean plate suggests that the hosts have not fed the guest properly) and much more. It's All Chinese to Me offers a balanced view of China's cultural strengths and weaknesses, and should be required reading for international travelers. Highly recommended.

No comments about Two Visits to the Tea Countries of China and the British Tea Plantations in the Himalaya: With a Narrative of Adventures, and a Full Description of the ... Horticulture, and Botany of China. Volume 1.

2 comments about China Revealed: An Extraordinary Journey of Rediscovery.

1. This book is well researched and read. I relocated to China 7 years ago and have been looking for a book published in English which I can relate to. This book really shares the 'true' Chinese culture and images to the readers. Its very clear the writer is deeply knowledgeable on and intertwined with the country. Well worth the price!



2. Just got the book "China Revealed", by Basil Pao. Wow. This is a mind blowing book. Jam packed with tons of photos taken all over China -- some extremely good, all of them interesting. Basil divided the book up into the cities / regions he visited, showing us his favourite pics from each -- a couple dozen in total, resulting in over 300 pages worth of photos and several dozen quick fact entries about each city and short blurbs introducing interesting photos or important projects like the Three Gorges Dam.
   
   It doesn't try to be educational like a textbook or guide on China as some books do, cluttering up the pages with endless text and commentary when you really only bought the book for the pictures. But it does give you just enough commentary text to provide quick facts about the city or landmark photographed over the next few pages and/or food for thought as you enjoy the thousand or so pictures.
   
   This book is so jam packed with eye candy that it's worth far more than the price it's selling for. I honestly don't know if I can get to sleep right away tonight as I'm still excited from all the visual stimuli.

No comments about UNESCO World Heritage Atlas: China.

1 comments about Liu and the Bird: A Journey in Chinese Calligraphy.

1. This simple story distills Chinese pictographs into their most basic elements, showing how they evolved to their present forms. But it's also a delightful and poetic story about a girl who dreams her grandfather calls to her from across the mountains.
   
   She sets out on foot, recording the scenery and people she encounters in her calligraphy, creating multiple layers of storytelling. I read each page carefully, going over the boldfaced English words (the original was in French) and matching them to the Chinese symbols to make sure I understood.
   
   Louis writes on the back flap that she used linocuts, a type of woodcut, with dyed paper so she could "contrast the strong lines of the prints with the softness of the torn paper." It creates a striking visual effect, with the print marks simulating the strokes of a calligraphy brush, and the vivid colors of a Westernized palette bleeding elegantly into the paper beneath.
   
   Chinese calligraphy will always be a subject that must be absorbed rather than scanned; make sure you have some quiet time for its meditative lessons.
   
   Note: includes activities for creating pictograms with your kids.

No comments about National Geographic China 2009 Calendar.

2 comments about Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India, China, Tibet, Japan (Revised) (National Foreign Language Center Technical Reports).

1. This formidable volume has become a classic of sorts for those interested in Asian/Buddhist Studies. It was written in the mid-1940s by Nakamura, who is a Japanese scholar of Indian Buddhism, and was revised in 1962-3 through a series of conferences with the assistance of Western scholars. The volume is a comparative
   work attempting to outline differences between `ways of thinking` (an ambiguous term throughout the book) in India, China, Tibet and Japan. His means for accomplishing this dubious task mainly rely on linguistic analysis, and the development of Buddhism in each country, as well as an `assessment` of their cultural products. Nakamura`s goal is to debunk the notion of a homogenous `Oriental` or Eastern cultural set of values in opposition to `Occidental` or Western ones. Nakamura feels that this is a misleading dichotomy which needs to be dissolved or problematized, however, his work contains many idiosyncracies and outdated assumptions derived in part from the author`s own historical/intellectual context. It is definitely a more enriching read if one bears in mind that the book was written in Japan during and after the war, and was affected later by the largely Orientalist discourse still prevalent in Western scholarship. Furthermore, with half of the book devoted to Japan, one wonders what Nakamura`s justification or motivation for this might be, as he does not make it explicit in the text. With these considerations taken into account, the book stands on its own as a historical document in its own right. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this volume is recommendable mostly for those interested in the history of Asian studies, being indicative of some of the currents and trends that shaped the development of this area of study in the 20th century.



2. Professor Hajime NAKAMURA (1912-99) of Tokyo University, one of the leading and most productive scholars of Buddhism in post-war Japan, in 1947 completed the first draft of this study, an English translation of which was which was printed under UNESCO auspices in 1960. It was subsequently revised and expanded as a result of Nakamura's interaction with a number of prominent Western scholars such as Yale's Arthur F. Wright (Buddhism in Chinese History, 1959), and Hawaii's Philip O. Wiener, who edited the revised English translation published by the University of Hawaii Press in 1964.
   
   In his preface to the 1960 edition Wright describes Nakamura's project: ". . . No people in the world today is isolated from those world-wide movements of thought and belief which are tending to transform the lives of all peoples. But each people accepts or rejects, adapts and modifies the universal ideologies which reach them. What governs this process, and what is it which produces within each culture an amalgam which is at once part of a world-wide movement and distinctively its own? Mr. Nakamura considers the spread of the universal religion of Buddhism; and in Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan responses to Buddhism -- as well as in the history of Buddhism in India -- Mr. Nakamura finds clues to certain fundamental and persisting characteristics of their differing modes of thought. These characteristics in turn help to explain their fundamental historical and cultural differences one from another and their variant responses to Western culture in our time."
   
   Ways of Thinking is subdivided into four major parts: INDIA, CHINA, TIBET, and JAPAN; and it may be helpful to point out that Professor Nakamura's wide range of interests and study qualified him to attempt such an ambitious project -- as indicated by the fact that early in his career he was awarded a special prize for his four volume history of early (Indian) Vedanta philosophy.
   
   Perhaps some sense of the issues and problems involved in Ways of Thinking can be gleaned from the table of contents for the section on Japan. It must be noted, however, that these not sound-bites to conjure up a social stereotype. Rather, they are serious topics which Professor Nakamura addresses at length with many examples and notes. And we are free to agree or disagree with his conclusions only after we have carefully read what he has to say.
   
   PART IV: JAPAN
   
   34. The Acceptance of Phenomenalism
   The Phenomenal World As Absolute -- This-Worldliness -- The Acceptance of Man's Natural Dispositions -- Emphasis on the Love of Human Beings -- The Spirit of Tolerance -- Cultural Multiplicity (Consisting of Several Strata Still Preserved) and Weakness of the Spirit of Criticism
   
   35. The Tendency to Emphasize a Limited Social Nexus Overstressing of Social Relations -- Social Relationships Take Precedence over the Individual -- Unconditional Belief in a Limited Social Nexus -- Observance of Family Morals -- Emphasis on Rank and Social Position -- Problems of Ultra-Nationalism -- Absolute Devotion to Specific Individual Symbolic of the Social Nexus -- Emperor Worship -- Sectarian and Factional Closedness -- Defense of a Human Nexus by Force -- Emphasis upon Human Activities -- Acuteness of Moral Self-Reflection -- Weak Awareness of Religious Values
   
   36. Non-Rationalistic Tendencies
   Indifference to Logical Rules -- Lack of Interest in Formal Consistency -- Slow Development of Exact Logic in Japan -- Hopes for Development of Exact Logical Thinking in Japan -- Intuitive and Emotional Tendencies -- Tendency to Avoid Complex Ideas -- Fondness for Simple Symbolic Expressions -- The Lack of Knowledge Concerning the Objective Order
   
   37- Problem of Shamanism
   
   For me Ways of Thinking easily deserves five stars: it is a great work by a great scholar. How does it compare with that well-known work on a similar theme, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture by Ruth Benedict (1887-1948)? Check it out.
   
   Professor Nakamura has long since dropped off the best-seller lists, along George Sansom (the great historian of Japan), Edwin O. Reischauer and John K. Fairbank (authors of the solid 2-volume set, East Asia: The Great Tradition), T.R.V. Murti (The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: A Study of the Madhyamika system), and many others who wrote just a few decades ago. Have their ideas and books been superseded and replaced by something better? No, they have just been blown away by the winds of fashion, just as the fashions of today will be replaced in turn. But if you are looking for a good read, they are names to keep in mind.