No comments about The Recluse of Loyang: Shao Yung and the Moral Evolution of Early Sung Thought.

1 comments about The Sammy Wong Files: Confessions of a Chinese American Terrorist.

1. Did you ever wonder what happened to the Chinese American family that ran your favorite Chinese restaurant? Remember the girl with pony tails and knee socks, doing her third grade math homework at a table piled high with folded napkins and cutlery right next to the cash register? Or that affable but slightly rumpled gentleman with three pens in his pocket protector who always seemed to be at the bar or the cash register, ready with a big smile and kind words no matter whether you were having dim sum on Sunday or grabbing takeout at 10PM on Thursday?
   
   Well, look no further. Eleanor Wong Telemaque, who grew up working at her family's Canton Cafe in Albert Lea, Minnesota, provides insightful and often hilarious vignettes of her life on the Minnesota-Iowa border in the 1940s. Her newly published memoir, "The Sammy Wong Files: Confessions of a Chinese American Terrorist," starts in Minnesota but ricochets from China to Canada to New York to Chicago. Add in the absurd and frightening way she was caught in the anti-Chinese Communist dragnet of the 1950s, freed by a member of President Kennedy's staff, and propelled into the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and you have a fast-paced memoir that makes for a great read at the beach this summer.
   
   Elly, as she is known to her many friends, first burst onto the literary scene in 1978 with "It's Crazy to Stay Chinese in Minnesota," a young adult book that was not accepted by the publishing industry as an adult novel because her protagonist, Bingo Tang, was not white. Elly was urged by people familiar with the publishing world to make this change, but she refused. After years marching, writing, and working for civil rights, including years on the staff of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, she was not about to back down on this important issue.
   
   Enter her name in Google. however, and you will get an idea of the impact that "It's Crazy" has had over the years. Excerpts have been included in anthologies about Asian Pacific Americans, women, the midwest, and Minnesota. Courses use the book to represent Asian Pacific American life in the midwest.
   
   Another place you may remember seeing Elly Telemaque's name is her 1980 book "Haiti Through Its Holidays," written to honor her Haitian-born husband Maurice Telemaque and her Haitian-Chinese-American daughter, Adrienne Chi-en Telemaque, who works as a physical therapist but who has been seen on stage and screen as an actress and dancer. Elly also has appeared in Amy Chen and Ying Chan's award-winning 2001 documentary, "The Chinatown Files," which examines the effect of Cold War anti-Chinese communist hysteria on Chinese Americans.
   
   Elly Telemaque is a master of dialogue and character development, and her decision to use the Chinese words as she heard them, and not necessarily as they would be written in a Chinese language text, is a wise decision.
   
   You can almost imagine yourself in her hometown, when her mother discovers three photographs of naked women that a passing tramp gave a young Elly and her brother Don in exchange for a glass of milk and two day-old doughnuts. "When Mother found the photographs, she knuckled our heads. 'Chuk nee ah,' she screamed. 'What example will you be to your children? You'll become white devils!'"
   
   The tensions between a father who supported Chiang-kai Shek and wanted to be one hundred percent American and a mother who learned little English and longed for the old country is a standard plot device. In Telemaque's deft hand, however, we understand the racist immigration laws that forced father to come in as a "paper son," and follow the family story as it describes the lives of her siblings and Wong cousins.
   
   Elly does all women a service in her book by going into detail about how her trust was violated at a young age by a visiting older relative who was a sexual predator. While she was able to run away from him and then keep him at bay when he tried to visit her at college, her words are a reminder that the "model minority" myth obscures the reality that the Asian Pacific American community, like every community, has its share of problems.
   
   "The Sammy Wong Files" is full of wonderful ironies, like the soy sauce factory co-owned by Elly's father where only the African American janitor remembers the secret recipe. As each chapter unfolds, however, you will see that when Eleanor Wong Telemaque describes her Asian Pacific American immigrant life for us, she is really celebrating an American history that is as varied as the lo mein and milk-fed turkey sandwiches served at the Canton Cafe.

2 comments about Fun In Chinese Laundry (Lively Arts).

1. In this magisterial autobiography, Josef von Sternberg reflects about his personal career, film and its history and art.
   Von Sternberg will always be remembered for one of the most impressive movies of all times 'Der blaue Engel', but his career covers the sound and silent movie period.
   
   It is a very revealing book, not about his personal life, but about his professional viewpoints and struggles.
   
   His actor's direction was based on a penetrating insight into the real human nature. First, he considered that 'the guinea pig of the artist is his own self' and secondly, that 'the average human being lives behind an impenetrable veil and will disclose his deep emotions only in a crisis which robs him of control'.
   His professional life was an enduring fight with
   (1) the film studios and its producers. He knew their blatant commercialism: 'If a snail were to offer a contribution of value to Hollywood, it would be located instantly'.
   (2) his actors (an E. Jannings or a C. Laughton behaved like bad children on the set. A notable exception was his miraculous actress Marlene Dietrich.)
   (3) his rivals within the director's guild.
   and ultimately when the movie was produced (4) the moral establishment and its servile movie critics.
   
   Von Sternberg understood the profound impact of the film medium, which revealed 'the real world where wealth and poverty live side by side, and where cruelty and indifference can no longer be ignored.' The medium has an amoral basis: 'the strongest appeal to the masses was the simplest one: the formula always revolves around sex and its biological associate, violence. ... One bond that links all audiences is the animal in man.'
   
   He also gives us a penetrating portrait of some of the greatest masters of cinema: D.W. Griffith ('remove these 10000 horses a trifle to the right'), C. Chaplin ('the comic side of humiliation') or E. von Stroheim ('the intensity of his actor's direction').
   
   His ultimate goal was to create 'art', for 'it is easier to kill than to create.'
   The overall picture shows us von Sternberg as a noble, passionate, honest, craftful and extremely intelligent movie director.
   This autobiography is part thriller, part melo, part drama, part psychoanalysis.
   It is an essential read, not only for the film historian.



2. Full of cynical, razor-sharp and often very funny opinions. It's so one-sided, however, that I came away very curious to read what Dietrich herself thought about their relationship-- preferably in her own words.

   Sternberg was definitely quite a character, and his autobiography is vastly entertaining.

No comments about Chinese Fiction Writers, 1900-1949 (Dictionary of Literary Biography).

5 comments about Golden Mountain: Beyond the American Dream.

1. Irene Kai writes of her struggle to escape boundaries imposed upon her by her Chinese family while the words of her grandmother to be a dutiful daughter and wife haunt her throughout her journey. She writes of her great grandmother, her grandmother and her mother using the creative non-fiction device of imagined conversations.These conversations draw one immediately into the life of 19th and 20th century rural China, then, Hong Kong and New York. I particularly enjoy reading of overlapping time frames from the points of view of different people, and Kai does it well.
   
   A child of a loveless arranged marriage, she is unwanted, unloved and abused physically and psychologically by her mother, who is struggling to find love. Kai's background material is especially important in helping us understand her mother and to understand Kai's radical rebellion in her teen and young adult years. She sweeps us into her wild, tumultuous exploration of art and sexuality. And when the rebellion is over, she becomes the dutiful wife, driven by her husband and her desire to leave behind all of her Chinese past. In doing so, she finally realizes that she, too, is neglecting her children, just as her mother did. Slowly, slowly, as she begins to discover herself, she finds the strength to leave her lavish life style and become attentive to her children and to her own needs. She reclaims parts of her own culture and becomes whole.
   
   Especially poignant is Kai's struggle to balance her desire to always please her wounded mother with her need to protect herself and her children. The moment of courage when she looks into her mother's eyes and takes charge of her own life must ring as true for many other women as it did for me.
   
   I would love to know more about this woman. Has she continued her art? How does she feel now? When she looks back, what are her feelings? Now that she has written this fascinating autobiography, will she let us into her life again?
   
   Golden Mountain is an uplifting read.
   
   by Judith Helburn
   for StorycircleBookReviews
   www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



2. I loved this compelling, richly textured, vividly descriptive story. Not only was I transported into Chinese culture over four generations of the author's family, but into how family patterns and cultural mores impact us all. I was also inspired by the hope in this book. The author transcends many obstacles, including family abuse, and courageously builds a meaningful, new life.



3. I loved this book. I could not put it down. The Golden Mountain is about Irene Kai's journey to claim her power and authenticity. It's a memoir of four generations of Chinese women, but it's really "every woman's" journey. It shows her transition from Hong Kong to the U. S., and how she breaks free from the restrictions of her ethnic background in a way that her mother and grandmother could not. In America, she achieves wealth and success as an artist and businesswoman. But Kai's story of what's possible doesn't end here. She eventually leaves her business and her marriage and moves to a small town. There, she explores and heals the family patterns she realized were still influencing her, even after she thought she had broken away from them. In the process, she creates a new life and a new dream, one that takes her beyond the American dream to live her own authentic destiny.



4. I enjoyed this book enormously -- not only for what it taught me about Chinese culture -- but for what it taught me about the universality of women's experience in patriarchial cultures. As always, I am both awed and humbled by the resilience of the human spirit. Irene's story offers hope and inspiration to anyone who has ever felt trapped by circumstances.



5. Okay, may be the story is quite emotional, but it definitely did not come across that way. Lines such as "Won-hoy got married to a rich wife, and had 5 kids" goes on and on... giving the reader no motivation to continue.

3 comments about Struggling in the US? Move to China!.

1. May 2008, was my first visit to China. Read the book June 2008. Wrong, I did it backwards. Now as I read this great book I realize all the funny things that happened was actually me not knowing the customs. I'm lucky I did smile all the time at everyone, as he recommended, as I could see or feel them become friendlier when they saw it. I didn't realize the problems I caused by leaving a restraunt with the chop sticks sticking up from the rice bowl, My Chinese friend ran back and took them down, Now I understand why. Great Book, Great reviews on Beijing and Shanghi. I will re-read before I go again to this great country. Good writer, well written and funny. Hard to put it down. Good job!



2. If you want a good real-world book that'll also entertain you, then get this. I stayed up till 3 o'clock in the morning reading my copy the day I got it.
   I'd been living in China longer than the author when he wrote this, but the book helped me discover that I'd overlooked alot of obvious opportunities and good times. Whether you're an expert in Chinese ways or have no interest in China, I would still recommend this book. Williams has a very unique perspective, so everybody can learn something from his experiences. It is as entertaining as it is informative, reading like a good novel, and then there's the added bonus of learning useful information.
   This book could be enjoyed by just about anyone. Williams is like a modern Indiana Jones and and also happens to be a fine writer. I have nothing negative to say. Just read it.
   
   Garth K. USA-China



3. This is an informative and entertaining first-hand account of the author's move to China. I found the story interesting and enjoyable to read. While some parts may not be politically correct, I agree with one of the main premises of the book - that for some people trying to build a career or life in the U.S., there may be many opportunities and experiences to be found in China (whether professional, cultural, personal or otherwise). The author felt dissatisfied with his life, and may a bold decision to change it. It's encouraging to read about his story and the challenges and rewards he encountered. Along the way, the author provides a lot of his insight and information about China, including food, holidays, cost of living, making friends, and learning Chinese.

No comments about The Upright Brush: Yan Zhenqing's Calligraphy and Song Literati Politics.

1 comments about From the Claws of the Dragon: A Story of Deliverance from the Chinese Red Guards.

1. This is the true story of a wonderful Christian brother - Harry Lee. A man who lived in the times of the cultural revolution in China, who at one time lived quite well and had servants, but who later would lose everything that he loved including his sister and brother. And his Russian refugee sweetheart Nadia would flee the country. It is the story of a man who unjustly spent 7 years in a prison cell no wider than you could spread your arms along with three other men, who slept every night sardine style with a toilet bucket by his head. He had only a bowl of rice a day, which he would put water into to give it the illusion of fullness. When the propaganda announcements came over the loudspeaker everyday he would sing his Christian hymns under the noise so that even those who knew him wondered if he had become a communist. This is the story of man who would then spend another four years on a prison farm after being released from prison - a prison farm that killed his brother. This is the story of a man of great conviction and courage who waited his entire life for the Lord to bless him and use him.

   But the story does not end where the book ends. After graduating from seminary - dream that he waited his entire adult life to realize, he met his old sweetheart Nadia again, but she was married to another man - she had received no word from Harry and had decided to get on with her life. But as only God knows why, her husband died and after her grieving was completed she married Harry Lee. So finally, after years of waiting, he was reunited with his lost love. But alas, during one of his never-ceasing speaking engagements, Harry became ill, and he shortly thereafter passed from this life to the next.

   I will always remember Harry Lee as a softspoken gentleman who bore the marks on his body from the nightly beatings that he suffered at the hands of the communists. I will remember him as the missionary who happened to come into town when I was befriending some teenage Chinese Acrobats and that he gave me tracts to give to them. But what I remember most is that he was the epitome of what we all strive to become in our walks with the Lord. May his story richly bless you.

2 comments about Confucius and the Analects: New Essays.

1. A great collection of essays. I learned a lot. My favorite essays were: (2) Naturalness revisited: why westerners should study Confucius, (3) Ren and Li in the Analects, (4) "What does Heaven Say?", (6) Whose Confucious? Which Analects? (7) Confucius and the Analects in the Han, (9) Unweaving the "one thread" of the Analects 4:15, and (10) An existentialist reading of book 4 of the Analects. I highly recommend it.
   
   The other book reviewer asked rhetorically, "why does Confucius continute to be a source of fascination?" Confucius had a penetrating view of humanity. The book under review is a stimulating academic book, but it does not bring you in touch with the transforming power of Confucius's lessons. To appreciate the power of Confucian lessons to change lives I recommend the book by Robert Canright: "Achieve Lasting Happiness, Times Secrets to Transform Your Life."



2. Confucius and the Analects is an important collect of studies on a pivotal figure in world civilization.
   Editor excerpt: Imagine a person who has an influenence on his native tradition comparable to the combined influence of Jesus and Socrates on the Western tradition. Such a person was Confucius.
   The similarities continue. Although all three were literate, perhaps all highly so, neither Confucius, nor Jesus, nor Socrates left behind any of his own writings. We know each only through the later writings of his admirers and detractors. In addition, each had a distinctive, charismatic, and complex personality. These three common features have made each the object of love, hatred, admiration, denigration, and debate for over two millennia.
   Though Confucius is referred to in a variety of early Chinese texts, one of our most important sources of information about him is the Analects, a collection of sayings, brief discussions, and observations by and about Confucius, his disciples, and his contemporaries. Despite its great importance, prior to this volume there has never been a collection of secondary essays in English on the Analects. This volume is a collection of essays on the Analects, and on Confucius as seen (primarily) in that classic.
   For the last two millennia, most scholars (whether Eastern or Western) have taken all twenty "books" of the Analects as an accurate record of what Confucius and his disciples have said. But scholarship in recent centuries has become more suspicious, investigating such issues as the historical composition of the text of the Analects and the sectarian motives behind various conceptions of Confucius. Consequently, the essays in this anthology are loosely grouped into two sections (based on an aphorism from Analects 2:11: "One who can keep warm the old, yet appreciate the new, is fit to be a teacher"). "Keeping Warm the Old" consists of essays that do not call into question the view that the received text of the Analects represents a coherent worldview. In contrast, the essays in "Appreciating the New" either call into question the integrity of the received text of the Analeces, or explore aspects of the image of Confucius that have been neglected by some of the dominant interpretive traditions.
   Why has Confucius been, and why does he continue to be, such a source of fascination? One easy answer is that he has been a symbol for a variety of different (and often contrasting) things: meritocracy, aristocracy, traditionalism, rationalism, aestheticism, "feudalism," secularism, wisdom, ignorance, Chinese culture, virtue, hypocrisy, and "the Orient." On this explanation, Confucius is almost a cipher that functions to mediate our interest in other ideas and institutions. This explanation is not completely inadequate. All of us, at our worst, reduce Confucius to the father figure we either love or love to hate. However, I am enough of a traditionalist to believe that there is something about genuine classics that draws us to them, again and again, independently of accidents of historical association or privileging. Some texts and thinkers touch on central aspects of human life in a way that is elusive, yet unendingly evocative. Confucius was such a thinker, and the Analects is such a text.

5 comments about The Gary Snyder Reader.

1. 
   Gary Snyder's writing style is clever and a part of poetic history--beat. This is a different kind of poetry. It's a good read.



2. Gary Snyder is an amazing person. He is an intellect. He is a poet. He is a teacher, a traveler, and he is a deeply spiritual man. He lives the life that we should all attempt to lead, a conscious thinking, methodical, contemplative life, asking questions arriving at conclusions and taking action.

   The Gary Snyder Reader is a good compilation of his life's work, the variety inside includes essay, interview, and poetry. This book is a well rounded view of his feelings and belief's about nature, and that of the nature of the soul, the nature of man. I agree with other reviews written here about the power of Synder's writing. His is a strong voice which is able to make a terrific argument about everything from the history of the Christian church and some reasons for underlying social perils to making a call for more activism in one's own community. Make a difference, be responsible, see things for what they are, yes this is all there.

   There is also the voice of pain, loss, suffering, anger, and very deep love. Above all else, one REALLY gets the feeling that Synder loves, passionately. Gary Snyder is an extremely talented writer and poet. The same voice that won the Pulitzer is still here. Do more than read and enjoy his works, read and be changed.




3. most of us first heard of snyder though kerouac's dharma bums. and i must confess that is why i was 1st attracted to him and his writings. but to list snyder as just another beat it not only inaccurate it does a diservice to him, his writings and his fearless intellect. snyder is not only a great poet but is also an insightful naturalist and a true zen master. this anthology is actually a zen bible for the 21st century, filled with enjoyable reading and great insights. these writings would make the soul of han shan dance, and sakyamuni smile. this is one of my favorite books. just reading it will lighten your spirit and make your soul dance with joy.



4. Gary Snyder's power appears to come from mountain, meandering and meditation. In this thick sampler we visit his life to age sixty-eight through notes, prose and poems. The soil of his writings range across a fire lookout station in the Cascade Range, a Japanese Zen temple, the engine room of a Pacific freighter, an audience with the Dalai Lama, work and climbs with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Nanao Sakaki, travel in Botswana and Zimbabwe with his sons. The essence of his power is nature. "Nature is not a place to visit, it is home-and within that home territory there are more familiar and less familiar places." Two sons, one Pulitzer, many other awards so far. He writes, he reads, he teaches. One hopes that he never tires of planting words in the soil that is us. If there are any legitimate Earth heroes, Gary Snyder is one.



5. Gary Snyder has been an inspiration to me and to a lot of other people for many years now. This book is a joy to read because it gives us so much of his poetry, as well as his philosophy of life, nature and Buddhism over a course of 46 years. Much of it has been pulled from his various books, but reading it again after time has passed brings a new perspective and an added appreciation for the work. Thanks Gary, for doing the real work for all these years.