No comments about Summer Wind: The Story of an Immigrant Chinese Politican.

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No comments about Memoirs of a Chinese Revolutionary: A Programme of National Reconstruction for China.

3 comments about Rhapsody in Red- How Western Classical Music Became Chinese (HC).

1. "How and why did Western classical music develop such deep roots [in China]? This is a question that we [Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai] have often asked ourselves-and been asked-and it is this that we set out to answer in writing Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese."
   
   This very readable short history of western classical music in China is more thoroughly structured than a "rhapsody," not just about music and certainly more colorful than just "red." The three most interesting chapters, in fact, cover the pre-communist era. It is generally known that the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci introduced Euclidean geometry to Chinese mathematicians in 1607, but did you know that he also presented Ming Emperor Wan Li with a clavichord? The chapter "Musical Voyages" tells the incredible story of this somewhat politically motivated adventure. In the beginning the Jesuits were sabotaged by the corrupt imperial eunuch Ma Tang and later, after the Emperor had finally received the gift, Father Pantoia, himself an amateur musician, had to instruct palace eunuchs in the art of playing the clavichord. Emperor Wan Li happened to be "on strike" and was unwilling to receive any guests. But he did seem curious enough to hear the sound of the clavichord and thus was the first "piano" recital in China given by palace eunuchs.
   
   During the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi, Western music had become far less exotic to the monarch. He had taken lessons and "supposed himself to be an excellent musician" though he probably "knew nothing." "There was a cymbal or spinet in almost every apartment [of the palace], but neither he nor his ladies could play upon them; sometimes indeed with one of his fingers he touched a note, which was enough, according to the extravagant flattery practised at the court of China, to throw the by-standers into ecstasies of admiration [...]." Needless to say, these extravaganzas had no musical influence beyond the palace.
   
   "The Best Orchestra in the Far East" is another very interesting chapter dealing with the pre-communist era. It tells the early history of the (then) exclusively non-Chinese Shanghai Municipal Orchestra under the leadership of the Italian pianist Mario Paci and also describes the beginning days of the Shanghai Conservatory. The exotic mix of Eastern and Western, that decadent yet energetic cultural atmosphere of Shanghai during the "Golden Twenties" and early Thirties has always fascinated me and this chapter is giving a vivid portrait of persons and events. Yet it is quite objective in its judgment of the period, which has sometimes been hyped as the non-plus-ultra in cultural refinement but was more often denounced as bourgeois and racist in politically tainted distortions. The picture that emerges after reading this chapter is, that the Western music culture in Shanghai at that time was indeed dominated by foreigners. But it was also the cradle of all those important Chinese musicians who became the founding fathers of China's present music life, of all those early composers conductors, educators, organizers, etc. and it seems that only this fundamental exposure to the vibrancy of Western music gave them the humanity to survive those later horrors of the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution."
   
   I recommend the chapter "The Cultural Revolution" not so much for the description of the miserable yet popular model operas that were produced at that time under the supervision of Jiang Qing (Mao Zedong's wife) but rather for the touching stories about the individual fates of various musicians who either became victims or used various tactics to survive. At the Shanghai Conservatory alone 17 professors and spouses committed suicide. Some others, like the Conservatory's "hard-boned" director He Luting, defied their attackers without ever "lying down." By the time He, who reminds me a bit of Nien Cheng (Life and Death in Shanghai), was finally released from jail and rehabilitated he had written 64 rebuttals of the charges leveled against him. Central Conservatory president Ma Sicong (Sitson Ma) took a different approach: he escaped China in a very dramatic way which caused terrible suffering to many people related to him. Other famous musicians on the other hand seem to have managed to advance their careers during the Cultural Revolution. Even though Red Guards twisted the wrists of pianist Liu Shikun, he was later invited by Jiang Qing herself to play Liszt's First Piano Concerto. Pianist Yin Chengzong became a member of Jiang Qing's "inner circle of favorite artists" and contributed to the construction of the (in)famous Yellow River Concerto performing it frequently. Interestingly both pianists manage to adapt equally well to capitalism now and the Liu Shikun Piano Arts School, headquartered in Hong Kong, has branches all over China.
   
   Personally I find the story of conductor Li Delun the most amazing document of human adaptability I have ever read. "Rhapsody in Red" could also be called a biography of Li Delun, because his life is a metaphor of artistic survival and this is actually the "leitmotif" of "Rhapsody in Red." Especially revealing is the uniquely subtle manner in which he apparently went along with and yet manipulated the erratic moods of Jiang Qing. Sometimes I am reminded of the relationship between Shostakovich and Stalin, but the relationship between Mao's wife and the conductor seemed to be more flexible.
   
   The last chapter about the "New Era" is a bit disappointing. Unlike the earlier chapters it fails to project personal experiences. The music life of China after the Cultural Revolution seems to have suddenly mutated into a carbon-copy of other Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Singapore or Taiwan. What is lacking in this report is a clear explanation of how the earlier history has managed to influence this development and given China's music life a personal note which would distinguish it from that of the other Asian countries. Taiwan, for example, has had no "Shanghai" and no "Cultural Revolution." Yet all those modern "Chinese" phenomena described here, the (somewhat superficial) popularity of western classical music, the curious but sometimes strangely behaved audiences, the diligent but slightly narrow minded students, the naiveté, the will to succeed, the ambitious parents, the energetic but sometimes corrupt music market, etc.....; all those phenomena can equally be observed in Taiwan and in Japan and Korea as well. I fail to see what is particularly "Chinese" about this. The chapter also cannot make me believe that-inspite of the enormous outward success of China's music students-the spirit of western classical music has sunk deep roots into China's society. Music seems to be approached, rather, as an "Olympic discipline." The title "How Western Classical Music Became Chinese" may thus be somewhat misleading.
   
   Nevertheless, I found this book to be a very interesting read and enjoyed listening to "Rhapsody in Red."



2. Ignore the drab cover, Rhapsody in Red is as dramatic, moving and packed with unexpected twists as China's own turbulent history. Although the theme is Western, classical music the book is really about the people who fought over its evolution in China. From missionaries and mandarins to maestros and Mrs. Mao, the lives described are full of bravery, treachery and above all passion for music and their country.
   
   The style is refreshingly direct and although the research is extraordinarily thorough it never reads like a dry, academic history book. There are many wonderful anecdotes drawn from face to face interviews and the descriptive passages are beautifully written.
   
   From imperial times right through to modern China the writers not only provide an incredible wealth of detailed information, but they also manage to capture the atmosphere of the times. Whether it be in the imperial court in the Forbidden city, or in Shanghai during the swinging thirties, or behind the scenes in China's first conservatories of music, or in the caves of Yanan where many of the theories about the role of culture in Communist China were first set out, the combination of the occasional poiniant descriptive passage, biographic details of individuals and thorough historical research really bring these places to life for the reader.
   
   Western classical music also proves to be a fascinating vantage point from which to analyse and develop a deeper understanding of the many debates that raged about the role of culture in Chinese society as a whole, as well as how The Middle Kingdom should respond to foreign powers.
   
   For musicians and musicologists, sinologists, historians and anyone interested in the cultural interaction between East and West, this is one of the very best books on the subject out there today.



3. "How Western classical music became Chinese" doesn't capture the real subject of this book: this is probably one of the five best books in print on Chinese history and cultural interchange. Using "classical music diplomacy" as a uniting thread, these authors tell the story of China's encounter with Western Europe and North America from the mission of Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci in the early 17th century through the "model operas" of the Cultural Revolution, one of which was performed for Nixon and Kissinger, to the break-through popular composers of contemporary China. They use fascinatingly detailed personal stories to illustrate these convergence points. Musicologists will love it, but it is no more about music than Nixon's diplomacy was about ping-pong. This book cannot be missed by anyone who loves a good story.

No comments about The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Webster's Chinese-Simplified Thesaurus Edition).

No comments about Francois De Rougemont, S.J., Missionary in Ch'Ang-Shu (Chiang-Nan: A Study of the Account Book (1674-1676) and the Elogium (Louvain Chinese Studies, 7).

No comments about Yo-Yo Ma (Asian-American Biographies).

2 comments about Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter.

1. Falling Leaves was an AMAZING book. It was touching and heart-wrenching, and I could not put it down. Adeline Yen Mah's story is so sad, and one realizes all the obstacles she had to overcome. I highly recommend this book for all mature readers, as it is an excellent and eye-opening work of art.



2. all of us cling to the belief that our parents would love us and protect us no matter what. This book brought home the cruel fact that family members are related by chance only. It,s lottery!! I heart ached as Adeline recalled her story. I felt I was living her life while I was reading the book.I was that little girl that no one wanted to remember .At the same time, I wanted to reach across time and hug her and confort her. Perhaps it's impossible to imagine all this if one had grown up in a warm and loving family. I salute Adeline for her courage to get her story out.Most of us whom have survived similar experience could not bear to even admit to ourselves that our family did not care. After all, It might mean we were not lovable. "falling Leaves" is a wonderful study of family dynamics . Each charcter teachs me something about human nature.Most of all, I appalud the human spirit. Adeline has shown that out of the mud, a lovely lily emerges.

3 comments about No Dogs and Not Many Chinese.

1. I found this an interesting but superficial account of British life in the Treaty Ports of China. So often Ms. Wood takes the reader on a provocative path, only to leave them wondering what happened. For example: where were all of the Anglo-Chinese children that no doubt were propagated during this time? Out of sight out of mind I guess?

   The flavours and tastes of Empire are there to be tasted though, throw in little Somerset Maugham and you have some good escapist reading.




2. I would recommend this book if you're not looking for an indepth analysis of the 100 years (1843-1943) of treaty-port history. A light read, Wood does a good job in providing a splattering of social history, individual anecdotes, and then some macro-level historical framework. On the whole, its an interesting read.



3. This is an interesting book to read, and seems to a good job at conveying the lively, chaotic, and bustling life of ignorant Westerners in the treaty ports of China, like Shanghai, Port Amoy (now called Xiamen) and others. But while it is interesting to read, it suffers from one of the same faults that so many of the Westerners in that book had, it does not consult Chinese sources. Another minor annoyance to some younger China students like me is the way it is inconsistent about the systems of romanization it uses. Despite these flaws (which are comparatively minor) this is an interesting book to read.

No comments about The Fu-Tzu: A Post Han Confucian Text (T'oung Pao Monographies 13).