1 comments about A Chinese Pioneer Family : The Lins of Wu-Feng, Taiwan, 1729-1895.

1. This is a first-choice, must-read book on Taiwan history and culture. It covers most of Taiwan's frontier period as well as colonial era. If you really want to get a feel of what life was like in early Taiwan, this is the book for you. Very accurate and well-written, it reads like a novel. Definitely required reading, I highly recommend it for not just scholarly work, but also for purely pleasure reading.

No comments about Growing Up on Grove Street, 1931-1946: Sketches and Memories of a Chinese-American Boyhood.

No comments about A Chinese Economist's Journey.

No comments about Confucius: Great Chinese Philosopher (Great Names).

No comments about Chinese Testament: The Autobiography of Tan Shih-Hua..

No comments about Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman.

No comments about Traveller Without a Map.

2 comments about Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary: English-Chinese, Chinese-English = Ying-Han, Han-Ying (Dictionary).

1. This was my very first English-Chinese/Chinese-English dictionary, and it has helped me many times. I bought it in my first year in university (I was a Chinese major)and I found it to be quite helpful.
   
   Back then my vocabulary was very limited, so I used it quite a lot, and learned a lot.
   
   Now however, as I've progressed I don't really think this is that good a dictinary. First of all, it's a pocket dictionary, which means, that the vocabulary (extensive as it might be) is a bit limited. I actually don't use this book at all anymore, because I find, that the words I seek are often not in there. Also there are no countries, no places or names. There is also a problem with the fact, that it may tell you the translation of a word, but it dosen't tell you how to use it. If it gives you 3 different translations to a word (all of which have a different use) you wouldn't be the wiser to which is the word you're seeking. That is quite a bit annoying.
   
   So, in summary, I'd say it's good for beginners, seeing it's got all the words you're bound to use in everyday conversation and it's fairly cheap, but there's a lot missing for the more advanced learner.



2. In my experience traveling and living in China for two years, having arrived in the country with this dictionary and no prior experience in the language, I have become competent in Mandarin with the great help of this little 'friend'.
   
   Although certainly not concise, it is missing a great deal of (usually) less practical words, it is small enough to carry in your pocket as you wander the streets trying to self-study or translate. It explains grammatical terms with amazing clarity in a tone that an amateur in language studies can understand. Often if will give 4 definitions for a word, but will explain the application of each definition. Moreover, it will give example sentences to help with grammatical and further vocabulary retention. It also uses both PINYIN and Characters in the Chinese definitions.
   
   Basically it is a huge communicative aid and learning tool but should accompany another source to fill in the vocabulary blanks.

1 comments about Ninth Heaven to Ninth Hell: The History of a Noble Chinese Experiment.

1. The manuscript of this book had to be smuggled out of China, where the reactionary government suppressed its publication. Today's Chinese "Communist" Party viciously slanders the achievements of collective agriculture in the community Dazhai and the visionary leader Chen Yonggui who helped to make it a success. Yet thousands of people, both Chinese and foreign, saw for themselves the development of this once backward village into a thriving, highly productive agricultural community. It prospered until the early 1980s, when it was forcibly disbanded by the central government. The effects of decollectivisation were dramatic and criminal: in 1987, Dazhai, formerly a prosperous collective, was not able to feed itself.

   Qin Huailu is to be applauded for having the courage to record this important period of history in the face of oppression by the current counterrevolutionary régime. The accomplishments of Chen Yonggui and Dazhai will not be forgotten.

No comments about The Confucian's Progress: Autobiographical Writings in Traditional China.