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.

No comments about Wang Chang-Ling (Twayne's World Authors Series).

No comments about VOLUME 2 ONLY From Emperor to Citizen ~ Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi.

No comments about Hong Kong's Journey to Reunification: Memoirs of Sze-yuen Chung.

No comments about A Pictorial Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha : Chinese-English, In Color -.

1 comments about Caught In A Tornado: A Chinese American Woman Survives the Cultural Revolution.

1. This Cultural Revolution memoir is somewhat unique in that it is about an American born Chinese woman who returned to China before WWII and decided to stay after Mao came to power. She got tired of her philandering spendthrift husband, left him in Hong Kong, and decided to become an English teacher in Shanghai to be near her three grown children. Wen, Zengde was 66 years old in 1976 when the decade long Cultural Revolution started. There is another similar book also by an elderly woman, Nien Cheng, Life and Death in Shanghai, but I got board with it and didn't get past the first few chapters. Caught in a Tornado is a pretty fast read. Many Chinese committed suicide, especially the elderly who had less reason to endure the torment of the Cultural Revolution being so near the end of their lives, but Wen bravely stuck it out. She endured repeated beatings and interrogations, mostly from her students who served as the thought police, and survived. I suspect the ordeal shortened her life, however, because her sister who spent life in America lived to be at least 102. Wen passed away at 88. This book is short and provides a good overview of the sufferings and insanity that prevailed during the Cultural Revolution. Most appalling were the accounts of children turning on, and in some cases, killing parents and cannibalism in Guangxi Province; see the book Scarlet Memorial; read it on an empty stomach and keep in mind that the atrocities were mostly committed by ignorant peasants absent religious beliefs.
   
   The parallels between Mao's China and Afghanistan under the Taliban are pretty striking. Change China to Afghanistan, Mao to Allah, Mao's red book of quotations to the Qu'ran, and the Red Guards to the Taliban. The Four Olds could be men without beards, women unveiled, music and movies, schools other than madrasas, and any book besides the Qu'ran. In both cases schools were shut down and only one subject was allowed to be studied; in Afghanistan it was the Qu'ran (the Taliban's interpretation) and in China it was Mao's book of quotations. Both the Red Guards and the Taliban were able to break into any home anytime and destroy or confiscate items deemed counter-revolutionary or un-Islamic. Those perceived as not complying with the extremists, physically or mentally, were beaten, imprisoned, and sometimes murdered. The Red Guards attacked those in western dress, especially women with "unrevolutionary" bourgeois hair styles and make up. The Taliban did the same thing to women who dared to show their hair, faces, or leave the house without a male relative escort. They also attacked men for not having foot long beards. The only difference is that membership in the Red Guards, while restricted by class background, was open to both genders.

No comments about The First of Many: The Story of a Pioneering Chinese Family in Texas.

No comments about FUSANG OR, THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA: By Chinese Buddhist Priests in the Fifth Century.

4 comments about Amy Tan: Author of the Joy Luck Club (People to Know).

1. I loved this book, i have read it about four times. I think that Amy Tan does a very good job of portraying the Asian American families in the United States. I related to this book a lot, those of you that have similar problems should read this book. Of course everyone has heard about the movie, but i feel the book is a lot better. If you have heard of any Tan's other book "The Kitchen God's Wife", pick it up, it addressing a lot of the same aspects as in "The JOy LUck Club."



2. There are too many characters with similiar-sounding names...it is confusing.



3. The book provides a detailed description of the lives of eight Chinese-American women and the issues they have to face. However, by the end of first few sections the book becomes redundant with very predictable outcomes. Certain details, such as jobs at fortune cookie factories, lead to a general impression of primitivity and lack of imagination. The story itself tries to imitate conflicts and plots of a mature tragedy, but does so rather poorly. The book may have been slightly more acceptable if its profusion of characters had been cut down to two. Other than for a required assignment this book does not add much to one's reading experience.



4. "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan is a book about the lives and journey of four Chinese women (Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair) & their American-born daughts (Jing-mei "June" Woo, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair). Capitivated in a series of shorts, are tales of the pre-1949 to today's modern times. The Joy Luck Club held it's statis as it was named for, hope and good fortune. As the next generation holds its' faith, it becomes something just a little more special, linking two generations together..

No comments about Chinese Americans (American Voices).