5 comments about Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China.

1. 
   In his highly readable memoirs Yale University Professor Kang Zhengguo almost apologizes for not having it so rough in the Chinese Communist prison where he suffered privation and humiliation for three years, from September 1968 to September 1971. He reminds us that others have had it far worse, and points us to their books. But his tale of the common ailments including constipation and hunger that he and other prisoners suffered under the tyrannical rule of Mao Zedong's all-knowing and all-powerful party apparatus might be enough anyway to bring beads of sweat to a reader's brow. And for this precocious child of Xian, Shaanxi Province, who would never stop reading or learning or thinking, the prison term imposed for ordering Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago by mail from the Moscow University Library in the "revisionist" Soviet Union was not the least of his suffering.
   
   The Cultural Revolution rendered an already ailing China almost useless as a productive country. In a land where education and scholarship had been given almost religious importance for more than 2,000 years, questions and the people who asked them suddenly became suspect. Students took over classrooms; workers became the arbitrary, vengeful bosses. Kang Zhengguo's father always urged him to stick to the sciences as he was growing up in a middle class family in Xian - knowing instinctively and through his own suffering that books and the ideas in them could ruin a person. That's the way it was under the Communist tyrants. Yet Kang would read, and write, like his grandfather before him. Suffering was his calling.
   
   His writing and reading cost him his place at college, alienated him from his father, landed him in prison, left him a second-class citizen for a decade and haunts him even now, he explains in Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China. He can't return to China - or won't. The last time he was there, in the enlightened year 2000, he was detained and interrogated and threatened for two days. Only his connections to Yale saved him. The Chinese citizen has no power in China, not political power anyway. Mao's death in 1976 changed little and the reforms of Deng Xiaoping brought economic prosperity for a few but at the price of everyone forgetting that they were stuck in a political quagmire. Kang Zhengguo escaped all that for the idyllic life of the bookish language teacher in New Haven, Conn. His writing got him in trouble, then provided his escape valve. His story will be especially compelling to writers and others who trade in ideas. But it will provide delightful reading for any student of China, filling in the details of the lives of ordinary people living through an extraordinary time in world history. - THOMAS BRENT ANDREWS / more reviews at http://chronicdiscontent.wordpress.com ##



2. Highly recommended for the reader interested in how one thoughtful young person might have survived during the madness of Mao's years. Professor Kang Zhengguo provides a well-written reaffirmation of the ultimate power of the lone individual. He, while adapting to hard circumstances, quietly strove for what was just in a time of unjustness.
   
   A harsh, deadeningly corrupt political/economic system, seemingly designed to bring out the worst in all people, is described in powerful detail.



3. I am now reading the book Confessions and it is very interesting and well written.Kang gives you a very descriptive picture of what it was like to be in China during the cultural revolution. Very frightening! I think it also gives one some insight into the culture of China today,and why their culture seems to drive their economic growth to excede sans a sense of responsibility or morality.



4. An excellent memoir of the madness that was China's Cultural Revolution. Well-written, in-depth and even-handed. The author's description of his imprisonment for "thought crimes" is chilling.



5. Princeton professor Perry Link says in the Introduction that Confessions "may be the best account of daily life in Communist China that I have ever read. It stands out .. because of the extraordinary lifelike qualities of the writing and the credibility of its account .. Hundreds of writers .. have given accounts of China during Mao's years, but nearly all use an ideological lens .. This account, in contrast, is clear eyed."
   
   As Link says, it is honest and devoid of Communist ideology, the first honest account "free of Mao" to appear out of China. The writing is superb and the characters pop out of the page. Certain scenes are anthropological in detail, such as rural peasant life, and some of the prison descriptions are, according to Link, as good as anything of its type available.
   
   Zhengguo never sacrificed his internal integrity, which made him a nail-head that attracted the notice of the Communist hammer, usually involving literature and books: Zhengguo was jailed for three years for requesting a library copy of Doctor Zhivago. Zhengguo says the purpose in writing his memoirs: "I sought salvation through describing my trials and tribulations in writing. My purpose was not merely to complain but rather to salvage my dignity through honest revelations about myself and everyone who had interacted with me, whether friend or foe." Zhengguo has obvious faults, there are times the reader wonders how he could be so foolish and stubborn, but anyone who is a devotee of books and the literary life will find in Zhengguo inspiration for a dignified life and personal integrity.

No comments about Footprints in the Snow: The Autobiography of a Chinese Buddhist Monk.

2 comments about Two Years in the Melting Pot.

1. As of you always heard people saying America is the melting pot, or a salad bowl, well this book tells the story of a Chinese man learn what it is to be and how hard it is to adapted to another culture. As the heart broken story start with him leaving his home of his family and children are waiting for him when he get back from his educational journey. Nearing half of his life away, he have leave home many times some times even long and much more dangerous then this journey to America but everyone still strong, but the story, the author have his way of describing the sadness of leaving his home and his family.
   Liu Zongren shown a lot of honesty in himself with other, and also the humor of how the author describe the ways that he adapted to the American ways with his many questions of the cultures he barely know and soon be leaving again. As the author dealing with cultures shock you will be drawn into the book and soon you will feel that you are dealing with the culture shock with the author also, the writing of Liu is very strong and it will attract you to the book as you read along.



2. Are you interested to know how a Chinese person experienced cultural shock in the US ? Then this book is a MUST. No book that I have read about the Chinese (and I have read many indeed) has touched me as profoundly as this precious glimpse into the personal feelings (rarely shared with Westerners) experienced by a gentle Chinese man during his two year stay in the Chicago area during the early 1980s. His English is excellant and his literary style very expressive and easy to read. His honesty and humor can not fail to touch the soul of the reader. I am deeply grateful to Mr. Liu for sharing his thoughts and experiences with us.

1 comments about Anna Chennault: Informal Diplomacy and Asian Relations (Biographies in American Foreign Policy, No. 8).

1. Anna Chennault played a role in the post World War II Republican party. As the society widow of a war hero, she played the party host for up and coming Republicans in Washington D.C.'s society. She influenced Republican strategy to the Asia and especially the ROC and PRC. This hard line approach dictated policy which resulted in the cold war in Asia.
   Even though China was Communist, her views influenced how the U.S. dealt in this crucial area of the Cold War. I am not sure this is a good thing, since Anna was from a prominent Peking family oppossed to the Communists.
   
   One thing this book explains is the October surprise that Anna influenced. The RSV was against any peace overtures to DRVN, and so Anna's influence may have killed an earlier deal in Vietnam, and got RN elected President. This chapter makes it clear on what actually happened and does show RN influenced American policy before the 1968 election.
   
   This book is a thesis for the author's PhD. Even though I don't like reading a thesis, this book explains well Anna's influence in the American political system. I think it explains well the subject's influence on American policy-right or wrong.

5 comments about Thousand Pieces of Gold (Asian Voices).

1. Every author has their way of writing a book. I won't criticize like how other reader's have on here. My judgement is that we are entitled to our oppinion. Having said that, I love the book esp. after knowing it was based on true events and that it actually happened. I really like this book which is why I am going to be buying myself one.



2. _Thousand Pieces of Gold_ is the biography of Lalu, a young Chinese girl sold by her father, eventually arriving in America where she is first bought by a saloon owner in Idaho, then won in a poker game by another saloon owner who eventually becomes her husband. The journey from rural China to "wild west" has a number of layers to it: of course the personal journey of the heroine, but also the racism and sexism common to the time.
   
   To me, the writing waxed and waned, alternating between beautiful descriptions of the northwest and less enthralling prose, hence the 4 stars. Writing aside, it is a wonderful story as Lalu (later called "Polly") struggles to find happiness and her place in the world - a quest everyone can relate to. As in life, there are set-backs, challenges and frequently things don't work out the way Lalu/Polly had hoped (or planned.) But as Lum McCunn writes, "It (is) not luck that determines the rise and fall of cakes or bread or lives, but skill, strength, and the right ingredients." Lalu/Polly had these characteristics in abundance, and the description of her pluck, courage and will more than make up for any nitpicking (on my part) of the author's writing style.
   
   It is a fabulous summer read and a great story. Recommended.



3. This is story of a woman whose saga begins when her father is forced to sell her. She goes through many hands, I won't spoil the story, and eventually lands in the Wild West USA. It's a great story and my only criticism is that the writers style is one of simplicity for the sake of simplicity (you'll understand when you read it).



4. The film (one of my favorites) inspired me to acquire the book and as usual I found the book to be far superior to the film. The norm since converting a book to film is similiar to condensing.
   
   The book did lack in factual detail which would have made it longer and far more interesting, as a factual historical novel. As a piece on racial discrimination and women's fight for equality it is the best of reading.
   
   For those interested in the subject the book and film are well worth adding to your collection.



5. Ali H. 1B
   I was fascinated by Lalu journey through the world and her life.
   She although being born in China gets to travel half away arournd the world all the way to America before she even turns 13. Her story is trajic but very rebellious and she makes it a point of bieng heard no matter what the situation may be. The book is very interesting and if you have never travelled overseas and witnesed anothor part of the world, you must read this book and learn how different people from different cultures survive on this planet.

1 comments about Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule.

1. Tubten Khetsun provides a remarkably detailed and vivid account of what Tibetans have undergone during and following the brutal take over of their land by China during the period between 1959-1979. He takes you in with him during his struggle to survive in what has been the darkest period of Tibet's history and leaves you amazed and grateful in his personal victory and emancipation while simulataneously feeling open-hearted for the terrible suffering that the Tibetans have undergone. This is not only of interest from a hisorical perspective, but more importantly, from a humanitarian perspective...it's a must read!

5 comments about Concubine's Children.

1. Received my order quickly, the book was is the advertised condition and I loved the book.



2. I couldn't wait to read this book after it arrived. But I was disappointed. Althought the topic was fascinating, the writing was not. I became bored and at times found it hard to follow which person was doing what. I had to re-read some paragraphs to make sure I knew which person I was reading about. If the writing had been better, it would have been a far more captivating book. Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter was much better.



3. 
   THE BOOK WAS A VERY GOOD BUY....SERVICE WAS OUTSTANDING I RECD
   THE BOOK IN A HURRY. BOOK WAS IN GREAT CONDITION AND EVEN MY
   WIFE PICKED IT UP AND READ IT. THIS IS THE SECOND BOOK I
   PURCHASED FROM AMAZON. I WILL BUY AGAIN VERY SOON. KEEP UP
   THE GOOD WORK.



4. In this fascinating tale, Denise Chong deftly writes the story of her migrant Chinese family on two soils - Canadian soil, and Chinese soil. Her grandmother ("concubine" May-ying) moves to Canada following Chan Sam, her assigned husband. Times prove not to be so easy for the Chinese in "Gold Mountain". Their isolation and institutionalized exclusion from mainstream Canadian society stifled any progress. May-ying moves almost constantly from Nanaimo to Vancouver (the two Chinatowns) waitressing to support her husband, Hing (the third daughter and author's mother), and also the family left in China. Following relations in this book is key to understanding how the story unfolds.
   
   Denise Chong tells the story of May-ying's taut life in trying to fulfill the obligations of a Chinese wife in a polygamous setting. She also gives historical accounts (political and cultural) both at home and in China. When family and history are intertwined, both become inseperably tangible. I don't think that this book is an exploitation of Chinese culture as one reviewer pointed out. I think this book will be enlightening to many a reader with sparse knowledge and misconceptions about early Chinese migration to the New World.



5. For those of you who think polygamy works when it is culturally supported, this is the book that will give you a new viewpoint to consider.
   
   This book was written by the granddaugther of a concubine, a second wife taken while the first wife was still in the picture. Culture and practicality allowed and supported concubinage in China of the 1920s, yet this family suffered greatly for generations under the practice. It is the history of her grandparents' marriage, a second marriage. The grandfather took a concubine to be his wife in the New World while he worked to make a better living from his At Home family and to elevate his social status in his home community.
   
   The story tells of the struggles of being a "second family," of the depravation that had to go hand-in-hand with supporting two households, with the shame of having parents who were together for the convenience of sex and income, of the pain of being separated from siblings who were being raised by the first wife. It's about the descent from being a merely disfunctional family unit to being essentially an out-of-control single-parent household when the bonds of dependency and culture were broken by the stress of having two wives and two families.
   
   I couldn't put this book down once I started because it's like watching a train-wreck. I could anticpate the troubles and sorrows, as could the family involved, yet they were just as powerless as I to change things.

No comments about Chinese in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley (CA) (Images of America).

5 comments about The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another.

1. The book was very interesting, but I wounder why the mother did not have her daughter, checked out by a physclogist with all the problems that she was having with her adjusting to her new life??. I enjoyed reading the book and finding out how the children are really treated, I do think that China is selling there baby girls, what do they do with the money that they get, very good book to read and pass along to couples that are in the process of adopting, I am passing to my friend that is adopting hopfully in Jan 09



2. This book was excellent! I couldn't put it down once I started it! Highly recommend it, along with a box of kleenex's!



3. I definitely have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it is an amazing story. I was adopted from Korea, have two other siblings that were adopted, have been involved in adoption groups my entire life and for a time, even worked in an adoption agency, so the book hit close to home in many aspects. I think there were very few pages where I didn't find myself sobbing. And I will also say that throughout reading the book, I would vary from reading the book to trying to persuade my husband to adopt/start the application process! ;) So, those are the reasons why one should read this book.
   
   However, as an adoptee, I would say that I have a problem with the mother in this story sharing her daughter's story so openly. I firmly believe that an adopted child's story is their story and they should be the ones to share it...not their parents'. I understand to a certain degree that as an adoptive parent, your child's adoption is a part of your own story....however, details about the way her birthmother left her child are very private matters. I'm not sure if I would want my history out there for all to read and I don't think that the daugher is of the age where she would be able to fully process what it means to put your story in print. And while the author was extremely honest in this story about her own feelings when she initially met her daughter, I think that there would be a lot of things that would be really difficult to read as her adopted daughter....especially during adolescence.
   
   So...although I think this is defintiely worth reading, for me, it left me with mixed feelings.



4. 
   This book is amazing!
   
   It is about an American mother who goes to China to adopt a three year old girl. This girl, Jacklyn, has lived in the orphanage for two years where she's taken care of a little boy, Xiao Mei Mei. She's acted like a mother to him and made sure the older boys in the orphanage don't pick on him. When Jacklyn, gets adopted she makes it her mission to get her mom to adopt "her baby". Her mom turns to her own family to help her get this baby adopted. Every night Jackyln asks when her baby is coming to America. "When Xiao Mei Mei come?"
   
   Being adopted from China, I found the book very touching. When I went back to my orphanage this summer I saw a little girl who had been left at the orphanage the night before and I fell in love with her. I, like Mrs. Champnella, know what it is like to feel protective of a child you don't know and love that child with all your heart.
   
   I would recommend this book to people who, like me, aren't too religious but won't mind hearing about it. It certanly didn't put me off the book. I think everyone would love this book because it's about the determination of one little girl to share her new life with the one she loves.
   
   Read it, believe me you will love it!



5. I'm so glad the author wrote this book. It's the story about the love an orphan has for her best friend, her little baby. It's not something that the average person would choose to pick up, but I love reading adoption stories and this one was fabulous. Anyone who is about to adopt or even thinking about it should read this. It's heartwarming to read about different ways to create a family.
   My friend, adopted from Korea as a baby, also loved it and now hopes to one day adopt from China as well.

1 comments about Paint the Yellow Tiger.

1. This is a great book for an art lover to read. It is not only because the author Mr. Dong has a tremendus reputation in the watercolor world but also his beautiful art works with familiar city scenes. Reading this book makes you feel that you have been traveling with this great artist as a long time friend, bringing you into his life. from a young boy who like to paint the Yellow Tiger until he becomes a famous artist. Whether this book serve as an autobiography or a story book, the author put most of his art skills and philosophy into it. Such as, all his human figures are facing the same direction and think the same things, He always seems to put the oriental Yin-Yan rule into his painting. I also enjoy his soft color, the balance of shape and light and the composition for which he has become so famous.