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Aimed at westerners who wish to do business with the Chinese, this is a practical text with authentic examples organized by topic. ... Read more

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Designed to increase language proficiency while giving insight into Chinese civilization, this book contains lectures which include vocabulary, a romanized version of the lecture, a character version, phrases and sentences for translation from Chinese to English and from English to Chinese, and questions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Twenty lectures on chinese culture: an intermediary chinese textbook
Good, since the version is very old, and the printing order is a antique way.

still some value after all these years
This is still a worthwhile book for someone at the mid- to upper intermediate level in their study of Mandarin.It is true that the lectures are somewhat flavored by the political affiliations of the authors (at the time of publication the Nationalist side of things pretty much dominatedChinese language education in this country) but the lectures are interesting and cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from Chinese geography, history (ancient and modern), literature, art and religion, to name just a few.A learner can definitely get a great deal of satisfaction by working through this course and being exposed to a different political point of view also has some usefulness in terms of understanding mid to late 20th century Chinese history. Still, some work to make the book 21st-century friendly wouldn't be a bad idea.Certainly much more attractive fonts for Chinese characters are available now, simplified characters should be given in the vocabularies along with their traditional counterparts, and the anachronism that is the Yale system of Romanization should be put to bed- for good. Learners who have made it to the level where they can work with this book shouldn't have to be saddled with an outdated system of transcription.And just for good measure, how about recording the lectures on CD?Just asking.

When Yale ruled the world...
Ah yes, the classic text.I simply think that there could never be a better tool for learning than this gem.This would explain its continued use for so many years.Although by today's standards, it may be a bit rusty, but if there were a better book to educate we intermediate students on the basics of Chinese life, I would certainly like to see it.The authors may lean slightly Nationalist and slightly Confucian, but this is fine with me.The only complaint I have is the use of the eyesore known as Yale romanization, but I can get over it.Excellent text! ... Read more

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"Confucius's Analects" is an innovative textbook for teaching and learning Chinese language and culture at the advanced level. It combines classical and modern Chinese language skills, Chinese culture, and expository and narrative writing practice. "Confucius's Analects" (ca. 479 BC-221 BC) is a central work of East Asian intellectual history that permeates Chinese and East Asian thought and values today. Students seeking to develop advanced language proficiency need to be familiar with the Analects in order to understand the wealth of literary allusions that appear in modern as well as classical Chinese writings. A selection of 82 passages, which are all educational and practical for present-day students, are grouped thematically into four parts-knowledge, morality, wisdom, and government - and covers Confucian teachings from personal cultivation to social contribution. A quadrupled text system includes quotations from the Analects, modern Chinese translations of these passages, short essays of exegesis that elaborate on the major points, and historical Chinese stories that illustrate the theme.Vocabulary expansion sections show how monosyllabic classical words have each expanded into ten selected modern bisyllabic words. Almost 300 idioms and corresponding exercises teach their rhetorical value and provide cultural exposure. Sections on function words help students to understand classical Chinese. Extensive writing practice in each chapter includes debate, composition, storytelling, and topical research-all requiring internet research. Audio files of recitation of the Analects passages by a native speaker are available online for free. Designed for students who have studied Chinese for three years in college or an equivalent, this textbook is ideal for students of advanced Chinese, classical Chinese, and Chinese culture. Knowledge of classical Chinese is not a prerequisite. ... Read more

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Uses the concept of family, both literally and metaphorically to provide an introduction to Chinese culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Term paper-itis
Text is thick, dry, and highly academic. Syntax is grammatically correct, but awkwardly phrased. The book is a forest of words that the reader must chop through to read.

"My brain hurts!"

Steer clear of this book unless you are a scholar or forced to read this for a class. ... Read more

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This text explores the social and cultural history of American born Chinese, from the 1930s through the 1990s. Focusing mainly on those from California, and drawing from a range of biographical and fictional material, the author investigates the complex issues of ethnic identity. ... Read more

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Of Orphans and Warriors: Inventing Chinese-American Culture
This is an intensely frustrating book.Despite the interesting subject matter and useful historical summaries, I found this book to be initially engaging but also massively under-theorised.

The best segments of thebook are Chun's analysis of the post WW-II period as a key time in thereformulation of Chinese American identity.However, her use of blandgeneralizations instead of demonstrated theoretical links mean that heranalyses rarely proceed beyond the obvious.

Chun's highly biographicalapproach is at its best when she deals with characters with long papertrails.Her analysis of literary figures is also informative.

However,we are only given incidental examination of key issues such as gender,race, class-structure and religion.The social and cultural milieus inwhich key informants moved are given scant attention for a work of culturalanalysis.In this regard, her discussion of the Sixties and Seventies (forexample) read more like a summary rather than an investigation:Whichspecific elements of Black Panther philosophy (as opposed to a generalized'stick it to the man' factor), if any, appealed to the Asian Americanarchitects of Yellow Power?Did the examples of feminist and womanistworkers such as Germaine Greer and Angela Davis have any effect on youngChinese American women? How did the mechanics of desire(the fetishizationof Asian women the feminization Asian men)factor into the SexualRevolution?Unfortunately, Chun does not give us sufficient evidence toevaluate the claims she makes.By the same token, unfortunate errors ofdetail (such as the use of Lin Yutang's given name rather than his familyname, on p. 51 and 53)also act to compromise Chun's authority. While her'talk-story' style might be viewed as an attempt to challenge academicgenres of writing,this work, at base, is an academic project(and notfiction) and therefore must be assessed as such.

I am extremelysympathetic to the goals and aims of this book and applaud Chun's attemptto address some interesting questions but ultimately I found that this bookfails to deliver much in the way of truly satisfying nuanced analysis (asopposed to the representation of experience).

Of Orphans and Warriors
Excellent book! As a second generation Asian American woman, I found this book to be revealing, eye-opening and inspiring. ... Read more

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This book continues a comparative project begun with the authors' Thinking Through Confucius and Anticipating China. It continues the comparative discussions by focusing upon three concepts--self, truth, transcendence--which best illuminate the distinctive characters of the two cultures. "Self" specifies the meaning of the human subject, "truth" considers that subject's manner of relating to the world of which it is a part, and "transcendence" raises the issue as to whether the self/world relationship is grounded in something other than the elements resourced immediately in self and world. Considered together, the discussions of these concepts advertise in a most dramatic fashion the intellectual barriers currently existing between Chinese and Western thinkers. More importantly, these discussions reformulate Chinese and Western vocabularies in a manner that will enhance the possibilities of intercultural communication. ... Read more

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Academic Logorrhea
An obviously learned and valuable book however the author detracts from this by his penchant for using 10 words when 5 would suffice and by creating terminology for no obvious reason than to advance the esoteric nature of his topic.
Unfortunately, this is quite representative of the state of academic writing today, with the social sciences often in the forefront.Someone needs to explain to our pretentiously learned academics that simplicity is the mark of a more complete understanding of the subject, not less. ... Read more

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a student's guide and helper
Shaughnessy is the gold standard for research in the Chinese classics. This is NOT a coffee table book, but a serious research tool for the serious student. If you are interested in the subject you will wwant to ownthis as a part of your library. That said, the etymology in the book isthorough and well documented. His analysis of the early Chinese writingsystems is focused, at times eveen exhausting to the non-student, but sogood that you will be glad you made the effort. READ THE FOOTNOTES!Otherwise, you really are not geting your money's worth.The BambooBooks, Classic of Changes, Venerated Documents, Classic of Poetry, haveprobably never been this well explained to the English speaking student. Enjoy! ... Read more

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Teach Yourself Language, Life, and Culture titles delve into the customs and ways of their featured countries, taking a respectful yet lively point of view. Topics include government, arts, language, work, leisure, education, festivals, and food. Each title explains the role of language in shaping culture and provides practical information for travelers. Find out about traditional Chinese medicine, English fish and chips, the Welsh red dragon, and even Christmas in Japan. ... Read more

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Excellent!
This is a great introductory book. It gives overview of everything in China-food, language, history, customs, etc. I highly recommend it! ... Read more

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Chinese Gods and Myths
A very quick and incomplete look at Chinese Gods, legends, etc.This book is an attractive book with a "coffee table" feel about it, but it is too advanced in it's writing style for children and too simplistic for adults.The illustrations are plentiful and interesting but often do notrelate to the text.All in all I found it to be a disappointment - withthis title, my expectations were greater. ... Read more

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Sima Qian's vast Records of the Historian is the first comprehensive history of China and has exerted an immense influence both upon our understanding of the Chinese past and also upon the style and structure of subsequent Chinese historiography. In addition to his contribution as a historian, Sima Qian is a highly significant literary figure whose writings are among the most elegant and powerful from the ancient world. Durrant's study approaches Sima Qian's work from a literary perspective and demonstrates the relationship between Sima's narrative of the past and his narrative of his own life. That life was a fascinating and complex one. Enjoined by his father to complete a comprehensive history of China, Sima Qian subsequently offended the great Emperor Wu and was sentenced to castration. Rather than take the "noble path" of suicide, he suffered this traumatic punishment and lived on to fulfill his father's injunction-but not without emotional scars, scars that influenced his portrayal of the Chinese past. In fact, the great Han historian's account of the Chinese past, this study argues, is as much his story as it is history. ... Read more

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Essays about leading contemporary Chinese Women Artists:

Irene Chou,
Nie Ou,
Nancy Chu Woo,
Yang Yangping,
Zhao Xiuhuan,
Zhou Sicong ... Read more

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"Chicken fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and an order of onion rings, please."

Chinese restaurants in small town Canada are at once everywhere - you would be hard pressed to find a town without a Chinese restaurant - and yet they are conspicuously absent in critical discussions of Chinese diasporic culture or even in popular writing about Chinese food. In Eating Chinese, Lily Cho examines Chinese restaurants as spaces that define, for those both inside and outside the community, what it means to be Chinese and what it means to be Chinese-Canadian.

Despite restrictions on immigration and explicitly racist legislation at national and provincial levels, Chinese immigrants have long dominated the restaurant industry in Canada. While isolated by racism, Chinese communities in Canada were still strongly connected to their non-Chinese neighbours through the food that they prepared and served. Cho looks at this surprisingly ubiquitous feature of small-town Canada through menus, literature, art, and music. An innovative approach to the study of diaspora, Eating Chinese brings to light the cultural spaces crafted by restaurateurs, diners, cooks, servers, and artists.

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In this fascinating and up-to-date book, the author surveys the ancient assumptions about sexual practices and ideas in China, and then examines present day China with brief descriptions of homosexuality, lesbianism, transvestism, transsexualism, and prostitution. The history of various areas of sexological interest are covered, including sexual philosophy, classical sexological literature, Taoist sexual myths and techniques, erotic fiction, and the political regulation of sexual rights. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent overview of sexuality in China
This book offers an excellent overview of the various aspects of sexuality throughout the written history of china. It covers the Chinese view of sex and gender orientation from the later Han dynasty to modern times. The book is well written and organized, with wide range of topics. I used this book as a reference for my Masters in Oriental Medicine thesis on the Chinese medicine treatment of impotence. ... Read more

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Explores how Chinese medicine deals with emotional disorders. ... Read more