Product Description
This book describes how the Chinese government, between about 620 and 850, developed an official organization designed to select, process, and edit material for inclusion in official historical works eventually to be incorporated in an official history of the dynasty. The first part gives a detailed account of the establishment of the official apparatus designed to produce a record of the T'ang dynasty, which would remain standard for more than a millennium, with some analysis of the individuals who served in these offices. The second part gives all available detail about the various works produced by this apparatus, divided among its various genres, and listing all known titles, their authorship, and their relationships to one another. The third part shows the cumulative process by which a dynastic history came into being, and the way in which we can detect various elements in the completed history. ... Read more

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During the Second World War, Chinese Americans contributed to the war effort by joining the armed forces and working in the defense industries. In doing so, they improved their social status, often at the expense of Japanese Americans, and positioned themselves to become the "model minority" and the "good Asian in the good war." In "Americans First", K. Scott Wong uses archival research and oral histories to provide the first detailed account of Chinese Americans in the American military. Wong traces the history of the 14th Air Service Group, a segregated outfit of Chinese Americans sent to China in support of the American Army Air Corps and the Chinese Air Force. His ethnic history of inclusion shows how this new generation of Chinese Americans was more socially accepted, moving from the margins of society into the American mainstream during a time of pervasive racism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An untold story
This history of Chinese Americans during WW II goes beyond justh the story but gives the reader a background into the Chinese migration to America.The book is interesting and informative, and its a fast good read.

I was very pleased to find this history and social commentary.
I was very pleased to find this history of the Chinese American experience in World War II and have recommended this book to others. ... Read more

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Throughout Chinese history the seal has long shown the way for the cultural, social, economic, and societal progression of Chinese culture. This full color volume explores the remarkable world of Chinese seals in all their varieties and uses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A good overview.
This small book provides a good overview for the beginner in the field of Chinese Seals, in a field where there is nigh on nothing available to the English reader.
The chapters are succinct and well written.Each chapter is also well illustrated in terms of seal imprints as well as typical seal designs.
One of the more difficult areas for the non-Chinese speaking/reading collector is that of identifying the era from which one's seals come from - this book will not assist in that task but provides a pleasant and helpful introduction to an area many may well be tempted to delve into. ... Read more

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Foolish kings, clever scholars, brave generals, and kindhearted princesses you ll find them all in the rich and colorful history of China, and in the stories told by generation after generation of Chinese people. For thousands of years, the people of China have been enthralled and entertained by stories of real historical figures and events of the past, and have retold the stories until they have become legendary. And the best part? They are all true.

Nineteen of the most important and fascinating tales were translated from their original Chinese for this two-volume set of Chinese Historical Stories. They represent the most entertaining, well-known, and historically significant stories beloved by children and adults alike.

Volume 1 presents stories of kings and queens, generals, battles, and courtiers from the Zhou Dynasty, when China was ruled by kings from 1046 BC to 221 BC. It was the period before the country was unified under a single emperor, when each state schemed to become more powerful than its neighbor, leading to many exciting stories populated by famous historical figures.

Volume 2 is full of tales from the China s Imperial period, when Emperors ruled the unified nation, from 221 BC until 1911 AD. These two thousand years saw many changes from both within the country and from the outside world, and these stories reflect the many facets of Chinese life during times of war and times of prosperity and peace.

Join us on a journey back three thousand years, and dive into a culture and history whose real-life stories are as dazzling and enchanting as any fairy tale.

Customer Reviews (3)

great supplemental text
Interesting short stories with some historical notes to put them in context.This book is good for supplementing a unit study on Ancient China.

A stunning achievement, sure to enthrall readers age 9 and up
This second volume of Chinese History Stories presents over eight stories from the Imperial Era from the Qin Dynasty era (221-207 BC) to the People's Republic of China (1949-present). Again, middle elementary age readers are treated to beautifully illustrated beloved historical stories of brave generals, marauding pirates, virtuous princesses, faithful martyrs, foolish statesmen, and wise scholars and poets. These beloved historical stories convey a wealth of authentic detail and reflect their status of international treasure troves of cultural history. The stories are exciting and dangerous as well as fascinating. Opportunities to investigate special topics further are presented between stories, labeled "Learn More" sections. "Stories from the Imperial Era" is a stunning achievement, sure to enthrall readers age 9 and up.

Terrific Chinese Tales from the Imperial Era
China is a great country and these tales allow me to understand more of its history.I am an ESOL teacher and have many Chinese students.These books allow my students to read their history in English and allow me to understand their history better.The stories are also fun to read!Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description

Foolish kings, clever scholars, brave generals, and kindhearted princesses you ll find them all in the rich and colorful history of China, and in the stories told by generation after generation of Chinese people. For thousands of years, the people of China have been enthralled and entertained by stories of real historical figures and events of the past, and have retold the stories until they have become legendary. And the best part? They are all true.

Nineteen of the most important and fascinating tales were translated from their original Chinese for this two-volume set of Chinese Historical Stories. They represent the most entertaining, well-known, and historically significant stories beloved by children and adults alike.

Volume 1 presents stories of kings and queens, generals, battles, and courtiers from the Zhou Dynasty, when China was ruled by kings from 1046 BC to 221 BC. It was the period before the country was unified under a single emperor, when each state schemed to become more powerful than its neighbor, leading to many exciting stories populated by famous historical figures.

Volume 2 is full of tales from the China s Imperial period, when Emperors ruled the unified nation, from 221 BC until 1911 AD. These two thousand years saw many changes from both within the country and from the outside world, and these stories reflect the many facets of Chinese life during times of war and times of prosperity and peace.

Join us on a journey back three thousand years, and dive into a culture and history whose real-life stories are as dazzling and enchanting as any fairy tale.

Customer Reviews (3)

tales of Chinese history for young readers
The 19 stories collected in the two volumes are told with the simplicity and the lessons about morals and character of folk tales. They are based on real historical figures, however, and historical periods and events from the beginnings of Chinese history.

Volume 1 has stories from the Zhou dynasty lasting from 1122-221BC. The word for the ones heading it was leaders was king, not emperor. They did not have much control over the areas they ruled. It was by granting land to relatives and followers that they were able to maintain their power. This group of historical stories ends with Qin Shi naming himself "First Emperor of Qin" after he brought unity to what had been smaller states constantly vying for power and forming shifting alliances through the Zhou period. It was he who gave China the name "Middle Kingdom." Volume 2 containing eight stories ends with the Opium War between Britain and China in the nineteenth century.

The long span of Chinese history is colorfully and memorably compressed into a series of tales aimed at middle readers.

This collection conveys vivid examples of the intricate and vast cultural history of China
"Chinese History Stories Volume 1: Stories from the Zhou Dynasty" is the first volume of Chinese History Stories, a beautiful illustrated set of favorite stories from 4,000 years of Chinese history. More than 11 stories based on Chinese history from 2205 BC to 207 BC are in this first volume of a beautiful two volume set. A simplified timeline of Chinese history begins the volume, along with pinyin pronunciation guides to some common Chinese sounds and spellings. Over 120 pages of colorfully illustrated stories of witchcraft, treachery, thwarted love, wise scholars and foolish rulers are in store for the lucky middle grade reader fortunate enough to have access to this set. Deft end notes direct young readers to areas of further study or highlights at the end of chapters, such as the "Learn More" note about "The Art of War" by Sun Wu on page 43. This collection conveys vivid examples of the intricate and vast cultural history of China.

Children's History Book about China
This is an interesting book about Chinese History for children.The stories are authentic and the drawings are like Chinese paintings.My students who are mostly Chinese enjoy hearing their own history and stories.It helps them relate better to American History and to see connections. ... Read more

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Li Hsiu-ch'eng - the Loyal Prince - was the most important military leader on the rebel side during the last years of the Taiping Rebellion in China (1851-64). The Taiping Rebellion has been called the greatest popular revolt in modern history, and it came remarkably close to toppling the Ch'ing empire some fifty years before it was finally overthrown in 1911. Captured in June 1864 by government forces, Li Hsiu-ch'eng spent the final days before his inevitable execution writing a personal account of the Rebellion and his role in it. His Deposition is the fullest narrative by a participant and an invaluable historical document. The original manuscript of the Deposition was withheld by the government commander Tseng Kuo-fan and his descendants, and a shortened, bowdlerized version prepared for publication. Li himself was considered a great revolutionary hero in China until the Cultural Revolution when he was reassessed in a major public debate of considerable political significance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Dissertation turned into a book -- useful for research
Captured in June 1864 by government forces, Li Hsiu-ch'eng spent the final days before his inevitable execution writing a personal account of the Rebellion and his role in it.His deposition is the fullest narrative by a participant and an invaluable historical document.The original manuscript was withheld by the government commander Tseng Kuo-fan and his descendants, and a shorter, bowdlerized version prepared for publication. Dr. Curwen's translation is from the original and includes an introduction and extensive commentary.The translation is 150 pages and Curwen's end notes are 125 pages. The notes highlight where Tseng Kuo-fan and others made changes to the original for their version in order to disparage the Taipings.This aspect of the author's treatment is useful for getting inside the psyche of the government forces and has parallels in in contemporary Chinese treatment of the Falun Gong.Overall a good scholarly book. ... Read more

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This book offers a radical reinterpretation of the formative stages of Chinese culture and history, tracing the central role played by cosmology in the formation of China's early empires.It crosses the disciplines of history, social anthropology, archaeology, and philosophy to illustrate how cosmological systems, particularly the Five Elements, shaped political culture.By focusing on dynamic change in early cosmology, the book undermines the notion that Chinese cosmology was homogenous and unchanging.By arguing that cosmology was intrinsic to power relations, it also challenges prevailing theories of political and intellectual history. ... Read more

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A sweeping portrait of one of America's most distinctive communities from the bestselling author of The New Chinatown.

From award-winning author Peter Kwong and Dusanka Miscevic comes a definitive portrait of Chinese Americans, one of the oldest immigrant groups and fastest-growing communities in the United States. Beginning with stories of Chinese frontiersmen who came to the West Coast by the thousands in the mid-nineteenth century and continuing to the high-tech transnationals who have helped spark the development of today's booming Chinese American "ethnoburbs," this engrossing narrative recounts stories of extraordinary hardship, discrimination, and success.

Chinese America is a landmark analysis that draws on firsthand reporting in Asia and the US. Offering a new picture of the country's development, Kwong and Miscevic provide the first comprehensive report on the suburban immigrant communities that are transforming America. Urban ghettos continue to host some of the country's poorest immigrants, but Chinese Americans now live in the suburbs in similar proportions to whites—and have brought with them Chinese supermarket chains, language schools, and growing clout in America and Asia. Exploring the burgeoning trade—and underlying conflicts—between China and the US, Chinese America reveals the complex connections between immigration, globalization, and foreign policy in our time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A daring effort to cover the entire story
I am hard pressed to name any remotely comparable book covering the history of Chinese Americans.Most of the others either subscribe to the myth of the happy assimilationist Asian of mid-century or if they do, fail to address the true intra-community conflicts in recent history.This work is a true trail-blazer.Contrary to the implications of the one negative review this book provides an eye-opening and even-handed review of the real struggles in the Chinese community. Bravo!

Very revealing book
This is a very revealing book that really focuses on how Chinese Americans have interacted with mainstream American society, and it also sheds light on class struggles within the Chinese American community itself.

Worth reading
"Chinese America" is a fabulous book chronicling a misunderstood ethnic group. Today's stereotype is that all Chinese Americans are wealthy overachievers. This book debunks that myth and is very good at explaining how it came about as a result of only professionals being admitted to the U.S. at a certain point and most of those professionals being the creme of the crop from Taiwan. This contrasts with the early immigration which came largely from the Hong Kong region and consisted of rural people so discriminated against that 60 percent of Chinese in New York City in the 1920s were engaged in the hand laundry business, not by choice but because of discrimination.
This is not an America-bashing book, not at all. It only retells a complex story that today is not widely understood.

Really bad
OK, Anna May Wong didn't get the part in The Good Earth which went to a European about 70 years ago.Get over it; most of us have!Typical academic whine in which everything is wrong and nothing is right with America.No credit is given for repealing racist laws, expanding tolerance and opportunity.Authors think the Weathermen and Bobby Seale had something important to say.Omits many interesting and most positive aspects of the Chinese immigrant saga in America.

Extraordinary History of the Immigrant Experience
Every so often a history writer gets it right. This is just such a book...what extraordinary riches about the Chinese experience
such as the contrast between Uptown and Downtown Chinese, the building of Chinatowns throughout the United States, the contributions of Chinese doctors to the expansion of the West, the terrible experience of the Exclusion Act, the inroads into Hollywood. Consider that the idea of California as the vegetable capital of the United States was the result of innovative Chinese farmers who understood how to use water and irrigation techniques in the West.(They also used new water techniques to mine gold in the hills, creating "Chinese walls" of stones that can still be located in the Gold Country.)Never boring, this is a wonderful book for a gift. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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The portrayal of historical atrocity in fiction, film, and popular culture can reveal much about the function of individual memory and the shifting status of national identity. In the context of Chinese culture, films such as Hou Hsiao-hsien'sCity of Sadness and Lou Ye'sSummer Palace and novels such as Ye Zhaoyan'sNanjing 1937: A Love Story and Wang Xiaobo'sThe Golden Age collectively reimagine past horrors and give rise to new historical narratives.

Michael Berry takes an innovative look at the representation of six specific historical traumas in modern Chinese history: the Musha Incident (1930); the Rape of Nanjing (1937-38); the February 28 Incident (1947); the Cultural Revolution (1966-76); Tiananmen Square (1989); and the Handover of Hong Kong (1997). He identifies two primary modes of restaging historical violence:centripetal trauma, or violence inflicted from the outside that inspires a reexamination of the Chinese nation, andcentrifugal trauma, which, originating from within, inspires traumatic narratives that are projected out onto a transnational vision of global dreams and, sometimes, nightmares.

These modes allow Berry to connect portrayals of mass violence to ideas of modernity and the nation. He also illuminates the relationship between historical atrocity on a national scale and the pain experienced by the individual; the function of film and literature as historical testimony; the intersection between politics and art, history and memory; and the particular advantages of modern media, which have found new means of narrating the burden of historical violence.

As Chinese artists began to probe previously taboo aspects of their nation's history in the final decades of the twentieth century, they created texts that prefigured, echoed, or subverted social, political, and cultural trends.A History of Pain acknowledges the far-reaching influence of this art and addresses its profound role in shaping the public imagination and conception-as well as misconception-of modern Chinese history.

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For courses on Modern Chinese History, Politics, Society, and Culture; a supplement for courses on East Asian civilization, World History and Civilization.Unlike other texts on modern Chinese history--which tend to be either encyclopedic or too pedantic--Revolution and Its Past is usably comprehensive, focused on "cutting-edge" interpretations, and written in a style that engages students from beginning to end. The Second Edition uses the theme of identities--of the nation itself and of the Chinese people--to probe the vast changes that have swept over China from late imperial times to the beginning of the twenty-first century. In so doing, it explores the range of identities China has chosen over time and those that outsiders have bestowed upon China and its people--showing how, as China rapidly modernizes, the issue of Chinese identity in the modern world looms large. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent Book
This book is perfect for Chinese history courses.If you are taking a history course on Modern China, I would recommend this book over anything other to supplement your notes.It is perfect in filling in those gaps.

However, do not forget that this is only a textbook, and as such acts more like a survey.Nevertheless, at the end of every chapter the author gives you suggestions for further readings, which is a good idea to follow if you are a self-study.

Any Professor teaching Modern China should use this book in his classroom.It's easy to read, not confusing, and has a good central theme, which it continues to follow throughout--Chinese Identity.

Needs Accompaniment
I thought this text was a great introduction to Chinese history.It is easy to understand the concepts, and it allows the reader to ease in.

However, for anything other than the very basic, you need something more.Bare bone facts offered in this book MUST be a foundation for greater literature.Chinese authors provide a necessary compliment, especially with all of the emerging non-fiction and memoir literature.

I suggest The Family by Pa Chin, The Poetry and Stories of Lu Xhun, Good Women of China by Xinran Xue, and Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah (just to get started)to understand the culture.

Excellent Historical Presentation of China
This is the required textbook for my History of China. The book has many unique features that I truly enjoy reading though it does lack of depth and clarity of dates. First of all, as a historian, Schoppa, with his staggering feats, presents us the modern history of China (including the Qing Dynasty) from a neutral way of view with minimum prejudice. It's comprehensive up to 2005 or so. It's a scholarly and well-written piece of works. Don't expect to read like a chronological presentation of events but a literature. The only thing that I would suggest for improvement is the use of Chinese words right next to certain important events like the Marco Polo Bridge Incident known to the Chinese as (7-7 Lugou Qiao Incident), Beijing Spring (Democracy Movement) known to the Chinese as June 4th Movenment, etc. This can make the conversation of American and Chinese students easier. When I mentioned Marco Polo incident to my Chinese friends, none of them knew what it was until I described it in detail. Another thing is the date, as mentioned by the previous reviewer. However, the confusion caused by the infrequent use of dates has the effect that a reader will have an intuitive understanding of Chinese politics and cultures but not so much as history (which takes into account of dates). Final thing--depth! Overall, this is an excellent textbook for a modern Chinese history class.

Readable
This is a readable history of China, though it lacks depth. It was grateful for it in my history class because I wasn't all that interested in the subject. That should speak volumes to readers who ARE interested in modern Chinese history. As a text book it was problematic because of the infrequent use of dates to accompany the narrative. Wouldn't you think mentioning the date of an event would be useful in a HISTORY book? The narrative chugs along and you find yourself flicking through the pages trying to figure out when in the timeline of Chinese history you are reading about. Good maps, good analysis of events if lacking a bit of depth and nice use of conversational language to convey the history. I would recommend this book for the casual reader of Chinese history. ... Read more

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Claiming Diaspora addresses the increasingly plural nature of American cultural identity through a study of the thriving contemporary music culture of Chinese America, ranging from traditional opera to Cantonese pop and from storytelling songs about the immigrant experience to the work of academically trained composers. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

An excellent, carefully researched chronicle
Part of the Soka Gakkai History of Buddhism series, The Flower of Chinese Buddhism chronicles the history of how Buddhism came to China, brought by traders and monks via the silk road, and how distinct Chinese schools of Buddhist thought came to be established (including the Tiantai school, which would later have a profound impact in Japan). Chapters further follow how Buddhism declined in China after brutal persecution during the tenth century, the deeds of notable Chinese Buddhist leaders of history, and the role of Buddhism in Chinese society. An excellent, carefully researched chronicle, "The Flower of Chinese Buddhism" is a must-have for Buddhist studies shelves. Also highly recommended are the other volumes in the series, "The Living Buddha: An Interpretive Biography" and "Buddhism: The First Millennium".

Limited scope, but valuable for what it does cover
"The Flower of Chinese Buddhism" is well organized and clearly written, and presents a wonderful overview of the transmission of Buddhism into China.The author, Daisaku Ikeda, is knowledgable and very enthusiastic about the subject, and his respect and admiration for the early pioneers of Chinese Buddhism are contagious.

The reader should be aware, however, that, as the president of Soka Gakkai International (affiliated with the Nichiren Sect in Japan) the author has intentionally limited the scope of this book to those facets of Chinese Buddhist history that have particular relevance to the later development of the Nichiren Sect.To his credit, he is quite forthright about this, and openly states it in various contexts throughout the book.Thus, while this book is very informative in the topics that it does cover, the focus is mainly on the development of the T'ien-t'ai School and the study and practice of the Lotus Sutra --- and there is no mention at all of the Pure Land School, and only passing reference to other schools such as Ch'an (Zen), Hua-yen, Esoteric Buddhism, and so on, which were also important in the history of Chinese Buddhism.(This limited scope is the only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5.)

This fact, however, should by no means limit interest in this book to T'ien-t'ai scholars or followers of the Japanese Nichiren Sect.It simply means that it should be read in conjunction with a broader survey of Chinese Buddhism."The Flower of Chinese Buddhism" has some real strengths, in particular its descriptions of the period when the Buddhist scriptures were being translated into Chinese by masters such as Kumarajiva, the travels to Central Asia and India of Chinese pilgrims such as Fa-shien and Hsuang-tsang, and the early attempts to classify and understand the vast (and sometimes contradictory) treasury of Buddhist scriptures that came flowing into China across the Silk Road over several centuries.Another strength is the discussion of the factors behind the persecutions of Buddhism that occurred several times in the course of Chinese history.

Despite its slightly narrow focus, the material that has been selected for in-depth coverage in this book is so well-written and informative that I'd strongly recommend it to anyone interested in one of the great spiritual and cultural encounters in world history: the remarkable story of the transmission of Buddhism from India to China.

Great Book To Understand the Spread of Buddhism from India
This book is actually the third installation of Daisaku Ikeda's History of Buddhism book. The first two books: Living Buddha and The First Millenium deal with beginning of Buddhism and the first millenium of Buddhism since the death of the Buddha. The Flower of Chinese Buddhism is a really helpful book to understand the reason why there are many branches of Buddhism in the world today because basically almost everything can be attributed to its spread to China. I really recommend this book as a fundamental tool if you are seeking for the truth. Nam Myo Ho Rengge Kyo.

An excellent endeavor
This book is one of three which attempt to outline the general history of Buddhism for the average reader. This history is of course very complicated and I think mr. Ikeda has done an excellent job of sorting outthe relevent and presenting it for our illumination. The insights intothe difficulties surmounted by those seeking to spread Buddhism areparticularly valuable and I would recomend this book to annyone regardlessof their level of education or religious affiliation.

The Great History of Buddhism
This book, "The Flower of Chinese Buddhism," documents a crucial part of the history of Buddhism, as it makes its way across China.It is thanks to China that the great Indian-born philosophy we now know asBuddhism became a true world religion - eventually spreading to Korea andJapan and then to the West.

"The Flower of Chinese Buddhism"basically picks up where Daisaku Ikeda's earlier volume on the history ofBuddhism, "The Living Buddha," leaves off.Mr. Ikeda tells us ofthe great Buddhist translators and teachers of China, of the development ofnew schools of Buddhism, such as the T'ien-t'ai school, and the eventualdecay of Chinese Buddhism after persecution in the tenth century.

As astudent of Buddhism, I am indebted to Mr. Ikeda for his clear descriptionsof Kumarajiva's revolutionary achievements, such as his excellent versionof the sutras, including the Lotus Sutra, and various philosophicaltreatises that form the core of Eastern Buddhist literature.

Other greatChinese masters such as Hui-ssu and Chih-i are reviewed, making this anextremely concise and useful introduction to the T'ien-t'ai school ofBuddhism that later became very powerful in Japan - the birthplace ofNichiren Daishonin and the modern harbinger of his teachings, Soka GakkaiInternational.

"The Flower of Chinese Buddhism" is awell-written documentation of one of the most important chapters of worldreligious history and particularly of Buddhist history.

The greatBurton Watson, world-renowned translator/scholar of Chinese literature,including the Buddhist masterpiece "The Lotus Sutra," translatedthis outstanding documentary of the history of Buddhism in China. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Eating Vegetables and Serving Devils"
The study of the White Lotus phenomenon in Chinese Buddhism is full of pitfalls for the unwary scholar and infamously defies easy analysis. This only serves to underline ter Haar's remarkable achievement in this meticulously careful and original monograph, one that comes about as close as possible to bringing a modicum of clarity to the subject. Such clarity is disillusioning--in a good way. I came to this book ready to delve into a secret underground society of militantly messianic Buddhism, but the author painstakingly makes it abundantly clear that the facts of the matter are not nearly so straightforward. As it turns out, my expectations were shaped by elite stereotypes and paranoia regarding common lay religiosity rather than the self-understanding of some objectively existing organization. In short, I learned something tangibly significant (which isn't always the case with books nowadays).

One of the secrets to ter Haar's success here is his trenchant specificity, both historical and geographical. This in turn necessitates research in a daunting array of scattered primary sources (including local histories and letters), giving this study an unusually rich texture of fine detail somehow still held together by the overarching thrust of the investigation. As for that, in a way it is simply the story of the gradually shifting perceptions of the term "White Lotus" from an umbrella appellation for a respectable Buddhist lay movement fascinating in its own right during the Song and Yuan dynasties to a derogatory label implying dangerous heterodoxy during the Ming and Qing, but the sociocultural and historical factors involved in this gradual shift are as complex as they are intriguing. That said, some background knowledge of Chinese history and religion is expected of the reader, and this is not the kind of book likely to be accessible to someone new to these matters. The prose is likewise sternly humorless though admirably lucid. But if you've already done your homework and are ready to get serious, an excellent study like this is a worthy payoff indeed. ... Read more

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Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, author of award-winning cookbooks, menu developer for top Asian restaurants, and cooking teacher, presents her life's work. Reflecting on her life in food, including her childhood in Canton, China, where she learned to cook at her grandmother's side, Eileen has created an exhaustive cookbook of extensive scope. Everything about Chinese cooking has cultural significance, and much of what Eileen talks about in this book has never appeared in print before in the English language.

There are more than 250 recipes in all, including many classic banquet-style recipes, quite a number presented for the first time in the traditional manner, from Peking Duck to Beggar's Chicken. Dozens of the techniques for preparing these elaborate recipes are shown in full-color photographs in the color insert as well. Eileen also includes many of her own creations, such as infused oils and rich, flavorful stocks, essential for cooks who are serious about mastering the ancient art of Chinese cooking.

Everything is here: dim sum, congees, stir-fries, rice dishes, noodles, bean curd, meat dishes, and more. For anyone who loves Asian cuisines, this is the ultimate cookbook, and for cookbook lovers and aspiring food professionals, this is required reading.Amazon.com Review
In this unique book, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo delves richly into Chinesecuisine, reflecting in its complexity the nation's culture, history, geographicdiversity, and philosophies of health and living. Regardless of howmany Chinese cookbooks you already own, The Chinese Kitchen is sure tobring you new information and recipes. And no one else can offer theintriguing family recipes she includes, such as her mother's lean, steamedloin of pork marinated in ginger juice and oyster sauce.

Lo grew up in Canton (now Guangzhou). Her stories about her visits with AhPaw, her maternal grandmother, become lessons she shares with us. Lo learned about cooking and received much wisdom from this sparrow of a woman, whose feet were bound, in the old way, when she was a child, to keep them four inches long, but who fiercely brought her daughter and granddaughter into modern times. She also taught Lo about Confucius and the ancient traditions such as the Seven Necessities of rice, tea, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and firewood.

When Lo talks about ingredients in the "Chinese Larder" chapter, she providesChinese characters in the margin that can be photocopied so you can showthem at stores to be sure you get the right ingredients. Familiar recipesin The Chinese Kitchen, from Orange Beef to Moo Shu Pork, arefollowed by more exotic choices such as Shrimp Stir-Fried with GarlicCloves and Hakka Bean Curd, stuffed with dried shrimp and lightly fried. Anentire chapter is devoted to Buddha Jump over the Wall, a kind of a ChineseBabette's Feast. This special recipe from the Fuzhou region requires twodays to make and calls for 28 ingredients, mercifully not including thefish lips, duck gizzards and other items used in the true Fuzhou versionbut which Westerners generally shun. This robust, country dish, combiningchicken, duck, ham, and lamb in a kind of pot-au-feu, is so alluring thatsupposedly the Buddha himself, a vegetarian, could not resist it. Itprovides insight into Chinese cooking at its most complex.

Fans of Chinese tea will delight in the chapter devoted to this reveredbeverage. For everyone, simply reading The Chinese Kitchen willenhance enormously the pleasure of dining out in Chinese restaurants.--Dana Jacobi ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

I look at it from time to time.... that's about all
The book is so-so .... with pictures for each recipe I might have given it a higher rating. There is a section in the middle of the book that has illustrations for some of the dishes and techniques, but this is not the same has having good pictures accompanying each dish in question.

There is a pretty good section on ingredients and techniques in the first part of the book, but there is not much exciting about the recipes. The main reason I keep the book because the recipes that *are* provided are still pretty good and I like to have this author as a 'comparative' authority when I am researching. I don't look at it that often but I am still very glad I have it.

My special quibbles with the book...The binding is crappy; I have one section that is completely detached from the spine and the book is not that old! Also ... each recipe and section had Chinese characters at the heading (along with what I take to be Cantonese pronunciation). Now, I am sure these weren't added for the benefit of unilingual Chinese speakers so I figure the inclusion is more ornamental. Personally, I would prefer that the characters not be in the stylish, handwritten sort of font. I am trying to learn Chinese script and this book was difficult to follow.

I'm not sorry I bought this book when all is said and done :)

Learning Chinese Names for Chinese Foods
I have been studying Chinese. As part of my study, I'm trying to learn the Chinese names for Chinese foods. I bought The Chinese Kitchen as part of that study. It has been a very frustrating experience. First, all the Chinese characters in the book are written in a running script that is difficult for anyone who didn't grow up in China to read. Second, she gives only Cantonese pronounciation and not standard spelling of that either. Third, and most frustrating, the Chinese characters and the Cantonese pronounciation often don't match and sometimes neither one matches the English. One example is found on page 79. Smithfield Ham in English becomes For Tui = huo3tui3= Ham in the Cantonese pronounciation and shu2wei2zhou1huo3tui3 = Cooked Virginia Ham in the Chinese characters. On page 186, Crabs With Steamed Glutinous Rice in English, in Cantonese pronounciation becomes Hoi Bah Wong Hai Fan = hai3ba4wang2xie4fan4 = Pirate (literally "Sea Tyrant") Crab Rice and the Characters listed are ba4wang2nuo4mi3fan4 which means Tyrant Glutinous Rice. If you are looking to learn how to read Chinese names for dishes,The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing by Grace Young does not have Mandarin Pinyin but it does have clear, easily read traditional Chinese characters that you can easily look up in a Chinese dictionary and although she too has places where the titles don't match, she doesn't have as many. One other thing is that Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's knowledge of Chinese history is lacking to say the least. On page 106, a little more than half way down the second column of the page she says, "Except for brief periods in China's history, its capital has always been Beijing, once Peking." Actually, it was the mongol Kublai Khan who established Beijing as his capital. Only when the Ming Emperor Yong Le moved his seat of power here in 1407 A.D. did Beijing become a true Chinese Imperial capital. Cities such as Xi An (Chang An), Luo Yang and many others served as Capital cities before that. I haven't really tried any of her recipes. They sound pretty good though, probably, you need to be an experienced cook to be able to figure some of them out.

Almost every recipe is atleast Good
I found this book by going to all the local bookstores and purchasing every Chinese cookbook that had a receipe for Orange Chicken.After making and tasting each book's Orange Chicken recipe, I decided this book had the best tasting recipe for Orange Chicken.

Since then, I've made almost all the pork and chicken recipes in this book, and rate almost all the recipes I've tried as atleast good or better.I gave this book a 5-star rating because I have yet to see a cookbook with such a high percentage of good or better tasting recipes.

The only negative comments I can make are:every recipe is going to call out some ingredients that are not in the normal american/european grocery market but can be found in most asian grocery markets, and about half of the effort in making the recipes is going to be spent on the counter gathering and preparing the ingredients.Once everything is prepared and put in place, most of the recipes are to be cooked in a wok within a few minutes.I have an electric stove and found a large flat bottom pan works well as the wok.

The author, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo should be given the Queen of Sauce award if there was one, and Julia Child would have to settle for second place.I found the sauces are what makes each recipe in this book shine.

For serious cooks
This is a great cookbook and also a wonderful read. It would be the perfect Chinese cookbook if it had more photos.

I've tried twenty or so recipes so far and every one of them turned out perfect. :)

Precise, easy to follow instructions.

cha siu recipe good
the cha siu and the siu mai recipe in this book were really good.i checked this book out at the library first before i bought it, but i liked enough of the recipes that got my own copy. ... Read more

Product Description

"The great virtue of this book is that it provides a practical acquaintance with the writing itself by means of copious passages of translation from representative novels." -- New York Times Book Review

"C. T. Hsia's book is by now an acknowledged classic. It truly opened up a new field and prepared the way for generations of American scholars to do research. We are all in his debt." -- Leo Lee

This pioneering, classic study of 20th-century Chinese fiction covers some sixty years, from the Literary Revolution of 1917 through the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76.

Customer Reviews (3)

Not influence by negative review about C.T. Hsia
I'm of Chinese descent, though I'm now a bona fide Canadian. I have read many classical books about China which are translated into English. I have also readthe modern classics, for instance:-The Naked Earth and The Rice Sprout Song by Eileen Chang. Incidentally, the late Ms. Eileen Chang was the grand daughter of the reknown Chinese official named Lee Hung Chang who was once a grand Viceroy of Manchu China (1644-1912). He was nearly assassinated by a Japanese extremist while Viceroy Lee was in Imperial Japan to sign a peace accord. I have had read Prof. C. T. Hsia's definitive analysis, entitled: THE CHINESE NOVEL - a learned review of six classic novels - namely:- Romance of the Three Kingdoms; 108 heroes of the Marshes; Journey to the West; Chin Ping Mei (Golden Lotus); The Scholars; and Dream of the Red Chamber (Hung Lou Meng).

Undoubtedly, Prof. C.T. Hsia present book: HISTORY OF MODERN CHINESE FICTION will be interesting to read, since I have just ordered a copy.
His comments are always based on what he has critically read and I am pretty sure that he hasno intention,as alleged, tobe biased, rude, insulting nor mocking the authors of modern China. Hsia is Chinese and therefore hedon't mean tomock or disgrace those authors under his critical review. These, I am pretty sure. Once a Chinese always a Chinese at heart... Need I say more???

PS: In passing, I have also read works by Ba Jin like: The Family, Spring, and Autumn. My other reading includes Lu Hsun and Mao Tun who wrote the Silk Spring Worm. These are some of the authors reviewed by Prof. C. T. Hsia.

original but bias
Reviewer: fjord from Portland, OR United States
When I was in China, I read a review on this book, saying
C. T. Hsia was funded by C.I.A when writting this book.
"the book is bias and full of hatry to Communist China" the
reviewer said, "that is why this book is banned in China".
I was so curious that the first book I checked out from a U.S.A
library was this one. I am disappointed since Hsia is really
bias and sometimes paranoia.

He really did not understand the huge difficulty all Chinese
writers faced in the past 100 years. And sometimes I really
doubt whether he is a Chinese at all? When he sat there laughing
at Communist writers, did he realize those were of the same
origin of his parents and himself?

In this sense, this book is just common, not great, since it
is lack of love and forgiveness, the basic elements of all great
works.

Original but bias
When I was in China, I read a review on this book, saying
C. T. Hsia was funded by C.I.A when writting this book.
"the book is bias and full of hatry to Communist China" the
reviewer said, "that is why this book is banned in China".

I was so curious that the first book I checked out from a U.S.A
library was this one. I am disappointed since Hsia is really
bias and sometimes paranoia.

He really did not understand the huge difficulty all Chinese
writers faced in the past 100 years. And sometimes I really
doubt whether he is a Chinese at all? When he sat there laughing
at Communist writers, did he realize those were of the same
origin of his parents and himself?

In this sense, this book is just common, not great, since it
is lack of love and forgiveness, the basic elements of all great
works. ... Read more

Product Description
The garden—a place for refined pleasure and spiritual relaxation—has its roots in ancient China. Western travelers from Marco Polo onward marveled at the intricacy, the elaborate buildings, the subtle design, and the assured use of plants, water, and natural materials in Chinese landscapes. The Great Gardens of China shows, through stunning original photography and cogent text, both the visual splendors of China’s finest gardens and explains their ideas and techniques in accessible terms. Now every gardener, architect, or designer can understand China’s garden heritage and be inspired to use it to dramatic effect.

Beginning with an introduction to Chinese beliefs and the historical development of garden design, this book discusses the basic aesthetics and landscaping elements—architecture, rock stacking, waterscapes, plants, borders, and scenic routes—used in Chinese garden design. The author, an expert in the history and theory of Chinese and international gardens, also describes specific gardens, from famed world cultural heritage sites like the Summer Palace in Beijing and the gardens of Suzhou—Lion Grove, Humble Administrator’s, Lingering, and Master-of-Nets Gardens—to the lesser known. The Great Gardens of China serves as a compendium—in text and illustration—of all facets of the Chinese garden.

This book allows a total immersion in the enticing art of Chinese classical gardens . . . The book has helped me greatly to understand how Chinese gardens work and how to borrow from them for our own gardens in the West. I believe that Chinese gardens will strongly influence global garden design once their unique versatility is properly understood.
—Janet Wheatcroft
Craigieburn Garden & Nursery, Scotland ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Best Book on Chinese Garden
I have 3 books on Chinese Garden, but this one is newly published and the best available for readers. Other books that read like a tour, from an outsiders eye; but this book is from an insider's study. And from the book forward a reader may know this book gets to the point, it directly shows you what is Chinese Garden Art, instead of investigation of other authors.
When reader read the topic and content list, that he may know that this author is someone who builds Chinese garden, very thruly and logically guides reader to the tour, from each building, elements, and provided with feature and usage thru a culture and historical view, and reader will not be lost in searching the depth of wisdom of garden, but other books that reader easily lost in every beautiful page, yet once finishes still not to grasp a complete picture.
This one is correct tour guide to the Temple of Chinese Art, garden.
I beg all of the readers will love this book page by page, not only because the sensual photos it folds, but a way that this book shows the art of life, from the beginning page to the last like visual symphony that all the beauty of life, art, philosophy... unveil to our eye. So the reader will become one with this book, this art, be harmony to our earth and adjust our perception about the true pleasure of our world. Not only that, this book shows reader how to build a garden, how to borrow the landscape, use nature, adapt our surrounding, so our bed chamber, library, living room, party house, bridges, hallway, corridors, lounge, White walls, gates, windows, path, rock, pond, lake, stream, river, waterfall, fountain, grass, flower, trees, birds, ducks, fish, pet, even snow, wind, rain, sunshine, moonlight, and friends, family and music instrument, painting scroll, calligraphy board...all become one.
And every reader will become an artist by reading this book 3 times. ... Read more