4 comments about They Called Us White Chinese: The Story of a Lifetime of Service to God Mankind.

1. This book takes you through a journey of a man's life in his service to God. From the first page, you're introduced to Robert Tharp, son of a missionary in China. Slowly, you're taken through a concise narrative of the daily routine in Manchuria, detailing events as broad as the various warlords who entered the city to as detailed as how the local mastrigate ate plumbs.

   The pictures in the book add to the book by showing what people did. Rarely are there books with such quantity of pictures.

   There are wonderful anecdotes of everyday life and experiences Bob had. He has an entire section devoted to chinese humor, which are incredibally difficult to translate, but he does it with style.

   Anyone with interest in what life in China was like, this book is a must read.




2. I should note that in 1994 when I first bought this book I was amazed and delighted to find myself mentioned in it (on page 751.) I was one of Bob Tharp's USAF Chinese students, recruited out of basic training in the summer of 1955. Years later, after finishing my Air Force tour (in Korea, using everything I'd been taught at Yale's Institute of Far Eastern Languages by Bob Tharp and his colleagues)and finishing college and law school, I found myself back at Yale, assisting Bob in the same USAF program while I took a correspondence course for the Michigan bar exam.

   I wish that I had known just a portion of the information that's in this great work of a book about Bob's early life when I first met him - I would have held him in even higher regard, if that's possible.

   This book paints an amazing picture of a tumultuous time in Chinese (and American) history, and the latter portions show clearly the contributions that Bob and Eva Tharp and their colleagues made to US security. He trained hundreds of air intelligence specialists, and many of them, like myself, found our lives forever changed and enhanced by our exposure to Chinese language and culture.




3. As a former student of Robert Tharp, I was interested in his new book, "They Called Us White Chinese". The title seems a little bit funny until I learned that due to the fact that he and his wife, Eva, were interned by the Japanese during WWII they lost all their identity papers, and when they came to the US, immigration officials stamped on their visa that they were, "White Chinese". Thus brings to an end their saga that comprises of almost 900 pages of the most beautiful coffee-table book I have ever seen. This book should cost three times as much. Contemporary Chinese history has never been explained as well as through the eyes of a "Westerner" born and raised in China. A Must Buy!



4. They Called Us White Chinese is an autobiography of the late Robert N. Tharp, missionary to China in the early 1900's. I read the book cover to cover. It is extraordinarily well written, detailed, and full of interesting stories. It covers his boyhood which details Chinese construction techniques, social/cultural aspects of village life, provincial wars and his life and adventures in general. His capture during WWII and take over of the Communists follows. The trials of him and his wife in escaping the country are almost incredible. Mr. Tharp had a long career in linguistics in the U.S. working for military and intelligence services, which he describes in the latter third of the book. The book is anything but overedited and Mr. Tharp may carefully describe a particular adventure in vivid detail so that it becomes a short story in itself. I also appreciate the almost complete lack of "self-analysis" or abstract social commentary etc... This book is also a great aid to understanding Chinese history and culture. Highly recommended.

1 comments about The Chinese (We Came to North America).

1. "The Chinese," by Lorien Kite, is part of the "We Came to North America" series of books for young readers. The book tells the story of people of Chinese heritage in North America. The book is illustrated with many photographs (both black-and-white and full color). The main text is supplemented with maps, sidebar articles, a glossary, and an index. Vocabulary words are boldfaced in the text: "immigration," "pictographs," "scholar," etc.

   Kite begins with an overview of Chinese history and culture. The text covers many topics: the great wave of 19th century immigration, Chinese work on North American railroads, the impact of anti-Chinese sentiment, the historic immigration station at Angel Island, the growth of urban Chinatowns, and more. There is a brief section on the contributions of famous North Americans of Chinese heritage. Overall, an informative and visually compelling book.

1 comments about The Invention of Li Yu.

1. I read this book for a Chinese intellectual history class a long while ago. I was a bit put off by the price, but the book is worth it. Hanan's translations of Li Yu's wonderful pieces are absolutely beautiful, and so are his depiction of Li Yu's incorrigible attitude towards life, love, sex, and his patrons. Hanan made me fall in love with Li Yu's charm and wit. I recommend the book for anyone interested in Chinese intellectual thought, or anyone simply interested in a rich work of scholarship. Hanan's work is a good example of how Chinese intellectual history should be done.

2 comments about Paper Shadows: A Memoir of a Past Lost and Found.

1. In anticipation of the lunar new year, I picked up this book. The author had me under his spell by the second page. In his memoir of growing up in the 1940's, as the son of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver's Chinatown, the reader learns that Mr. Choy, while on a promotional book tour in 1995, received a call from a woman who says that she just saw his mother. But his Toisanese mother died nearly two decades earlier, he tells the mysterious caller. No, the caller replies, she means his `real mother.' And so the memoir and the mystery begin. In descriptive language that is hypnotic and nearly as haunting as a ghost filled home his family lived in, an extremely detailed portrait of his life as a young boy is drawn. In Part 1, his pre-school years are filled with family, Chinglish, mah-jong, lots of single "uncles" to take him for ice cream, nightly Chinese operas (his mother's version are a permanent barrier against pessimism), cowboy films, and his assertively willful tantrums. In Part 2, the author writes of his school years, English and Chinese lessons, stubbornness, truancy, confusion, helplessness, his pet dog, the humiliations his father endured at work, and the other concerns of children. In the last third of the book, Mr. Choy returns as an adult to the mystery of his and explores the hidden secrets of his family. Upon close reading, one learns about the stress of living as an Asian in North America during the War, a time when burials were only allowed in Asian-only cemeteries, when sick Asians were housed in the basement of the hospital, when Asians were offered payments to return to Asia if they promised never to return, and when men were not allowed to bring their families or wives over to the Gold Mountain from across the Pacific. On even closer reading, one can discern how different Chinese identities were crafted in North America by his grandfather, his parents, and finally himself in an in-between'ness third generation.



2. Now a respected professor and novelist in Canada, Wayson Choy was 57 years old in 1999 when he learned that he had been adopted. This memoir is a result of that discovery and, even though some family secrets do get discovered, by the end of this 342 page-book, he and the reader understand that much of his suppressed family history will never be completely uncovered.
   
   I did enjoy the story itself, however, which deals almost exclusively with his childhood years. Born in Vancouver in 1939, his memory of those early ears and his simple descriptions put me right into the young boy's mind.. He's the only child of hard-working Chinese immigrants in the land they refer to as Golden Mountain. Chinatown in those years was a world unto itself, and the young boy was loved and cherished by his parents as well as a large assortment of "uncles" whose own families were still back in China.
   
   Through his eyes we see the elaborate Chinese operas, which were transported to Canadian soil, and which his mother always enjoyed. We see his early encounters with English books and his strong will to learn to read. We see him go to a Canadian nursery school and learn about the Christian religion. We understand his Chinese roots and the many ghosts and spirits that are part of his Chinese culture. We meet his dog and have to laugh at the way this loving pet took over his life. Chinatown becomes real for the reader and so does the boy's obsession with cowboys and refusal to go to a traditional Chinese school. Most of the book was devoted to this very detailed portrait. Basically, this childhood was filled with love and little trauma.
   
   It was only in the last couple of chapters when we join him in his quest for his family secrets. This is written in the same simple style and delves deeper into the history of his family's experience in China as well as the new world. We'll never know most of the story. But we do get to share his growing-up years and learn about the forces that shaped his world.

No comments about ANCESTORS: 900 YEARS IN THE LIFE OF A CHINESE FAMILY (NON-FICTION).

1 comments about Chinese Blackbird.

1. Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (7/08)
   
   Honest, tender, ruthless, revealing, harsh, enlightening, and truthful are just some of the words that describe Sherry Quan Lee's imaginative and poignant language portrayed in "Chinese Blackbird." Born to a Black mother and a Chinese father, Quan Lee struggles with her identity, not only because of the multi-cultural orientation but because she was convinced by her mother to say she is white.
   
   As I read Quan Lee's writings, I couldn't help but wonder if her identity crisis was really caused by the multi-cultural background as she portrays. Although I will not discount the magnitude it would have had on her life, I also see much more in the writing. I see a lack of self-certainty, sexual-identity questioning, as well as role experimentation - much of what most humans experience as conflicts in their lives regardless of culture. Whether or not Quan Lee's identity crisis was caused by a multi-cultural/color insecurity, or it was due to lack of parenting, alcoholism, drug abuse, or many of the other facets in her life, one cannot judge the experience of another person. But we do know each one of us has a choice whether or not we want to wallow in the past or choose to create a different life for ourselves and move forward. According to Quan Lee's words she is progressing in finding her true self and moving forward.
   
   I commend Quan Lee for exposing her thoughts and life outside of herself. As a poet, her language is powerful, powerful enough to entice the reader to look into his or her own life and question their own identity. "Chinese Blackbird" will touch your soul.

1 comments about Fun in a Chinese laundry: An autobiography.

1. Jo Sternberg received his first screen credit in 1923, as an assistant director. The film's producer streched Jo's name by adding the --sef von-- to it, saying the longer title sounded regal. Sternberg hated the idea, until criticism came in from everywhere that "the Huns are taking over Hollywood." Because of this backlash, Jo defiantly chose to keep his new moniker. This vignette speaks volumes about Mr. Sternberg.
   
   As a director, he was widely hated by dozens of actors, writers and producers. In FUN IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY, Sternberg deflects and denies every charge, yet could all those accusations be false? Jo admits that he routinely criticized actors for not following his instructions precisely, and never gave praise when they performed well. To him, blandishments would have been like "praising them for breathing." The man has nothing good to say about actors and their craft, and he takes up two entire chapters doing so. Special "attention" is lavished on the despised Emil Jannings (a "manipulator") and Charles Laughton ("masochistic" and "a daymare").
   
   Sternberg is an excellent storyteller, particularly about the many exotic locales he'd visited. His memories of individual movies reveal a colossal ego-- every minor actor he came in contact with was immediately launched to stardom, so he claims. The director is everything; the cast and story secondary. His cinematic flops were someone else's fault-- in his own mind, Jo could do no wrong.
   
   And yet for all the rant and egocentrism, FUN IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY is a fascinating read. Simply take Jo's occasional forays into excessive metaphoric semi-colonisms with a grain of aspirin, and wait for the good parts. You'll be more than amply rewarded.
   
   
   Josef von Sternberg was annoyed that people constantly confused him with his directorial contemporary, STROHEIM.

No comments about Deng Xiaoping and the Chinese Revolution: A Political Biography (Routledge in Asia Series).

No comments about From the bottom of Gold Mountain: A biography of Soleng Tom.

5 comments about Tracing It Home: A Chinese Journey (Kodansha Globe).

1. When Lynn Pan tells the stories of her family's past, the work is riveting, but too often she inserts herself in the story. Not only does it fracture time in a confusing way (unlike the way Chang-Rae Lee fractures time to a purpose), but it interupts the through line, making it difficult to remember where we are in the overall story. There are too many excellent books about modern China (Shanghai, Chiang KaiShek, the Cultural Revolution, etc.) to recommend this one.



2. When Lynn Pan tells the stories of her family's past, the work is riveting, but too often she inserts herself in the story. Not only does it fracture time in a confusing way (unlike the way Chang-Rae Lee fractures time to a purpose), but it interupts the through line, making it difficult to remember where we are in the overall story. There are too many excellent books about modern China (Shanghai, Chiang KaiShek, the Cultural Revolution, etc.) to recommend this one.



3. "Tracing it Home" could be criticized for the many things it is not, but for what it IS, it is wonderful. Lynn Pan is one of the best, if not THE best writer around on subjects of Old Shanghai and the Chinese Diaspora. She is a Writer, however, and not a historian or a journalist. She tells a story, and tells it engagingly and beautifully.

   "Tracing it Home" is a vastly superior alternative to the sloppy, melodramatic and orientalized literature from other Overseas Chinese women writers like Maxine Hong Kingston and Amy Tan. Their works, yes, appeal to western readers, but only because they present the stylized characature of Chinese history and culture that western readers imagine, rather than the complicated reality. That is because these Chinese Americans know China only through the lens of immigrant idealized mythology and American misperceptions, rather than their own experience.

   Lynn is a world different from those poseurs, because she knows and understands China, as it was and as it is. She gives context to the historical cruelties that most ABC writers eroticize. She grew up in Malaysia's dynamic Chinese population and in England and Hong Kong, but was born in and now lives in Shanghai.

   The story of the Pan family is fascinating and elegantly presented. Lynn's builder grandfather was the Horatio Alger type that made Shanghai famous. The travails his success created for his offspring are remarkable yet common among Shanghai families. Lynn Pan knows this, and avoids the wallowing in self-importance that makes most "I survived China" memoirs tedius (ie "Red Azalea", "Life and Death in Shanghai").

   Lynn is an elegant, evocative writer, and perhaps the greatest pleasure of "Tracing it Home" is its purveyance of Shanghai as a place, and her grandfather's large role in shaping the city's geography. The post-modern white box of a 1940s mansion that he built and where Lynn was born is just down the block from my current home, and I can see the Picardie, which he built, out my window. Small pleasures, slices of personal history, are contained in this big little story.




4. Lynn Pan's "Tracing It Home" is a resonant and beautiful memoir that stayed with me long after I finished reading it. She has a particular gift for intertwining family issues with historical ones, leading to a very rich narrative. As I look over the book, I see many, many pages I have turned down so that I can revisit a particularly poignant turn of phrase. If you are interested in the history of Shanghai or in Chinese family relationships, you will learn a great deal from this book and experience a very enjoyable read in the process.



5. First of all 'Tracing it Home' is a story and not history. More accurately it is a narrative as the author relives her past and builds up a vibrant and rich tapestry of life in China as we follow the fortunes of her family. Unlike many other bestseller authors this is not stilicized fiction created out of facts gathered from second-hand accounts.
   
   Though "Tracing it Home" could be criticized for the many things it is not, it is fascinating and engages the reader. She describes the traumatic events that still haunt Chinese society yet in the character of the loyal Hanze she finds forgiveness. The distinction that she makes between surrendering to tyranny and accepting the inexplicability of what happens is very crucial to creating a positive approach in bridging conflicts. "All I know is that Hanze doesn't hate his oppressor because to hate your enemy is to let him do worse to you - in hatred as in love, you grow like the one who absorbs you."
   
   Lynn Pan is an author who takes the reader on a journey into the turbulent past of China without judgement or an overseas Chinese or Western bias. She grew up in Malaysia's dynamic Chinese population and in England and Hong Kong, but was born in and now lives in Shanghai. Warmly recommended reading.