Reviews (2)

Another brilliant text from Blue Poppy
From Acupuncture Today, Sept. 2003
A Gem of Clarity
There have been other books in English elaborating the Chinese medical pattern identification and treatment of biomedically-defined diseases, but none so meticulously researched and presented as this one. The writing is organized, logical, and exceptionally clear.Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Medicine    2. Health & Fitness / Alternative Therapies    3. History    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Medicine, Chinese    7. Medicine, Chinese Traditional    8. Alternative Therapies    9. Diseases & disorders    10. Health & Fitness    11. Herbs    12. Therapeutic use    13. Traditional medicine & remedies   

Reviews (6)

It actually works.
So often Books which claim that by reading them you will be able to achieve this or that, fall far,far short of their claims. "Healing with Ki-Kou:" does what it say's and Dr. Li Xiuling is to be congratulated on her book. I have recently been told I have angina, so I bought the book. I practised the breathing exercises and angina pains I get shortly after getting up in the morning, no longer occur. Thats after 4 days practice. Similarly, the angiogram I had recently went so much better because as the procedure was carried out I practiced the breathing exercise and was totally relaxed. The book is easy to follow and the diagrammes are quite adequate for the purpose.I can only say that by breathing as she recommends your health will be improved and that must be a bonus to anyone. I recommend the book whole heartily, no pun intended.Old Bill

Actually works.
Was somewhat leary at first, decided to give it a go.
Healing Secrets
Healing with Ki-Kou is another piece in the puzzle for me. Breathing techniques work wonders and this book is chock full. Highly recomended for the health concious. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Hows & Whys of a Historical Tragedy
A lot of experts say that there are four periods in modern times that helped shape present-day China:World War II, the Civil War & rise of the Chinese Communist Party, the Great Leap Forward & resulting famine, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.I'm not an expert, merely someone who's interested in History, but I tend to agree.This theory explains many things, including why true republicanism is coming so slowly to the People's Republic.But there is one further question everyone asks - How can something like the Cultural Revolution happen?
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Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. China    3. Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    8. History / China    9. c 1960 to c 1970   

Reviews (10)

Outstanding - Helps One Appreciate What We Have in the U.S.!
Pomfret provides insight into China's Cultural Revolution through the eyes of his classmates at a Chinese university who participated.The result of youths gone wild, even abusing their own parents for trivial issues, is bone-chilling, almost otherwise unimaginable.We also learn of serious discrimination against females during that same time period.Everyone is encouraged/required to report on each other for any form of non-conformist behavior.
Class Struggles
Not a bad book, but unworthy of the rave reviews given by many.
Interesting, but a period piece only, and already dated
There's been something of a buzz going around the China blog world concerning this book, so I picked it up to see what the fuss was about. John Pomfret is one of the better China journalists, certainly light years beyond Nicholas Kristof, although his coverage never grabbed my attention like that of Patrick Tyler or Seth Faison. He definitely has the bona fides, however, having spent a couple of years as a student in the PRC almost immediately after it opened up to the West, and as a reporter in the country during the events of spring and summer in 1989.
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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Asia - China    3. Biography And Autobiography    4. China    5. China - History    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Personal Memoirs    10. History / China   

Reviews (21)

Choppy, Hard to Follow, and Random - No Connection
I am a big fan of modern day China and literature that delves into the people, places, and turmoil of current circumstances in the country.I think Hessler may betrying to give us a taste of the everyday people in China today, but he fails to engage the reader and keep our interest with this book. It is too choppy - with random incidents, rather than stories about real people - that were difficult to connect and often bored me, instead of drawing me into their lives. I couldn't connect with the characters and relate to them because there wasn't time in the short blurbs Hessler recorded, and reported in such a random style.I prefer more depth, as in his previous, River Town, or other books on current Chinese experiences, like Shanghai Baby by Wei Hui, that get the the heart of one or two people's lives in modern day China, than just a smattering here and there.The book is not put together clearly and is confusing.I am a fanatic of Asian Modern Lit, but I didn't even finish this one!!

A Series of Chinese New Yorker Profiles
Oracle bones, the scapulas of oxen and plastrons of turtles were the crystal balls of the late Shang, the first Chinese dynasty, ruling three to four thousand years ago.They span a period of less than two centuries, ending in about 1045 B.C.Hessler uses their discovery, recognition and exposition along with the people involved to tie China's ancient history to the recent past and the conditions that persist in China today. He originally went to China ten years ago in the Peace Corps to teach English.He stayed to work as a press clipper for the Wall Street Journal. He is now the New Yorker's correspondent in China, and is a facile writer who captures the color and mood of human interest stories.They are what we have come to expect in the New Yorker.But he is no better at this than Lovell, whose description of Wang Yirong's, discovery of the oracle bones and his subsequent purchase of the pharmacists entire supply in The Great Wall is superb prose.And Hessler's constant interspersion of the Wall Street Journal newspaper clipping categories, devised during his earlier job is disconcerting.
A Random Though Insightful Glimpse of China Through Its People
Understanding China through its people rather than its politics is the agenda author Peter Hessler, the New Yorker's correspondent in China, has in mind as the thesis of his fascinating though somewhat meandering new book. The title refers not to some economic indicator from the renowned multinational corporation but rather to actual bones made of cattle shoulder blades and turtle undershells. In ancient times, they were heated until they cracked, the sound of which apparently bespoke of long-departed ancestors. Hessler uses them as metaphorical touchstones for the stories he tells and the characters he so meticulously introduces to us. Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. China    3. Civilization    4. Description And Travel    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    7. Travel    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Travel / Asia / China   

Editorial Review

In Read more

Reviews (298)

Highly recommended for those interested in history
"Wild Swans -- Three daughters of China" is the true story of 3 generations of Chinese women.The front of the book boasts a review by the NY times, saying "the importance of this book cannot be overstated," and I think they are right.Simply by following the lives of these three women and extended family you get to see the sweep of history -- the helplessness of the avereage person in traditional China, the abuses that women were exposed to, the financial predations of the ruling classes, the warlord (post ming) era, why and how communism took hold on China, how the war for a communist China was fought, and how they (being individuals) slowly woke up from fighting rampant abuses in their society to being prisoners of a revolution of their own making.I would literally say "If you read one book this year, Wild Swans by Jung Chang should be it."Far from being just about the Chinese experience, it really has a lot to say (indirectly) about culture, human foibles, the making of good and bad societies, human relations, and I can not help seeing all of it through a prism of today's political reality.

Who?
I have taught English in several universities in southern China, students and adults. When Chinese students ask, "What do Americans think of China?", I reply that "We learn about China from writers like Jung Chang". I show them my copy of Wild Swans. None of the students have ever heard of Jung Chang, but they seem eager to read it. Recently, I saw four copies in an English language bookstore in Guangzhou.

Mao's China-Tales from the Dark Side
If you've never encountered a full historical biography of what China was before, during, and after Mao, then, this is the book to read.I was suprised at the level of violence against its own people, under the disguise of the "Cultural Revolution", the "Great Leap Forward", and other such titles.China did not have a much better "quality of life" prior to Mao (many warlords fighting over territories, women treated as possessions, etc), but it did not get that much better with Mao heading the Red Guards, or their numerous cultural "cleansings".Millions have died under dire circumstances, and we are only now beginning to realize the inhumane treatment brought on by the mind of one man.Communist China was an experiment, of the most sordid kind.The writer points out how they just "stopped thinking", they just obeyed "the system" because it had been engrained in their brains by so much propaganda, that they just repeated the slogans and no longer thought if they were true or not.It is surprising to me, that this "experiment" was brought onto so many millions of people, albeit, the vast majority illiterate and peasants.This is why the "peasant revolution" caught on... I could not tear myself away from this book, from this well told story of three generations of women (and their men), with their unfortunate set of circumstances, and their small but meaningful victories.Their voices deserve to be heard.The uncompromising ideals of one man eventually have the ability to sink the whole family into chaos.It is from this chaos that the offspring realize that there must be more to the "revolution", than the level of sacrifice and commitment asked of them, which seem insane.It is also the realization of the parents, that bought into the "revolution" that is so poignantly told in this story.The awakening of the ideas, of the self; amidst all the collective sharing and the collective appartus, which was really the mask of Mao (again, one man).
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Subjects:  1. 1909-1969    2. 1931-    3. 1952-    4. Asia - China    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Chang, Jung,    9. China - History - 20th Century    10. Historical - General    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Women    13. Xia, De-hong,    14. Yang, Yu-fang,    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

In the epilogue to her biography of Mao Tse-tung, Jung Chang and her husband and cowriter Jon Halliday lament that, "Today, Mao's portrait and his corpse still dominate Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital." For Chang, author of Read more

Reviews (156)

So Horrific It's Unbelievable
Mao: The Unknown Story is one of those books that is hard to believe. It is hard to believe someone caused the death of so many millions of people, yet little is known about it. It is hard to believe Mao did not care if over half of the earth was killed in a nuclear war as long as he became a dominant world leader. It is hard to believe that Richard Nixon's visit to China was responsible for our withdrawl from Vietnam, the entrance of China into the UN and the security council, and that Nixon traded prestige by his vist (and subsequent votes in the US) for assistance in the modernization of Chineese arms. Ping pong for respect of a terrible tyrant - a poor trade.
Very Powerful
A very engaging book, I read it daily until I finished it.Though it was a biography of Mao, it was also a well researched, very revealing look at how Communism (the Maoist version in particular) works.Mao made Hitler look like an amateur (as did Stalin) yet there are those who still defend him.Its amazing to me that no one can defend Hitler without being marginalized as a nut (and rightly so) yet people who defend Mao and Communism in general are seen as having a valid point of view.This book makes that impossible to continue to do.Everyone should read it in my opinion.The world will see more men like Mao and as the saying goes, if we don't understand history we're doomed to repeat it.
Great history of modern China
The biography of Mao Tse-Tung is the history of modern China. The authors' extensive research into the life of Mao has produced a gripping story not only of an important historical figure, but also an interesting portrait of a megalomaniac who would stop at nothing to seize complete and total power. On the one hand the story is inspiring because Mao succeeded where many had failed inspite of repeated failures and aggregious mistakes along the way. On the other, this man was pure evil: inhumane to his subjects, un-fatherly to his children, unloving to his many wives and distrustful of anyone and everyone. He modeled a state in his own image with disasterous consequences.
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Subjects:  1. 1893-1976    2. Asia - China    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. China    8. China - History - 20th Century    9. Heads of state    10. Historical - General    11. Mao, Zedong,    12. Political    13. Psychohistory    14. Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (19)

Still the One
This book is still, in my opinion, the best and most accurate introduction to standard Chinese medicine on the market. Often imitatated, nver duplicated. There's a reason it's been in print since 1982.

Excellent!
Very clear, yet it does not over simplify it. If you are new to Chinese Medicine or want to deepen your understanding, this book is the way to go.
Lived Up To It's Reputation
No matter where I went, no matter who I talked to (about Chinese Medicine, of course), somewhere in the course of the conversation, the name of this book would pop up.I finally decided to purchase and read it.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Medicine    2. Alternative Therapies    3. Consumer Health    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health/Fitness    6. History    7. History Of Medicine    8. Medicine, Chinese    9. Philosophy    10. Complementary Medicine    11. Medical / Alternative Medicine   

Reviews (203)

BS
That's all I have to say.The ideas presented in this book are BS, pure and simple.While the Chinese explorations are worth learning about, the delusional fantasies and "facts" put forth by this book can only serve to make humanity far less intelligent than it already is.

Interesting and even credible...
... and the credibility is supported by Australian Broadcasting's radio program in july this yeas (2006) regarding the book, where all scientists supporting Menzies' theory were censored ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H edited out (now, why would they do that?).
interesting science fiction; poor history; poorly written
The topic addressed is this book is extremelly interesting. It is inspiring, intriguing, and fascinating. However, speculation is presented as a fact everywhere. Potential possibilities are presented as proven facts. The conclusions are thus misleading. The text is poorly written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Chinese    3. Discoveries in geography    4. Discovery And Exploration (General)    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Military - Naval    10. Voyages around the world    11. World - General    12. History / World   

Reviews (63)

Biased
I checked out this book from the library for a history project, but I found the information and analysis in this book too biased for use on a research paper. This book is an attack on the Clinton administration and communism, not a history book. The book fails to incorporate the current domestic and global conditions in China, and rely too heavily on common beliefs of the "evils" of the communist theory. Of course, history has proven that communism is bad, but he fails to understand, there is a reason why the government in China is still in place today. The author fails to understand the thinking, history, and cultures of the Chinese. In his suggestions of how the United States should act against China, the author makes a clear statement that the ends justify the means, and indirectly states that it's okay for the United States to be immoral to eliminate any competition. In a world where people constantly criticizes our arrogance and ignorance, his suggestions confirms the criticisms about how we believe we are the best, and everyone should follow our example without a true understanding of the situation.Ironically, we are the country that emphasizes diversity, but we are also the country who forces others to be just like us even though our model might not fit for their country.

Incredibly Biased!
"The China Threat" references President Clinton, ALWAYS in a negative manner, almost as much as China - despite this edition having been written after President Bush took office and, in some instances, his ADDING to the issues that Gertz was upset with Clinton about.Further, there was little/no negative reference to Presidents Nixon, Reagan, or Bush I, either - for similar actions (eg. building trade).Thus, my conclusion that the book is incredibly biased.
nothing about China - just a Clinton Bashing Book
I don't normally writereviews...but this book is bad !every second sentance is "Clinton-Gore Administration" did this or that wrong.It is just 200 pages of Clinton bashing - nothing more.Also it is very poorly written - a Pulitzer Prize this author will never receive. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - U.S. Government    2. History & Theory - General    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Political Science / International Relations    9. Current Issues   

Editorial Review

Now a writer living in New York, Da Chen describes his youth in mainland China with engaging humor and affecting warmth. It's often a harrowing tale: born in 1962, Chen was the grandson of a landlord, which rendered his entire family pariahs during the Cultural Revolution. And though initially an excellent student, he was ostracized in school and told he could never attend college. He responded by making friends with a group of young thugs who drank, smoked, and gambled but were kind to him. After Mao died in 1976, the budding juvenile delinquent discovered that higher education might be available to him after all. Chen worked hard to make up for years of neglected studies, and his memoir closes with a jubilant scene as he and his brother Jin are both accepted into college; for his suffering family, "thirty years of humiliation had suddenly come to an end." Chen's lucid yet emotional prose unsparingly portrays a topsy-turvy society where unfairness reigns and the rules are arbitrarily changed without warning, but his zest for life and sharp eye for character make even the most awful moments grimly funny. This is no saga of victimization, but a thrilling account of an ordeal that fosters spiritual growth. Readers will cheer Chen's triumph over daunting odds. Read more

Reviews (62)

A very entertaining memoir
Chen Da's bestselling COLORS OF THE MOUNTAIN is one of the more entertaining memoirs I've run across in recent years.
Mountain Of Life
Da Chen's rendition of memories etched within his heart is very descriptive. I especially like this passage:
Interesting book
I enjoyed reading the book.I praise the author for his hard work and his motivation to improve himself and his life.I do agree with another reader that the author very often patted himself on the back, which I have concluded that it's a weakness of a person who had a difficult life.
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Subjects:  1. 1962-    2. Asia - China    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Chen, Da,    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Childhood and youth    10. China    11. Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969    12. Ethnic Cultures - General    13. General    14. History    15. Personal narratives    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (3)

One of the best books I've ever seen!
Everyone who I have ever shown this book to has had a deep reaction to it. I wouldn't handicap this book by calling it a photography book alone, although the photos are very powerful and prominent, but the text deserves recognition aswell. Plenty of personal stories of how people made this decaying city their home. Both epic and intimate. A testament of the human animal's ability to adapt and thrive. Thank god the authors got in to Kowloon before its destruction to create this book.
City of Darkness--Life in Kowloon Walled City
I was born in Hong Kong and lived in the Walled City for 2 years with my mother when I was 10. Love the photos, history, and facts about the walled city, bring back lots of memories.
one of a kind
An amazing insight to the abolished walled city with beautiful photos. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Hong Kong    2. Places & peoples: general interest    3. Asian / Middle Eastern history    4. China   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (161)

A Driveling Story of Self Pity
Despite my profound love of literature, I could not bring myself to enjoy "The Woman Warrior".The monotonous writing style as well as the bland anecdotes did nothing but block me off from being immersed from the story.I felt myself yawning everytime I had to start a new chapter, and would have been estatic when I finished the book had I contained the energy to feel in such a way.I closed the book feeling drained, bored, tired, and unfulfilled.And if that was what I was aiming for while I read, I wouldn't enjoy the skill at all.

Not a must-read, but a should-read
As a student of literature, I have had to read Kingston's "No Name Woman" numerous times as it is widely anthologized. This story represents the first of five sections in "The Woman Warrior."
Amazing
I just finished reading this book as a requirement for my research in Folklore and Mythology class. At first, I wasn't exactly thrilled at the opportunity to read it, for I'm sure that anyone can relate with the pains that go with required reading. However, I was truly blown away.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. California    6. Chinese Americans    7. Ethnic Cultures - General    8. General    9. History    10. Minority Studies - Ethnic American    11. Social life and customs    12. Women's Studies - General    13. Biography: general    14. Social Science / Women's Studies   

Editorial Review

Snow White's stepmother looks like a pussycat compared to the monster under which Adeline Yen Mah suffered. The author's memoir of life in mainland China and--after the 1949 revolution--Hong Kong is a gruesome chronicle of nonstop emotional abuse from her wealthy father and his beautiful, cruel second wife. Chinese proverbs scattered throughout the text pithily covey the traditional world view that prompted Adeline's subservience. Had she not escaped to America, where she experienced a fulfilling medical career and a happy marriage, her story would be unbearable; instead, it's grimly fascinating: Read more

Reviews (320)

Falling leaves return to their roots.
Adeline Yen Mah was born in a well-placed, moneyed Chinese family prominent in the elite of Shanghai and later on in booming Hong Kong. Her mother died shortly after her birth, and she was always blamed for her death. Her father then married Niang, a beautiful Eurasian who is evil (particularly to Adeline), but nonetheless a formidable force in the Yen household.
Do some people just like abuse?
It is difficult to feel sorry for this woman.
Falling Leaves
This book was very interesting and a easy read. I love the fact that the author conveyed historic events. I would say that she could have went into to more details about her life with her second husband. How did the latter events affect her marriage and family? I would love to read about what has happened since the death of the stepmother. Good Book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1937-    2. Asia - China    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. California    8. China    9. Chinese Americans    10. Ethnic Cultures - General    11. General    12. Mah, Adeline Yen,    13. Social life and customs    14. Women    15. Women physicians    16. Biography & Autobiography / General    17. Mah, Adeline Yen   

Editorial Review

China has the world's most rapidly changing large economy, and according to Ted Fishman, it is forcing the world to change along with it. "No country has ever before made a better run at climbing every step of economic development all at once," he writes, in Read more

Reviews (63)

The revolution will not be televised
On this side of the Pacific, we are seized every 20 years with a sublime terror, as we watch the rise of another monster in the East.In the land of rising suns, tigers and dragons, the Dragon is on the rise and, it seems, will remain so throughout the next century.
Well-written book
For those that are avid readers of journalistic works such as this one, you would absolutely enjoy every moment rummaging through the pages.Statistics are provided but never to the point of being too dry and too boring for the readers to read through.The writer endeavours to shed lights for us ramifications of China and its muscle power.Instead of branding China as a villain, we need to understand that without support from purchasers who are looking for the cheapest bargains, China wouldn't be where it is now.Wal-Mart is covered in detail.The writer gives us a projection that if car manufacturing industry is heading the same direction of products manufacturing, it's only a matter of time before prices for cars would plummet quite considerably in the future when China has perfected its manufacturing bases just as Japan and South Korea had done before it.Then, there's another discussion about the shifting of population from countryside into urban centres where manufacturing bases are located, and how China is able to sustain the supply of cheap labour.China's progress isn't simply detrimental to other countries.On contrary, it benefits them as well.For example, Australia is having a boom right now due to exportation of natural resources to China.With increase of living standard in China, Chinese needs more nutritious food.As China couldn't provide enough, United States particularly the Middle States are enjoying a boom in supplying food to the Middle Kingdom.Then, there are also discussions about other foreign powers keeping United States in check by siding with China, and also the love and hate relationship between USA and China of controlling the currencies so as to keep the interest rates at an attractive rate to facilitate growth in China and so forth.Whilst nobody knows for certain the exact figures of information provided (since China has this tendency to manipulate figures since the beginning of time), suffice to say that the book explains how the m