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Title: The Question of Hu by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 0-679-72580-6 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 October, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.17 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Another Great Book By Jonathan Spence
Comment: Once again Jonathan Spence has written a wonderful book, which is both a model of historical research and a wonderful story. It is hard to even know where to begin when talking about the quality of Spence's work. As a person who has studied East Asian history academically for too many years to count, I am always amazed and to some degree jealous of his abilities as a writer. This is not his most recent book, or his best for that matter (I suggest reading "In Search of Modern China" if you do not have much knowledge of Chinese histroy, and then reading "Treason by the Book" and "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" for starters.), but it is still a wonderful read. For anyone interested in the history of China and its interactions with the West, you will be pleased.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Good Tale Well Told
Comment: If you enjoyed "The Professor and the Madman", this book might just be your cup of tea. In both books, the central character becomes schizophrenic. In "The Professor and the Madman", he's an American officer in London. In "The Question of Hu", he's an assistant to a Jesuit scholar in France. This is a comparatively thin book, but it contains many threads: infighting among Jesuits, the Catholic missionary strategy in China in the 18th century, culture shock, treatment of the mentally ill, fidelity, circumstances in 18th century Paris and Canton, and careerism, among others. This is an engaging story well told.
Rating: 2
Summary: Not yet a master piece
Comment: I have a couple of other books by Mr. Spence. I don't think this book is up to the standard of the others. It is somehow hindered by not-so-excited nature of the subject matter. First, Foucquet needed a Chinese for his bragging rights to Rome. Then, he lost his original candidate. So, he filled up with Hu, a recently convert peasant whom, I doubt, hardly know much about Chinese classics and hardly capable to understand/accept a new concept because of insufficient scholastic training. Foucquet abandoned Hu latter because of the awkward situation of losing his bragging rights. Now, as a analogy, if you bring Tarzan, out of jungle and abandon him latter without teaching him any language understood by the citizen of the city where he dwells, what will Tarzan turn to be? Most probably an insane. This is much worse than a Kafkasque situation in which the protagonist still can communicate with the other. So, the story is simple. The only reason that Hu was locked up was because an irresponsible Father, Foucquet, whom needed a Chinese to show off to Rome lost his bragging treasure because of incapability of Hu and was trying to escape his responsibility to host Hu by ignoring him. Don't forget Foucquet hand-picked Hu himself. The vain of showing off to Rome ate someone's integrity, even Foucquet, a well-educated Jesuit. So, a not-so-excited story turned up to be a dull book. If you know Mr. Spence, skip this one and try the other, e.g., The Emperor of China.
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Title: To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960 by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 0140055282 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895-1980 by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 0140062793 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: October, 1982 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 0140080988 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History by Joanna Waley-Cohen ISBN: 0393320510 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Emperor of China : Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi by Jonathan D. Spence ISBN: 067972074X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 22 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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