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Title: Watching The Tree : A Chinese Daughter Reflects on Happiness, Traditions, and Spiritual Wisdom by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0-7679-0411-7 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 18 June, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Been there, done that
Comment: Despite that Adeline has since written many novels, examples used to illustrate her points are all derived from her personal life, which is depicted in her first outing, Falling Leaves. Therefore, it's tiring to read through the same old stories again & again. Having said that, credit goes to Adeline for bringing up issues such as Tao-ism, Zen, Confucianism & discussing about old Chinese proverbs. It certainly broadens horizons of the Western readers & affirming Eastern readers's knowledge towards their culture. The book is patchy as it juggles with this issue & that. The book is devoid of humour & it doesn't have beautiful prose that Amy Tan uses to her full advantage. One can say that this novel is rather rigid in its expression & should readers want to find out more about issues discussed in this novel, they can read other books recommended by Adeline at the end of the novel. Please do read it as a matter of interest. In terms of reading it for reading's sake, there are better novels around.
Rating: 5
Summary: A philosopher's guide to the world's oldest civilization
Comment: "Watching the Tree" is a meditation on the philosophies that have shaped Chinese thought over the millenia. The West has its Judeo-Christian traditions and Puritan work ethic: China has Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. There's a saying that only the fish doesn't know water: we have to leave our surroundings to understand them. Adeline Yen Mah left French-occupied Shanghai and British-administered Hong Kong to earn a medical degree in England from Oxford University, and then worked in the US as a doctor for thirty years. Now she's on a mission to explain to us what makes the other one fourth of the world's population 'tick'.
This isn't a textbook, and it isn't an autobiography, although the author draws heavily from her experience of living with her adored Buddhist grandfather. It's a meandering walk through Chinese history (all 8,000 or more years of it) and Chinese foods, medicine, language and writing. We learn how Confucius (Kong Fu Zi) strove to rid China of its cruel mandarin ruling class and replace it with an educated meritocracy -- and left a long-term legacy of a stultifying bureaucracy and contempt for feminine intellect. We learn how Taoism was subverted into a set of kitschy superstitions. And how Buddhism merged with Chinese thought to become Zen.
The book is beautifully presented. The paper is fine quality and the text clear and well laid out. Dr Yen often gives the traditional Chinese ideograms for Chinese words and explains their derivation. What we write and what we say is what we think. No wonder the Chinese government has difficulty with the concepts of 'human rights' and 'privacy' when they have no words for them. And we have no words for tao or li or qi. We have a lot to learn.
Rating: 5
Summary: Must Read for Beginner's and Experts
Comment: This book covers the essentials of Chinese culture in a very cohesive, antidotal way, and its enjoyable to read. The author brings together elements of the written language, history, legend, food, medicine and more in the best example that I've seen of explaining the Chinese culture to the non-chinese.
It's the single best source for understanding the Chinese culture. If you're going to China - whether a novice or china expert - you'll get a lot out of this book.
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Title: A Thousand Pieces of Gold : Growing Up Through China's Proverbs by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0060006390 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 08 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Falling Leaves : The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0767903579 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 06 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Chinese Cinderella : The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah ISBN: 0440228654 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 13 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Cadres and Kin: Making a Socialist Village in West China, 1921-1991 by Gregory A. Ruf ISBN: 0804741298 Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr Pub. Date: August, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land (Cradles of Civilization) by Robert E. Murowchick ISBN: 0806126833 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: August, 1994 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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