I enjoyed The Monkey and the Tiger. It’s 2 novellas that are unrelated – except by a lesson/theme in the Chinese zodiac. I have stories I could tell about that. Perhaps I shouldn’t. People in Asia still take it seriously. …
Judge Dee: The Chinese Gold Murders
I imagine my mom would call the Judge Dee Mysteries “brain candy,” but they are not without merit. The information on Chinese culture is an imperceptible backwash, or covert additive. That said, The Chinese Gold Murders seems the most like…
The Emporer’s Pearl and GuanYin
This Judge Dee book provides an interesting historical background on the the cult of GuanYin (aka Kuan Yin). This resonates with me, because of the parallels to the cult of Mary for Catholics (to which I was indoctrinated as a…
Judge Dee: The Chinese Maze Murders
Like the traditional magistrate mysteries van Gulik modeled his Judge Dee series on, this novel has 3 plots or mysteries. The three stories seem to be linked through ideals of loyalty or filial piety. Find the English version of the…
Judge Dee & Dee Goong An
Robert Van Gulik lived most of his life in the far East, worked professionally as a translator, and married a Chinese woman. He introduced Judge Dee mysteries partly in an attempt to counteract the dose of racism that came with…
Limits of Confucianism: OP in the News
One of the most widely followed news stories in the Republic of China is taking place right here in Overland Park, according to today’s KC Star. It demonstrates a shortcoming of Confucianism as it is practiced, in that falling…
Review: Lost on Planet China
I found this book on MP3 audio at the Lawrence Library. His introductory admission that he is, in no sense, an authority on China nor on any things Chinese, drug me into this book. While an admitted non-authority, he did…
WTF: What the fruit?
I don’t shy from exotic food – in fact it is one reason I love traveling. A blog post on BoingBoing.net reminded me that one of the fruits I grew accustomed to in my 5 + years living in S.E.…
In America, there are no small eggs.
We do something illogical with in American culture regarding our language used to describe sizes. An Ivy League educated linguist I worked for in Taiwan used to ponder about this, and ask me, “Why, in America, don’t you have small…
what I’m reading – for fun
I’m reading Chinese Americans by Kwong and Miscevic. I’m barely into it and I’ve learned: America’s favorite cherry – the large, sweet and succulent Bing – was developed by Ah Bing, a Chinese immigrant horticulturalist, in 1875. Lue Gim Gong,…