I like the way you view Chinese society
591947
I am a Chinese, but Chinese politics to me is very remote, I assume it is the same to the majority of Chinese. This book is very informative and enlightening to me as a Chinese. I will recommend it to my Friend and family.
116025
Page 157-58 my book
Chinese people are just about everywhere, Shuai Yuhua said, again erupting in laughter. You should never go anywhere where there are no Chinese.
Is that because such places are too dangerous? I asked.
Wrong. Its because those are places where it is impossible to make money.

This is a fascinating account of Chinas impact on Africa. It is a recent phenomenon and I do feel the full repercussions will be upon us sooner than we think. China is not just the future world power, in many ways it is currently the most dynamic power of our time  at least economically. They are now exporting their remarkable can do to Africa.

There are many aspects the author examines. And he is quite capable - speaking in English, French and Mandarin.

One aspect is that all kinds of businesses are being set-up by the Chinese  from small by the side of the road stalls (similar to what we see in China-towns across North America) to vast enterprises like soccer stadiums, hydro-electric plants and the like.

There are many candid conversations with both Africans and Chinese. Many Africans appreciate the level of expertise and technology that the Chinese are bringing. They do not appreciate that the Chinese are bringing their own labour, they do not disclose the work to be done with its environmental effects, the wages the Africans receive are often below the minimum wage set by the government, and often no health regulations are followed, in mine-work for example.

The Chinese appreciate the opportunities they are presented with in Africa. Competition, stress, overcrowding is fierce in China  so, many, find in Africa, a land of opportunity. I could not help but feel, just as there is corruption in business deals in China; these same practises were easily transplanted to Africa.

The author points out that in African countries where the natural resources are abundant, is where greater disparity exists between rich and poor. The Chinese entrepreneurs simply give huge bribes to those in power to get their business established. The wealth does not trickle down, it stays and accumulates at the top.

The author discusses how the Chinese are similar and dissimilar to former colonial powers. The Chinese are now intent on hard structural development. Western powers are geared more towards soft development such as containment of AIDS. Obviously, as the author acknowledges, this is an over-generalization.

There are suppose to be at least one million Chinese now in Africa, and this is a conservative estimate. And more are coming. Think of that  a European country, or even the U.S., could not come close to having a million people who would choose to emigrate to Africa. China could easily find another one million to go. The Chinese currently in Africa are urging their family and friends to come over. Many of the Chinese the author interviewed are in Africa for keeps.

The significance of this will continue to grow for years to come. This is an engrossing book on a topic that we in the West are barely aware of.
241161
I was recommended this book by an American friend who has read it and learned it. As am a post-80, I have been wondering so much about how it was like to be back in my parents' generation, to experience the turmoil that has brought almost all of the Chinese into trials back in1960s. Now, I have got this book, unlike a history book which can be tedius or complicated, this book is given through Nien Cheng's ( the author ) personal perspective, in a retrospective picture, bring readers into that time so that you will be able to feel and see what those generations had gone through during Chairman Mao's reign.

I bought this used book which is good for me. I feel not necessary to be picky in buying new books if not required for gifts, somtimes I did buy used books even for friends. After all, it will turn old and those trees will take longer time to grow.  Hope you enjoy!
1773882
First off, let's just accept that this is a great book.  Maybe it's about a China that's now gone, but it's a great read nonetheless.

For me, well, I once worked with a bunch of Chinese guys, in the US and in Japan.  Personally, I think Theroux's observations of ordinary Chinese people are right on the mark.  What struck me most was the Chinese laugh.  It's true what he says, that the laugh usually means anything but mirth.  Sometimes it's to cover embarrassment, sometimes to cover pain, but rarely is it the loud laugh that speaks the vacant mind.

Talking to buddies of mine who've traveled in China, mostly by train, and in the last couple of years, I'm struck that not all that much has changed.  Maybe for the top 0.25%, but that's about it.

Anyway, a good read.
1027575
Is very good,my firends is like it,thanks amazon. I am Chinese
4132541
Since we adopted our daughter from China I am trying to read anything about her birth country. I really enjoyed this book and I'm not even a huge ballet follower. After reading this I hope one day I might have the chance to see him dance and appreciate all of his hard work and his humble beginings.

This book takes you back to when China was under Mao's rule and how the people of China spent their day to day lives trying to survive, and the wonderful oppertunity Cuxin Li had for a better life all because of a teacher pointing him out. I really enjoyed this book!
4250564
I can relate to these women, as I'm of Asian descent and can remember the stories my Mom told me of the hardships of her mother and father, growing up poor in rural China.  However, living in a matriarchal society did not afford any privileges for these strong women.
3245889
I was impressed as a Chinese by the degree of insight the author has on the concept of Guanxi. Especially the fact he brought out that Guanxi is nothing special. It exists in other cultures. If you disagree, watch the Godfather I. You'll have some clue. This allows the American to relate to what they already known in the US culture to understand the Chinese culture. The next step of understanding is reacting. This book has practical advices. But because this is a pretty brief book, you would hope the author could have written more.
3060432
If you want to know about China this is your book and how it withstood the English and other interferences to survive and prosper. This is your book
4972432
This is a fascinating look at real Chinese culture, the things that seem like "common sense" to ordinary Chinese people. Much of it has to do with history. The author recounts a conversation he overheard among some poor farmers in a tea house before 1949: "The guys from the North are going to win again, just like last time." The speaker was referring to a thirteenth century battle during one of China's many dynastic wars, and he didn't have a degree in history. These are basic assumptions that Chinese will make, and it would be well for us to know about them when we try to deal. Not like when we decided to invade Iraq without even knowing the difference between Sunni and Shia.
4268990
This book shows two ways of being great, two ways of fitting in, and two set of ideals.

The author shows how this understanding of the distinct cultures determines the types of marketing that will be successful in them. She shows how Internet companies build trust differently in China and the U.S.

I most liked her explanations of the sometimes tipsy Chinese master. I never heard of this before. It's funny and brings a human side of which I was unaware.
2128006
...if you want to begin to understand China today, then invest the time to read this intimate and revealing look at growing up in China in the 70s and 80s.

Lijia Zhang illuminates the complexities of growing up in China. Bound by the Cultural Revolution early in the book, and the early market and political reforms in the late 1980s, Zhang opens the curtain on the family and work life stories of largely average Chinese, not connected to party power or even the middling advantages of promotion into the cadre in state enterprises.

Along the way, she provides funny and sad commentary on traditional aspects of Chinese culture that most Westerners probably are not acquainted with; speaking in metaphors, the tendency to differentiate people with common surnames with nicknames (often NOT flattering) based on their physical traits), the struggle for privacy and the longstanding divide between urban and rural dwellers that Maoism did not relieve.  As dismissive as she is of the value of her state-run factory week, she was working in relatively prestigious one; the intercontinental ballistic missiles built at her factory certainly changed strategic equations for both the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 80s.

I discovered this book through serendipity. My daughter needed it for school, and we ended up with two copies. Zhang and I have some intersections in our personal stories. I began studying Chinese at about the same time she began learning English; more than 30 years later, it's reassuring to know that the Maoist slogans I struggled to translate were as inscrutable to somebody in China as they were to us westeners. The successful launch of a product built in her Nanjing factory --which flew from western China to the south Pacific-- had a major influence on my early professional career after completing my Chinese studies.

The last half of this book offers glimpses of the beginnings of China's entrepreneurial environment that would turn into the manufacturing and economic force it has become. I remember clearly when the first "Made in China" markings appeared on things I had bought. They seemed rare and exotic then, even though they were mostly on goods that were decidedly non-durable.

How far China, the China that Lijia Zhang grew up in and Zhang herself have traveled.  If you hope to ever understand China or the Chinese, you'll have to take on the task in small chunks. Zhang's contemporaries are the ones who will guide China into what it becomes next; reading her book can help you understand where they came from. In combination with her intensely personal story, it's an amazing piece of reading.
3029809
It's a wonderful book for someone who wishes to understand and appreciate a subculture of the Chinese culture. I grew up in Kunming and moved to the States and moved back to Kunming. As a matter of fact, I still remember the author doing construction and building the coffee shop back when I was a teenager living a few blocks away from El Salvador. Reading it is like rediscovering a culture I once grew up in and knowing it from another perspective.
1396830
This is a good book for non-Chinese who want to understand the reality of doing business in China. Mr. McGregor brings out many points that are not in other books and writings about China available in the West.

As a person who grew up in China, I'd say this is also a great book for Chinese to see how Chinese ways of thinking and behaving are seen and interpreted through foreigners' eyes. For example, "The Chinese appear to the West to be a collective society... But always simmering just below that collective veneer is a dog-eat-dog competitive spirit that makes the Chinese among the world's most individualistic and selfish people." Being Chinese, I understand and agree with what Mr. McGregor says, and he is able to explain the complexities of the Chinese world in ways that make sense.

However, understanding the reality in China is only the first step in doing business there. Your attitude toward those realities and your creativity in dealing with them are important. As Jack Welch said in Winning, "Have a positive attitude and . . . never let yourself be a victim; and for goodness' sake - have fun." This is the most effective approach to doing business in China. Instead of complaining, for example, that your designs and products are being copied, or being frustrated because things are not as they are supposed to be (that is, according to Western ways), determine to turn every danger into opportunity. For example, instead of thinking of yourself as a victim of piracy, figure out how to turn things around so, in fact, the pirates are actually doing marketing campaigns and distributing "product samples" for you at little or no cost to you. People who buy fake Rolexes can't afford the real ones anyway, but as soon as they can, they will be sure to buy authentic ones from you.

With insights and advice from this book, plus your positive attitude and imaginative ideas on how to apply them to your unique situation, you have much better odds of winning one billion customers in China.
4777033
Heartiest congratulations, John.  This is the most exciting book I read this year. Being deeply interested in all matters Chinese, I have benefited immensely from your scholarly research,erudition, insight, accuracy and sympathetic treatment of this vital yet difficult subject. I am glad to read the conclusions in your AFTERTHOUGHT and share your thinking in this regard--they are impartial and brilliant.  I am somewhat optimistic like you, not because I am Chinese but am viewing things  from a very broad spectrum.  World peace, stability and prosperity largely hinges on this US-Chinese nexus and I do agree both sides are sensible and taking a long-term view of what they can do together to achieve this.  That the two nations have gained a better understanding of each other and have shown mutual respect augurs well for the future.  Your book is a must-read for everyone.  I also am full of admiration for the life you have led and look forward to reading your future books.
Dr Peter Lim, Melbourne
631461
Very interesting book which gave me a small taste of China's past and present. I have it to my daughter-in-law who is from China and a VERY bright young woman and she is enjoying it very much.
4282498
I really enjoy this book. I've been studying Chinese for a few months, and this book ties together a lot of what I've learned. I love the writing style. The author doesn't try to teach you pie-in-the-sky Chinese that most textbooks try to teach, where they teach you how to have the most polite conversation that you will probably never have.

It's very practical and written in a conversational style. For example, he talks about what to do when you don't know a tone and such. The book seems to be written for people who are either in China or have plans to go, and I think that's good - it focuses on what people will actually encounter in daily life.

Since this book is written from the perspective of someone who learned Chinese as a second language, it captures some things that just wouldn't occur to natives. This is why I think those who have learned the language are often better than native speakers when it comes to teaching.

This isn't necessarily the book you want if you're on a plane to China and you need to learn some quick phrases (though if you can read pinyin, this book has much of that). There are other books that can provide phrases you might need, skipping over pinyin and just telling you how to approximate the sounds of Chinese to say a few things. I feel like this book is better for those who have started their Chinese study, maybe with a program like a college course, Pimsleur, YoYo Chinese, Rocket Chinese or whatever. Personally, I've done a lot of work with the audio programs Pimsleur and my Glossika (not the most popular one, but my favorite), and so while I'm familiar with a lot of phrases and pronunciation, I was lacking in some of the explanations. Most textbooks are too boring. I really like this.

In fact, if Albert Wolfe releases more books on the topic of Chinese, I'll probably get them.