tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093499986237480423.post7354848934777817756..comments2023-03-26T15:27:37.450+08:00Comments on begin again...: Wild SwansAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09816650270802955615noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093499986237480423.post-56756140033851064312010-11-09T06:14:28.219+08:002010-11-09T06:14:28.219+08:00Yes, it's important to remember that China - l...Yes, it's important to remember that China - like just about any country you would care to name - has had a dark, turbulent past (and present). Especially now the US and Australia are talking about China being a responsible, participatory member of the international community and of the Asia-Pacific in particular.<br /><br />I remember you listing this book on <i>Books every thirteen-year-old should read</i> and I had wanted to ask about its influence on you.<br /><br />In very recent times (the Beijing Olympics) the Chinese authorities said things about disabled people in the Olympics and Paralympics. And then there was the opening ceremony where the little girl was replaced. No worse, one might think, than what Western nations might do in competitions.<br /><br />Maxine Hong wrote an incredible book called <i>The Warrior Woman</i>, and Jade Snow Wong wrote <i>Fifth Chinese Daughter</i>. Both these books are mentioned in <i>Masterpieces of Women's Literature</i>.<br /><br />I really liked this quote:<br /><br />"And I found myself thinking 'Could people really do that? Could people really become that? Could people really go through that and come out of it, alive?'"<br /><br />Yes, yes, and yes. The question, then, is how and why, and what it says about human nature and nurture as well as the particular political, social and economic characteristics. And philosophical ones too (I found myself reflecting on a book about China written in the 1960s).<br /><br />An important thing about Communism in particular is how it tried to transfer power from religion to revolutionary ideology.<br /><br />And of course "swan" is the bird of Western Australia. So you were carrying a piece of Australia with you in a way.<br /><br />Another great book is probably "Shouting to China" by Helene Chung, the ABC foreign correspondent for China and Hong Kong.<br /><br />Women's history is often especially suited to memoir.Adelaide Duponthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01490123934889071074noreply@blogger.com