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categories: Books, Buddhism
Democracy's Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan
Democracy's Dharma studies four religious groups in Taiwan. Three of them are Buddhist: Fo Guang Shan (佛光山), Tzu Chi (慈濟) and Dharma Drum Mountain (法鼓山). The other is the Taoist group of Xingtian Temple (行天宮). It is based on the thesis that these groups have contributed to the development of democracy and civil society in Taiwan. Robert Green has reviewed the book in the July 2008 Taiwan Review.
The Foreigner: A Novel
Here is the synopsis from the publisher's website:
Emerson Chang is a mild mannered bachelor on the cusp of forty, a financial analyst in a neatly pressed suit, a child of Taiwanese immigrants who doesn't speak a word of Chinese, and, well, a virgin. His only real family is his mother, whose subtle manipulations have kept him close–all in the name of preserving an obscure idea of family and culture.
But when his mother suddenly dies, Emerson sets out for Taipei to scatter her ashes, and to convey a surprising inheritance to his younger brother, Little P. Now enmeshed in the Taiwanese criminal underworld, Little P seems to be running some very shady business out of his uncle's karaoke bar, and he conceals a secret–a crime that has not only severed him from his family, but may have annihilated his conscience. Hoping to appease both the living and the dead, Emerson isn’t about to give up the inheritance until he uncovers Little P's past, and saves what is left of his family.
The Foreigner is a darkly comic tale of crime and contrition, and a riveting story about what it means to be a foreigner–even in one's own family.
The final book in this short list is Humanity At Stake
Sino-Platonic Papers has rereleased for free its fifth volume of reviews, mainly of books about China and its history and languages (11.6 MB PDF).
Even if you have no particular interest in the specific works reviewed, I recommend at least browsing through this and all of the other volumes of reviews from Sino-Platonic Papers, as they often feature Victor Mair at his most direct and entertaining about a wide range of subjects.
Table of Contents:
- Review Article: The Present State and Future Prospects of Pre-Han Text Studies. A review of Michael Loewe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Reviewed by E. Bruce Brooks, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
N.B.: The following 29 reviews are by the editor of Sino-Platonic Papers.
- Roger T. Ames, Chan Sin-wai, and Mau-sang Ng, eds. Interpreting Culture through Translation: A Festschrift for D. C. Lau.
- Sau Y. Chan. Improvisation in a Ritual Context: The Music of Cantonese Opera.
- CHANG Xizhen. Beijing Tuhua [Pekingese Colloquial].
- CHANG/AIXINJUELUO Yingsheng [AISINGIORO *Yingsheng]. Beijing Tuhua zhong de Manyu [Manchurian in Pekingese Colloquial].
- BAI Gong and JIN Shan. Jing Wei’er: Toushi Beijingren de Yuyan ["Capital Flavor": A Perspective on the Language of the Pekingese].
- JIA Caizhu, comp. Beijinghua Erhua Cidian [Dictionary of Retroflex Final-r in Pekingese].
- Julia Ching and R. W .L. Guisso, eds. Sages and Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China.
- FENG Zhiwei. Xiandai Hanzi he Jisuanji (Modern Chinese Characters and Electronic Computers).
- FENG Zhiwei. Zhongwen Xinxi Chuli yu Hanyu Yanjiu [Chinese Information Processing and Research on Sinitic].
- Andre Gunder Frank. The Centrality of Central Asia.
- HUANG Jungui. Hanzi yu Hanzi Paijian Fangfa [Sinographs and Methods for Ordering and Looking up Sinographs].
- W. J. F. Jenner. The Tyranny of History: The Roots of China’s Crisis.
- Adam T. Kessler. Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan.
- David R. McCraw. Du Fu’s Laments from the South.
- Michael Nylan, tr. and comm. The Canon of Supreme Mystery, by Yang Hsiung.
- R. P. Peerenboom. Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao.
- Henry G. Schwarz. An Uyghur-English Dictionary.
- Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Dene-Sino-Caucasian Languages.
- Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind.
- Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Studies of Chinese Religion: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1970.
- Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion in Western Languages: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1980.
- Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion: Publications in Western Languages, 1981 through 1990.
- Aat Vervoorn. Men of the Cliffs and Caves: The Development of the Chinese Eremitic Tradition to the End of the Han Dynasty.
- WANG Jiting, ZHANG Shaoting, and WANG Suorong, comp. Changjian Wenyan Shumianyu [Frequently Encountered Literary Sinitic Expressions in Written Language].
- John Timothy Wixted. Japanese Scholars of China: A Bibliographical Handbook.
- YÜ Lung-yü, ed. Chung-Yin wen-hsüeh kuan-hsi yüan-liu [The Origin and Development of Sino-Indian Literary Relations].
- ZHANG Guangda and RONG Xinjiang. Yutian Shi Congkao [Collected Inquiries on the History of Khotan].
- ZHANG Yongyan, chief ed. Shishuo Xinxu Cidian [A Dictionary of A New Account of Tales of the World].
- Peter H. Rushton. The Jin Ping Mei and the Non-Linear Dimensions of the Traditional Chinese Novel.
- William H. Baxter, A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology. Reviewed by Paul Rakita Goldin, Harvard University.
- JI Xianlin (aka Hiän-lin Dschi). Dunhuang Tulufan Tuhuoluoyu Yanjiu Daolun [A Guide to Tocharian Language Materials from Dunhuang and Turfan]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.
- GU Zhengmei. Guishuang Fojiao Zhengzhi Chuantong yu Dasheng Fojiao [The Political Tradition of Kushan Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.
- W. South Coblin, University of Iowa. A Note on the Modern Readings of 土蕃.
- Rejoinder by the Editor.
- Announcement concerning the inauguration of a new series in Sino-Platonic Papers entitled “Bits and Pieces.”
This work also continues the discussion regarding the Chinese characters “土蕃” and Tibet.
This was first published in July 1994 as issue no. 46 of Sino-Platonic Papers.
Sino-Platonic Papers has rereleased for free its fifth volume of reviews, mainly of books about China and its history and languages (11.6 MB PDF).
Even if you have no particular interest in the specific works reviewed, I recommend at least browsing through this and all of the other volumes of reviews from Sino-Platonic Papers, as they often feature Victor Mair at his most direct and entertaining about a wide range of subjects.
Table of Contents:
- Review Article: The Present State and Future Prospects of Pre-Han Text Studies. A review of Michael Loewe, ed., Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Reviewed by E. Bruce Brooks, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
N.B.: The following 29 reviews are by the editor of Sino-Platonic Papers.
- Roger T. Ames, Chan Sin-wai, and Mau-sang Ng, eds. Interpreting Culture through Translation: A Festschrift for D. C. Lau.
- Sau Y. Chan. Improvisation in a Ritual Context: The Music of Cantonese Opera.
- CHANG Xizhen. Beijing Tuhua [Pekingese Colloquial].
- CHANG/AIXINJUELUO Yingsheng [AISINGIORO *Yingsheng]. Beijing Tuhua zhong de Manyu [Manchurian in Pekingese Colloquial].
- BAI Gong and JIN Shan. Jing Wei’er: Toushi Beijingren de Yuyan ["Capital Flavor": A Perspective on the Language of the Pekingese].
- JIA Caizhu, comp. Beijinghua Erhua Cidian [Dictionary of Retroflex Final-r in Pekingese].
- Julia Ching and R. W .L. Guisso, eds. Sages and Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China.
- FENG Zhiwei. Xiandai Hanzi he Jisuanji (Modern Chinese Characters and Electronic Computers).
- FENG Zhiwei. Zhongwen Xinxi Chuli yu Hanyu Yanjiu [Chinese Information Processing and Research on Sinitic].
- Andre Gunder Frank. The Centrality of Central Asia.
- HUANG Jungui. Hanzi yu Hanzi Paijian Fangfa [Sinographs and Methods for Ordering and Looking up Sinographs].
- W. J. F. Jenner. The Tyranny of History: The Roots of China’s Crisis.
- Adam T. Kessler. Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan.
- David R. McCraw. Du Fu’s Laments from the South.
- Michael Nylan, tr. and comm. The Canon of Supreme Mystery, by Yang Hsiung.
- R. P. Peerenboom. Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao.
- Henry G. Schwarz. An Uyghur-English Dictionary.
- Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Dene-Sino-Caucasian Languages.
- Vitaly Shevoroshkin, ed. Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind.
- Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Studies of Chinese Religion: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1970.
- Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion in Western Languages: A Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in English, French, and German through 1980.
- Laurence G. Thompson, comp. Chinese Religion: Publications in Western Languages, 1981 through 1990.
- Aat Vervoorn. Men of the Cliffs and Caves: The Development of the Chinese Eremitic Tradition to the End of the Han Dynasty.
- WANG Jiting, ZHANG Shaoting, and WANG Suorong, comp. Changjian Wenyan Shumianyu [Frequently Encountered Literary Sinitic Expressions in Written Language].
- John Timothy Wixted. Japanese Scholars of China: A Bibliographical Handbook.
- YÜ Lung-yü, ed. Chung-Yin wen-hsüeh kuan-hsi yüan-liu [The Origin and Development of Sino-Indian Literary Relations].
- ZHANG Guangda and RONG Xinjiang. Yutian Shi Congkao [Collected Inquiries on the History of Khotan].
- ZHANG Yongyan, chief ed. Shishuo Xinxu Cidian [A Dictionary of A New Account of Tales of the World].
- Peter H. Rushton. The Jin Ping Mei and the Non-Linear Dimensions of the Traditional Chinese Novel.
- William H. Baxter, A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology. Reviewed by Paul Rakita Goldin, Harvard University.
- JI Xianlin (aka Hiän-lin Dschi). Dunhuang Tulufan Tuhuoluoyu Yanjiu Daolun [A Guide to Tocharian Language Materials from Dunhuang and Turfan]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.
- GU Zhengmei. Guishuang Fojiao Zhengzhi Chuantong yu Dasheng Fojiao [The Political Tradition of Kushan Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism]. Reviewed by XU Wenkan, Hanyu Da Cidian editorial offices in Shanghai.
- W. South Coblin, University of Iowa. A Note on the Modern Readings of 土蕃.
- Rejoinder by the Editor.
- Announcement concerning the inauguration of a new series in Sino-Platonic Papers entitled “Bits and Pieces.”
This work also continues the discussion regarding the Chinese characters “土蕃” and Tibet.
This was first published in July 1994 as issue no. 46 of Sino-Platonic Papers.
The Dalai Lama's envoys are due to fly to China from India on Saturday to meet their Chinese counterparts over the crisis in Tibet, the government-in-exile said, days after Beijing bowed to international pressure and agreed to fence-mending talks.
"It's a very good thing the Dalai Lama's envoys can come. It's also a very good thing China is willing to accept (them)," Master Hsing Yun told Reuters during a visit to China.
Hsing Yun, abbot of Buddha Light Mountain temple in Taiwan's southern port city of Kaohsiung, said China would be better off befriending the Dalai Lama, who has been demonized by Tibet's hardline Communist Party boss and state media.
"The Dalai Lama is Tibet's spiritual leader. Politically, (China) should turn (him) from an enemy into a friend," Hsing Yun said in an interview.
In 1996 after then US vice president Al Gore attended a fund-raising luncheon at the Hsi Lai temple, a Fo Kuang Shan branch in Hacienda Heights, California, a question was asked about whether the donations made during the luncheon were legal."Hsin Yun thought it was not a bad idea to know Al Gore, so he agreed to hold the luncheon in the temple. People who attended the luncheon were local Chinese Democrat members, and some without knowing gave away more than allowed by law to the Democratic Party," Pu said.
"It was not done on purpose. Hsin Yin had fought long and hard to have the Hsi Lai temple built at that place, and after 10 years of wrestling with the local council, he knew not to break the law," Pu said.
As often happens, I have a pile of interesting pieces that I meant to save, which have just been sitting in my open tabs, so time for a brief roundup.
I find this an interesting case for comparison with Taiwan, where the Japanese language forced upon the Taiwanese population during their 50-year span of colonization by Japan was also looked back with some degree of sentimentality-along with Japanese rule itself-following the island’s subsequent “colonization” by the Chinese Nationalist government of the Republic of China. Although Japanese has never become an official language of ROC/Taiwan and has also never regained widespread usage, based on this article it does seem to occupy a psychic space similar to that of Portuguese in East Timor.
Forty-two percent of the parents of children in the school system, the country’s largest, are not native English speakers, and communicating with them about their children’s education is an immense challenge.That is especially the case at a time when the system is offering ever-increasing school choices, but is also requiring students to go through a complex admissions process for high school and certain programs.
So, prodded by advocates for immigrants, schools chancellor Joel Klein created a unit three years ago to translate a never-ending flow of school documents, like news releases, report cards and parent surveys, into the eight languages most commonly spoken in New York, after English: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Arabic, Urdu, Korean and Haitian Creole.
It has since expanded to an office with 40 employees and a US$4.5 million budget, and is the largest of its kind in any school system in the US, said Kleber Palma, the unit’s director. In one respect, the office even surpasses the translation division at UN headquarters, which translates most documents into only five official languages other than English: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.