Reviews for Collected Writings on Chinese Cultural History

The average rating for Collected Writings on Chinese Cultural History based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-30 00:00:00 Theodore Voth III This is a fantastic story of old Hong Kong, long before talks of the handover or even the 1967 riots. This takes place in the late 50s and centers around the district officer of one of the outlying island (Lantau, even though it’s not mentioned) and how he becomes inspires to build a road on the island after someone else mentions it on a launch (boat) outing one day. Richard, the district officer, is a British civil servant who has been in Hong Kong for years and views himself as a China expert. The only caveat is that the villagers don’t want or need a road. Richard’s wife Sylvia is a renowned author, most known for her scandalous novel about the wife of a British civil servant who has an affair with an Indian attaché. The novel, as everyone in Hong Kong knows, is based on real life. Richard and Sylvia have an open marriage, although that is not well-known or even known at all. Richard’s affairs are commonplace in Hong Kong, as polygamy was still legal then for Chinese residents in HK. So it wasn’t an oddity when British colonialists acted the same. When Sylvia did, of course it became scandalous. The story is mainly about their relationship, but also about the inner workings of Hong Kong back then. I have it four stars instead of five because the end dragged on a bit after the road was completed. The side stories could have been completed around that time, too, rather than taking another 75 pages to wrap up. Still, I really enjoyed the story and the scenes of old Hong Kong. The author shows how out of touch the colonialists were back then and how people like Sylvia, who could speak Mandarin (not spoken in HK then) at least tried to understand and made a point to immerse herself in Hong Kong.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-07-05 00:00:00 Jaquan Carthen Though many consider him a despot, tyrant, criminal, and objector of western ideals, this powerful speech clearly defines Fidel Castro as one of the greatest orators of the last century. In this 3 plus hour speech to the court, Castro clearly defines his movements goals, while not only presenting to the court an almost impeccable speech but also charging the same prosectors and government officials whom accused him of rebellious activity as the true criminals. He then goes on to describe his plan of agrarian reform and to uplift his fellow country men and women from the depths of poverty which Batista has irrevocably tried to keep them under. In the speech he lists his five revolutionary laws to be achieved: 1)A return of power to amend the Constitution to the masses 2) Transfer over non-mortgageable land to peasants and farmers 3) To give a 30 percent share of large industrial company's profits to workers and employees (because of the rampant usurpation of sugar mills for the last century) 4) To allow the sugar planters to share in 55 percent of their toil, 5) And the forfeiture of all illegal seizures from corporations be it land or finance (in the speech he goes over the laws much better and clearer than i do) Sadly this beautifully choreographed speech is not very known to main stream America, and neither is Castro's eloquent speaking ability. Maybe its the language barrier? Or maybe main stream America's lethargic view of the rest of the world? That aside, to understand Cuban-American relations post 1959 and even more so American relations to a country that does not accord with its ideals, one should def read this speech.