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The Porcelain Thief: Searching the Middle Kingdom for Buried China
A journalist travels throughout mainland China and Taiwan in search of his family’s hidden treasure and comes to understand his ancestry as he never has before.
In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu’s great-great-grandfather Liu’s Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moves to China to work in his uncle’s semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family’s long march back home.
Melding memoir, travelogue, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers an intimate and unforgettable way to understand the complicated events that have defined China over the past two hundred years and provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity.
In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu’s great-great-grandfather Liu’s Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moves to China to work in his uncle’s semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family’s long march back home.
Melding memoir, travelogue, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers an intimate and unforgettable way to understand the complicated events that have defined China over the past two hundred years and provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 17, 2014
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February 22, 2021While researching early methods of making and firing ceramics, specifically porcelain, I stumbled across this book. While there was scant info about the making of porcelain from the country that for centuries fashioned the world's best, I became absorbed for other reasons.
Huan Hsu, a journalist, and a first generation Chinese American, arrives in China to work at his uncle's tech company, but his real goal is to find his great-great grandfather's incredibly valuable porcelain collection, which the grandfather buried on his property before leaving ahead of the Japanese invasion.
Hsu is appalled at what he finds, he resents the Chinese, he barely speaks the language, which he despises, as much as he despises many of his relatives--and China, when he gets there. Before he can tackle his quest, that means learning enough of the language to interview his aging relatives, many of whom are in their eighties and nineties, children when it all happened. But it's not enough to learn the language, he also has to learn how to maneuver in Chinese (and Taiwanese) culture, which even after the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, still exhibits the thought patterns of old.
And so begins the story of his family, one relative at a time, one extended relation at a time--and one person at a time as the search both frustrates and widens. Everyone has reasons for what they tell him: his grandmother insisting he abandon the quest because it's dangerous, other relatives maintaining the treasure is long gone, vanished into Japanese pockets, into Kuomintang or Communist vaults, etc.
What the reader gets is a vivid history of what it was like to try to survive during the twentieth century, which was brutal for the Chinese people in a way that, sadly, isn't all that new. The impression that China still is very much an empire persists--and one person even iterates it, as Hsu and his interviewees delve into the past, and what it was like to run from the horror of Japanese atrocities just to later be persecuted by one's own government for utterly specious "reasons."
This is history one person at a time, building a picture that meshes with other books' descriptions of the culture and customs, from spitting in the street to how to handle officials and not have one's questions come back to bite you, or worse, your family.
As for what happened to the treasure, if you've been reading all the stories instead of skimming, you not only comprehend the seemingly abrupt ending, you are left thinking: yup, there it is.
Huan Hsu, a journalist, and a first generation Chinese American, arrives in China to work at his uncle's tech company, but his real goal is to find his great-great grandfather's incredibly valuable porcelain collection, which the grandfather buried on his property before leaving ahead of the Japanese invasion.
Hsu is appalled at what he finds, he resents the Chinese, he barely speaks the language, which he despises, as much as he despises many of his relatives--and China, when he gets there. Before he can tackle his quest, that means learning enough of the language to interview his aging relatives, many of whom are in their eighties and nineties, children when it all happened. But it's not enough to learn the language, he also has to learn how to maneuver in Chinese (and Taiwanese) culture, which even after the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, still exhibits the thought patterns of old.
And so begins the story of his family, one relative at a time, one extended relation at a time--and one person at a time as the search both frustrates and widens. Everyone has reasons for what they tell him: his grandmother insisting he abandon the quest because it's dangerous, other relatives maintaining the treasure is long gone, vanished into Japanese pockets, into Kuomintang or Communist vaults, etc.
What the reader gets is a vivid history of what it was like to try to survive during the twentieth century, which was brutal for the Chinese people in a way that, sadly, isn't all that new. The impression that China still is very much an empire persists--and one person even iterates it, as Hsu and his interviewees delve into the past, and what it was like to run from the horror of Japanese atrocities just to later be persecuted by one's own government for utterly specious "reasons."
This is history one person at a time, building a picture that meshes with other books' descriptions of the culture and customs, from spitting in the street to how to handle officials and not have one's questions come back to bite you, or worse, your family.
As for what happened to the treasure, if you've been reading all the stories instead of skimming, you not only comprehend the seemingly abrupt ending, you are left thinking: yup, there it is.
March 16, 2015
Thanks to Goodreads and Crown Publishing for the advance copy. There has been much written in recent years about the emergence of China and the changing culture and its impact on the global economy. As with any change, it's vital to understand the history and background that lead to the current evolution. So many have done this with detailed historical analysis and broad, high-level observations. But, what about the story through the eyes and life of one individual?
Huan Hsu tells the story of emerging China through his own family history and in context of both Western and Eastern cultures. If you really stop to think about this, it's a pretty incredible feat. To tell the story of an individual life in context of a society that values the collective.
Hsu's writing took a bit to get used to. For one thing, he comes across as a bit static at first and a touch self-aggrandizing. Born and raised in Mormon Utah as a first generation Chinese American, he arrives in China as an employee of his uncle's tech company, but his true mission is to locate or find out what happened to his ancestor's valuable porcelain collection. Before he can even begin this task, he must first learn the language, culture, and intricate family nuances. I said that he came across as a touch haughty because he initially is resistant to these changes and the work in general. He approaches it as almost pesky barriers at first.
Without giving too much away, Hsu evolves and learns to appreciate his history, culture and the journey to uncover his past. Turns out, he's not static, but dynamic, and he quickly evolves in his appreciation and love for his roots.
Hsu is a superb writer. His voice is unique, personal, and quietly powerful. I look forward to a positive critical response to this. I haven't seen this on any preview or anticipated books of the year lists, but I think it has great potential to be a surprise success, and if given the proper buzz, a bestseller.
A good literary companion book would be To Live.
Huan Hsu tells the story of emerging China through his own family history and in context of both Western and Eastern cultures. If you really stop to think about this, it's a pretty incredible feat. To tell the story of an individual life in context of a society that values the collective.
Hsu's writing took a bit to get used to. For one thing, he comes across as a bit static at first and a touch self-aggrandizing. Born and raised in Mormon Utah as a first generation Chinese American, he arrives in China as an employee of his uncle's tech company, but his true mission is to locate or find out what happened to his ancestor's valuable porcelain collection. Before he can even begin this task, he must first learn the language, culture, and intricate family nuances. I said that he came across as a touch haughty because he initially is resistant to these changes and the work in general. He approaches it as almost pesky barriers at first.
Without giving too much away, Hsu evolves and learns to appreciate his history, culture and the journey to uncover his past. Turns out, he's not static, but dynamic, and he quickly evolves in his appreciation and love for his roots.
Hsu is a superb writer. His voice is unique, personal, and quietly powerful. I look forward to a positive critical response to this. I haven't seen this on any preview or anticipated books of the year lists, but I think it has great potential to be a surprise success, and if given the proper buzz, a bestseller.
A good literary companion book would be To Live.
September 14, 2021
I enjoyed learning about some of China's history through the learnings in this family. Its always a good vantage point to understand how things are how they are. Having said that the characters in this story were not compelling and the "storyline" itself was not interesting enough to keep me going. I finished this book a little unfulfilled due to the somewhat ambiguous ending.
April 10, 2015
I've read many China memoirs and Chinese history narratives, so was excited to see a new take in Huan Hsu's "The Porcelain Thief." I was drawn in from the very beginning and felt like I was parting with a good friend when the book ended. Hsu is a fabulous writer. I love his honesty and his bluntness when things don't go according to plan in China. And he weaves in Chinese history that makes it fascinating even for those who know how things turn out along the way. I found myself laughing, crying, and wanting to slam my fist down in frustration as he trekked through China in search of his great-great grandfather's lost porcelain. But there is so much more to his story than that. It's also a personal journey in search of identity and acceptance. He writes about many family members, so the family tree at the beginning is helpful. My favorite characters besides Hsu include his colorful uncles Richard and Lewis, along with his cousin Andrew. Huan Hsu's great-great grandfather would be very proud of this book.
January 9, 2015
I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.
This is a rare case where reading this as a galley doesn't really give an adequate picture of the book. Hsu has penned a book that's part memoir, part genealogy quest, part history lesson on China. As he says at one point, trying to explain Chinese history is like trying to get a drink while drowning. The beginning of the books has placeholders for maps and charts, and that content would have helped immensely to understand the geography and the convoluted connections within Hsu's family (which often confuses and surprises the author as well).
Hsu is American-born and raised in Utah. He had to deal with frustrating comments from other people--the compliments on his English, the way he stood out in lily-white Mormon Utah--but also didn't fit in with his Chinese family. He was largely ignorant of the language and history. Even so, he's fascinated by stories of his mother's family and of the wealth of porcelain they once had, and he takes a job in China at a volatile uncle's company so he can find out more.
The beginning of the story is a bit whiny as he describes China as it is now (it sure doesn't make me want to travel to Shanghai), even as the content is intriguing from the start. Hsu brings a great perspective; readers are likely to be ignorant of China as it is now or was in the past, and I felt like I got to learn along with him. Once it started to delve into the past and the often contradictory stories within his family, it became a gripping book. Hsu isn't searching for buried treasure to get rich. It's more of a sense to recover something lost. His mother's family struggled through all the turbulence of the 20th century, from the Sino-Japanese War through World War II through communist and the horrible whims of Mao. His grandmother escaped some of the worst by being a teacher in missionary schools and then immigrating from the mainland, but other cousins were not so fortunate. The book does a good job of showing the terrible nature of Mao and what he put the people through, and Hsu with his American sensibilities struggles to understand how they endured. It's not just that the porcelain was lost. Almost all family pictures, books, and artifacts were also lost in immigration or through cultural purges.
There's also the historical thread about porcelain itself, how it was made and where, and how that industry has so drastically changed.
I liked the book much more as I read, even as I had to utterly give up on keeping track of who was who. I have trouble remembering names in English, so the similarity of the Chinese names--and that some people had a few names--was utterly confusing. Maps would have been an enormous help as Hsu travels all over China, and also describes where his family was and is now.
If you have any interest in China, seek for this book when it's out in March. At heart, it's about a genealogical search for self, an it's a fascinating journey.
This is a rare case where reading this as a galley doesn't really give an adequate picture of the book. Hsu has penned a book that's part memoir, part genealogy quest, part history lesson on China. As he says at one point, trying to explain Chinese history is like trying to get a drink while drowning. The beginning of the books has placeholders for maps and charts, and that content would have helped immensely to understand the geography and the convoluted connections within Hsu's family (which often confuses and surprises the author as well).
Hsu is American-born and raised in Utah. He had to deal with frustrating comments from other people--the compliments on his English, the way he stood out in lily-white Mormon Utah--but also didn't fit in with his Chinese family. He was largely ignorant of the language and history. Even so, he's fascinated by stories of his mother's family and of the wealth of porcelain they once had, and he takes a job in China at a volatile uncle's company so he can find out more.
The beginning of the story is a bit whiny as he describes China as it is now (it sure doesn't make me want to travel to Shanghai), even as the content is intriguing from the start. Hsu brings a great perspective; readers are likely to be ignorant of China as it is now or was in the past, and I felt like I got to learn along with him. Once it started to delve into the past and the often contradictory stories within his family, it became a gripping book. Hsu isn't searching for buried treasure to get rich. It's more of a sense to recover something lost. His mother's family struggled through all the turbulence of the 20th century, from the Sino-Japanese War through World War II through communist and the horrible whims of Mao. His grandmother escaped some of the worst by being a teacher in missionary schools and then immigrating from the mainland, but other cousins were not so fortunate. The book does a good job of showing the terrible nature of Mao and what he put the people through, and Hsu with his American sensibilities struggles to understand how they endured. It's not just that the porcelain was lost. Almost all family pictures, books, and artifacts were also lost in immigration or through cultural purges.
There's also the historical thread about porcelain itself, how it was made and where, and how that industry has so drastically changed.
I liked the book much more as I read, even as I had to utterly give up on keeping track of who was who. I have trouble remembering names in English, so the similarity of the Chinese names--and that some people had a few names--was utterly confusing. Maps would have been an enormous help as Hsu travels all over China, and also describes where his family was and is now.
If you have any interest in China, seek for this book when it's out in March. At heart, it's about a genealogical search for self, an it's a fascinating journey.
September 18, 2015
I have mixed opinions about this book. I liked how the author added Chinese history as a way to put his family's story into context, both in terms of dates and how the bigger picture affected his family personally. After finishing the book, I was put off by the likelihood that the compelling details of his great-grandfather burying his valuables were imagined and not necessarily real. Also, the multi-page details of the personal stories of distant family members didn't add much to the story and slowed down the story. I did find the author's research on porcelain history interesting, as well as his views and insights on Chinese culture.
July 15, 2021
I read this fascinating book a couple of years ago, totally enthralled by the author's experiences in China while searching for the lost porcelain of his ancestors. Having been brought up in California, he encountered many cultural practices in China which both shocked him and amazed him. I particularly enjoyed getting to know the ins and outs of the porcelain industry in China throughout the ages, and also Huan Hsu's search for buried treasures of his family's past.
April 5, 2022
A yound man who is born from Chinese parents in America becomes intrigued with the history of his family roots and the prospect of very valuable porcelain items that were buried as family members were escaping from the enemy. Was the porcelain still there? What fortune would he find? The difference in culture is amusing and enlightening.
April 15, 2019
DNF. The prose was whiny and boring, and a far cry from the compelling narrative that opens the memoir. Seeking encouragement to keep going, I read some reviews and discovered that this narrative is actually mostly fiction and the ending is very ambiguous.
March 20, 2020
A solid 3.5 stars. I’m glad I read this.
March 22, 2024
wanted to like this a lot more than I did. there were sections of the book that didn't add much to the story and I ended up skimming (or whatever the audio equivalent is) is to finish
March 22, 2025
A history of China through the story of one family and many lost memories. Very interesting, emphasising the upheavals, hardships and losses. The lost porcelain seemed a symbol of China's lost cultural history and people, and particularly his family's lost culture and story, which the author pursued even when discovering more had clearly become hopeless. A final comment based on an old Chinese story about success after generations-long persistence is very relevant to the rise of today's China in the global economy and politics.
June 1, 2018
The book is interesting, and the insights into China are great. There are some lovely historical tangents. I felt like the end was sudden and I also don’t feel like it was finished, or rounded up properly which earns it three stars for an abrupt, slightly unsatisfying ending. But I think it’s still worth a read for anyone interested in Chinese cultural history.
July 6, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.com.
This is an interesting book, taking us through a journey of discovery with Huan Hsu, the writer. He takes us along his quest of his family china, which is also a quest to unknot the complicated and forgotten threads of his family history. Actually, the china feels more like an excuse for all this, no matter how focused he might have been on the subject at the time.
So this book is not quite a treasure hunt as it is a memoir of his family during the last century, a very troubled one in China.
Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much. The author writes well, and that’s basically all that kept me entertained during this book. I think this book is perfect for people who don’t know a single thing about China and who have never been there, as it is a very good introduction to the place and its history. But for someone like me, who has been living here for years, is a foreigner but with Chinese blood, has an interest in antiques (my family and I are more into bronze and gold work, but you can’t miss knowing a few things about porcelains if you have only the slimmest of interest in China’s culture and history), this book really doesn’t bring anything. There’s not enough in-depth analysis and knowledge for me to discover anything, and it’s too much about the description and not nearly enough about the actions, that I didn’t really get any thrill from it.
Basically, my main reaction throughout the book was “been there, done that”. I guess I was not the right public for it. Or maybe I just had too high expectations for it.
This is an interesting book, taking us through a journey of discovery with Huan Hsu, the writer. He takes us along his quest of his family china, which is also a quest to unknot the complicated and forgotten threads of his family history. Actually, the china feels more like an excuse for all this, no matter how focused he might have been on the subject at the time.
So this book is not quite a treasure hunt as it is a memoir of his family during the last century, a very troubled one in China.
Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much. The author writes well, and that’s basically all that kept me entertained during this book. I think this book is perfect for people who don’t know a single thing about China and who have never been there, as it is a very good introduction to the place and its history. But for someone like me, who has been living here for years, is a foreigner but with Chinese blood, has an interest in antiques (my family and I are more into bronze and gold work, but you can’t miss knowing a few things about porcelains if you have only the slimmest of interest in China’s culture and history), this book really doesn’t bring anything. There’s not enough in-depth analysis and knowledge for me to discover anything, and it’s too much about the description and not nearly enough about the actions, that I didn’t really get any thrill from it.
Basically, my main reaction throughout the book was “been there, done that”. I guess I was not the right public for it. Or maybe I just had too high expectations for it.
April 23, 2015
A very interesting read which gives a good overview of the last 150 years or so of China as experienced by one family and their descendants. From Amazon:A journalist travels throughout mainland China and Taiwan in search of his family’s hidden treasure and comes to understand his ancestry as he never has before.
In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu’s great-great-grandfather Liu’s Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moves to China to work in his uncle’s semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family’s long march back home.
Melding memoir, travelogue, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers an intimate and unforgettable way to understand the complicated events that have defined China over the past two hundred years and provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity.
In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu’s great-great-grandfather Liu’s Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moves to China to work in his uncle’s semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family’s long march back home.
Melding memoir, travelogue, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers an intimate and unforgettable way to understand the complicated events that have defined China over the past two hundred years and provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity.
July 25, 2015
What a fascinating memoir involving a family myth resulting in the quest to ascertain the legitimacy of that myth. Along the journey, author, Huan Hsu, discovers his family's history through the memories of aging relatives. He explores Chinese culture through living, working and traveling within China and through conversations with many who have endured the myriad of revolutions encountered over the last few generations.
Hsu, is a gifted writer whose vivid descriptions of the lanscape and his encounters place the reader directly alongside him. The historic detail of the Chinese porcelain trade is thorough and fascinating. The recounting of the Japanese invasion and the actions of corrupt leaders through various revolutions was factual and yet, disturbing.
The presumed vast treasures of the family's buried porcelain and coin were highly valued by Hsu's great-great-grandfather and represented his tangible legacy for his family. However, it appears that education is an equally important legacy of Hsu's great-great-grandfather as he made sure that daughters were as well educated as sons. Sadly, the cultural revolution, as noted in the story, penalized those who were educated and the gift was deemed a curse and could often threatened one's existence. Survival seemed all that mattered.
Hsu, is a gifted writer whose vivid descriptions of the lanscape and his encounters place the reader directly alongside him. The historic detail of the Chinese porcelain trade is thorough and fascinating. The recounting of the Japanese invasion and the actions of corrupt leaders through various revolutions was factual and yet, disturbing.
The presumed vast treasures of the family's buried porcelain and coin were highly valued by Hsu's great-great-grandfather and represented his tangible legacy for his family. However, it appears that education is an equally important legacy of Hsu's great-great-grandfather as he made sure that daughters were as well educated as sons. Sadly, the cultural revolution, as noted in the story, penalized those who were educated and the gift was deemed a curse and could often threatened one's existence. Survival seemed all that mattered.
July 15, 2016
The Porcelain Thief is by an American-born Chinese who relocates to China in a bid to find out what happened to his ancestor’s porcelain collection several decades earlier. He takes a job in Shanghai, working for his uncle’s business, and painstakingly interviews his relatives to help him reconstruct some of the family history. The sections with his redoubtable grandmother are particularly fine – she leads him a merry dance, telling him so much about some things, so little about others.
The narrative switches back and forth from his travails in present-day China to the travails of his family in the previous century, but Hsu keeps the two in equilibrium and writes with clarity about Chinese history and Chinese porcelain. His account feels disconcertingly honest at times, to the point where he doesn’t seem very likeable – his sexist comments on the dating scene in Shanghai, for instance; his ingrained hostility towards his cousin Richard (not a kindred spirit). This authenticity is the hallmark of the final section of the book, where there is definite bathos in a scene where the characters go digging up random sections of vegetable patch. Well worth reading, and full of interesting detail, but it does point up rather harshly the difficulties of pursuing this kind of quest.
Review first posted at http://asianartbrief.com
The narrative switches back and forth from his travails in present-day China to the travails of his family in the previous century, but Hsu keeps the two in equilibrium and writes with clarity about Chinese history and Chinese porcelain. His account feels disconcertingly honest at times, to the point where he doesn’t seem very likeable – his sexist comments on the dating scene in Shanghai, for instance; his ingrained hostility towards his cousin Richard (not a kindred spirit). This authenticity is the hallmark of the final section of the book, where there is definite bathos in a scene where the characters go digging up random sections of vegetable patch. Well worth reading, and full of interesting detail, but it does point up rather harshly the difficulties of pursuing this kind of quest.
Review first posted at http://asianartbrief.com
March 17, 2015
This was a completely absorbing book. Although a memoir it is also a history lesson. Hsu is an American born Chinese who has heard the story of his great great grandfather having to buy his valuables when the Japanese invaded his hometown of Xingang.
Hsu is determined to find out more about his history and moves to China. After conversations with his grandmother he learns enough Chinese to make his way into the outskirts of the city to learn about not only his history but about porcelain itself.
This book is not one to rush through. Set aside long amounts of time as there is so much information about Hsu's personal history and learning about China in the last 200 years.
What sets this book aside is its remarkable writing and the author's ability to ignite even laughter as he has to deal with the unhygienic practices in public places.
This is a beautifully written memoir of Hsu's quest to uncover his past. There is actually little written about porcelain itself but the second part of the title "Searching the Middle Kingdom for Buried China" is perhaps the best description of the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs and delving into the history of another country.
Hsu is determined to find out more about his history and moves to China. After conversations with his grandmother he learns enough Chinese to make his way into the outskirts of the city to learn about not only his history but about porcelain itself.
This book is not one to rush through. Set aside long amounts of time as there is so much information about Hsu's personal history and learning about China in the last 200 years.
What sets this book aside is its remarkable writing and the author's ability to ignite even laughter as he has to deal with the unhygienic practices in public places.
This is a beautifully written memoir of Hsu's quest to uncover his past. There is actually little written about porcelain itself but the second part of the title "Searching the Middle Kingdom for Buried China" is perhaps the best description of the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs and delving into the history of another country.
July 8, 2018
I liked this exploration into ABC family history. There were many parts that I found challenging to follow and many characters that I could not keep track of. However, the author gives a very honest and personal description of his experience without trying to make himself seem too perfect. In fact, his descriptions of himself in many cases made him less likeable, but the honesty made this even more authentic. Recommend if you enjoy learning history!
April 3, 2015
Thanks to Goodread I got the book for free
July 9, 2015
The recent TLS review lamenting lack of scholarship got this book all wrong. It is about a young man's attempt to understand China as he tries to find his family's stash of porcelain.
October 11, 2023
This memoir made me realize that I have read several books by American/English journalists about their experience in China (The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China, The Emperor Far Away: Travels at the Edge of China, and The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed), but this is the first time I've read one by an American journalist whose family originally came from China. For that alone I appreciated this memoir, because I always like seeing the world from a new vantage point.
Overall, this memoir was a mixed bag for me. On the positive side, I enjoyed Hsu's genealogical interviews, even though I could not keep the people or their relationships straight (I mostly listened to the audiobook - I eventually realized my e-book copy had maps and a family tree that would have made my life easier but they were hard to see on my phone. A hard copy is probably the best version). The interviews were also in the order that Hsu actually talked to his relatives. This made it a bit more disjointed. Hsu covers similar ground to Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, a memoir that provides a beautiful chronological flow, and I sometimes wished his writing style was a little closer to that. Another positive is that Hsu's discussion of Chinese history and its complicated relationship with Taiwan was effectively done (although, again, chronologically would have been easier to follow). The last positive is Hsu's discussion of his experience in China as an ABC (American Born Chinese). Hsu's portrayal of China is unflattering. Based on the way he writes about it, he found it dirty, corrupt, and rude. He has much nicer things to say about Taiwan. Even if it was overall negative, it was honest.
The negatives were that I never quite felt like Hsu actually cared about recovering his family's porcelain, and that it was more a plotline for the his planned book than a passion. Even those who actually were alive at the time of its burial are not very interested in recovering it. It is also not clear what Hsu would do if he found the porcelain (keep it? give it to the surviving family members? sell it?) I could be misinterpreting how Hsu actually felt; it's only the way it came across to me.
I also felt some disconnect with Hsu's behavior towards others. Memoirs are always difficult because they are only a snapshot of a person, so unlike a character in a book, I can't say that a memoirist is X, Y, or Z. They are in control of how they portray themselves, but not how they are interpreted. That being said, I am always fascinated when I think someone's anecdote is massively unflattering and think about how they and their editor decided it should be included and released to the public. The anecdote that raised my hackles was when Hsu called his cabby stupid and badgered him for not understanding Hsu's pronunciation - even though the point of that anecdote was that he often mispronounced written characters. Verbally abusing workers, especially when you're at fault, is a bad look. Hsu also tried to portray the factory owner (manager?) sitting on the land where the porcelain may or may not have been buried as some sort of villain for not immediately agreeing that this random American could dig up the land. I can just imagine the conversation if, say, some random French man showed up at a steel plant in Michigan and tried to wheedle his way into digging up the land because his family had lived there 60 years ago. I imagine they would also give him the run-around at best. In fact, the factory owner/manager did finally agree to allow Hsu to plant some trees...which of course was a half-cocked plan that didn't allow him to dig deep enough to uncover anything. Then Hsu kept coming back! Of course the owner/manager avoided him! I would too. But the owner/manager is written as if he is the bad guy, not some weirdo who keeps wanting to dig holes/lease the land without any good explanation and who won't take no for an answer.
Overall, this memoir was a mixed bag for me. On the positive side, I enjoyed Hsu's genealogical interviews, even though I could not keep the people or their relationships straight (I mostly listened to the audiobook - I eventually realized my e-book copy had maps and a family tree that would have made my life easier but they were hard to see on my phone. A hard copy is probably the best version). The interviews were also in the order that Hsu actually talked to his relatives. This made it a bit more disjointed. Hsu covers similar ground to Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, a memoir that provides a beautiful chronological flow, and I sometimes wished his writing style was a little closer to that. Another positive is that Hsu's discussion of Chinese history and its complicated relationship with Taiwan was effectively done (although, again, chronologically would have been easier to follow). The last positive is Hsu's discussion of his experience in China as an ABC (American Born Chinese). Hsu's portrayal of China is unflattering. Based on the way he writes about it, he found it dirty, corrupt, and rude. He has much nicer things to say about Taiwan. Even if it was overall negative, it was honest.
The negatives were that I never quite felt like Hsu actually cared about recovering his family's porcelain, and that it was more a plotline for the his planned book than a passion. Even those who actually were alive at the time of its burial are not very interested in recovering it. It is also not clear what Hsu would do if he found the porcelain (keep it? give it to the surviving family members? sell it?) I could be misinterpreting how Hsu actually felt; it's only the way it came across to me.
I also felt some disconnect with Hsu's behavior towards others. Memoirs are always difficult because they are only a snapshot of a person, so unlike a character in a book, I can't say that a memoirist is X, Y, or Z. They are in control of how they portray themselves, but not how they are interpreted. That being said, I am always fascinated when I think someone's anecdote is massively unflattering and think about how they and their editor decided it should be included and released to the public. The anecdote that raised my hackles was when Hsu called his cabby stupid and badgered him for not understanding Hsu's pronunciation - even though the point of that anecdote was that he often mispronounced written characters. Verbally abusing workers, especially when you're at fault, is a bad look. Hsu also tried to portray the factory owner (manager?) sitting on the land where the porcelain may or may not have been buried as some sort of villain for not immediately agreeing that this random American could dig up the land. I can just imagine the conversation if, say, some random French man showed up at a steel plant in Michigan and tried to wheedle his way into digging up the land because his family had lived there 60 years ago. I imagine they would also give him the run-around at best. In fact, the factory owner/manager did finally agree to allow Hsu to plant some trees...which of course was a half-cocked plan that didn't allow him to dig deep enough to uncover anything. Then Hsu kept coming back! Of course the owner/manager avoided him! I would too. But the owner/manager is written as if he is the bad guy, not some weirdo who keeps wanting to dig holes/lease the land without any good explanation and who won't take no for an answer.
June 10, 2024
The author covered so much territory (info, not terrain) that I learned a lot.
A Chinese American, he didn't even speak Chinese when he decided to travel to China and track
down the porcelain that his great great grandfather had supposed buried during the second
Sino-Japanese war.
His uncle, Richard, was also a Chinese American, but he had established a large business in
China and Huan got a visa and went to work for him. I never realized that there were so many
Christians living in China. Richard and the majority of his employees were Christian.
The author's views of modern day Chinese society was quite enlightening. He fussed over the
people not knowing how to stand in line and still urinating in the open.
He gave quite a bit of the history of China itself, of which I knew almost nothing.
He also gave a detailed account of the history of porcelain making. He traveled to the most
famous porcelain area where there were huge deposits of broken shards of porcelain dating
back hundreds of years and going deep into the soil.
He was able to speak to his Grandmother and various other members of his family who gave
him some interesting details of life in China during the Communist takeover. Some had been
treated harshly because they were educated or had belonged to landowner families.
His great great grandfather's house had been demolished and a cotton factory had taken it's place.
When he tries to get permission to dig at where the house might have been, he is met with stonewalling bureaucracy.
A Chinese American, he didn't even speak Chinese when he decided to travel to China and track
down the porcelain that his great great grandfather had supposed buried during the second
Sino-Japanese war.
His uncle, Richard, was also a Chinese American, but he had established a large business in
China and Huan got a visa and went to work for him. I never realized that there were so many
Christians living in China. Richard and the majority of his employees were Christian.
The author's views of modern day Chinese society was quite enlightening. He fussed over the
people not knowing how to stand in line and still urinating in the open.
He gave quite a bit of the history of China itself, of which I knew almost nothing.
He also gave a detailed account of the history of porcelain making. He traveled to the most
famous porcelain area where there were huge deposits of broken shards of porcelain dating
back hundreds of years and going deep into the soil.
He was able to speak to his Grandmother and various other members of his family who gave
him some interesting details of life in China during the Communist takeover. Some had been
treated harshly because they were educated or had belonged to landowner families.
His great great grandfather's house had been demolished and a cotton factory had taken it's place.
When he tries to get permission to dig at where the house might have been, he is met with stonewalling bureaucracy.
April 23, 2019
The book had a really interesting premise - an American Chinese man returns to China in search of his ancestral porcelain, hordes of which his grandparents had hastily buried, along with land deeds and jars of silver coins, before fleeing from the invading Japanese during World War 2.
I was intrigued to find his extended family that he worked with in China had founded a prominent microchip factory as an evangelistic outreach, and had also started several evangelical churches in their city. That prayer meetings were encouraged at work...however, Huan, the author, cared little about God or the church. His vocabulary bore testament to that.
I struggled following the many rambling discourses and meandering story lines in this book. Anyone can write a book, but not everyone is an author.
I was grateful for the audio version, which allowed the many Chinese words and names to be pronounced correctly for me instead of me trying to butcher my way through them.
All in all, an interesting enough story but one that slowly works its way to a lackluster climax, and at the very last sentence of the book reveals the treasure Huan found from his several years in China.
I was intrigued to find his extended family that he worked with in China had founded a prominent microchip factory as an evangelistic outreach, and had also started several evangelical churches in their city. That prayer meetings were encouraged at work...however, Huan, the author, cared little about God or the church. His vocabulary bore testament to that.
I struggled following the many rambling discourses and meandering story lines in this book. Anyone can write a book, but not everyone is an author.
I was grateful for the audio version, which allowed the many Chinese words and names to be pronounced correctly for me instead of me trying to butcher my way through them.
All in all, an interesting enough story but one that slowly works its way to a lackluster climax, and at the very last sentence of the book reveals the treasure Huan found from his several years in China.
September 11, 2021
I am calling it quits on this one after a mere 25 pages. While ostensibly this is intended by a story about the author uncovering something of his family's history, he spent the first 25 pages establishing how backward China is and how superior he is for having been raised in America (while at the same time somehow criticizing his cousin who had spent more time in China for expressing similar views). Further, by the time that this book was written (copyright 2015), it would have been relatively difficult to find (particularly in urban China) some of things that he describes as being typical. While it would have been more true 20 years prior, this book seemed to overemphasize certain elements in order to further the author's narrative of his cultural superiority. He would have been far better served offering a more accurate description of modern China while still noting the differences and challenges (less about wearing pajamas outside and more about environmental pollution). While I can't discount that the book could still improve after page 25, life is too short and my library too deep to spend any more time hoping that to be case.
June 22, 2020
I really enjoyed this account of an ABC (American born Chinese) returning to China to discover more about his family and its history. It took a while to get into it because of all the names and the very complicated relationships - but stick with it - for once I understood the broad family outline it became a fascinating and easy read, morphing from just a family history to one focussing on the author's relationship with China and his heritage.
Lots of fascinating and penetrating insights into Chinese culture and society, insights which are even more timely now - given China's increasingly belligerent posturing - than they were when this book was published. And I will never overlook or dismiss pottery or porcelain shards every again! And I also have a whole new insight into what is real or original or fake or a copy. Monty Python would have appreciated the Chinese attitude to intellectual property - and then mercilessly lampooned it!
Lots of fascinating and penetrating insights into Chinese culture and society, insights which are even more timely now - given China's increasingly belligerent posturing - than they were when this book was published. And I will never overlook or dismiss pottery or porcelain shards every again! And I also have a whole new insight into what is real or original or fake or a copy. Monty Python would have appreciated the Chinese attitude to intellectual property - and then mercilessly lampooned it!
September 26, 2018
Under the guise of hunting for his family's long-lost, and valuable porcelain collection the author takes a step back into his family history, and that of China.
Huan Hsu is an American-born Chinese who had little interest in his family history, but became preoccupied with tracking down a lost hoard of valuable imperial porcelain that his great-great-grandfather had buried when the Japanese were advancing to his village.
His research took him to China - where he struggled with the language, the people, the customs and with prying some history out of his ancient grandmother.
This not-particularly-sympathetic look at modern China, it's more recent history, and the story of it's glorious and largely lost imperial porcelain is an engaging read and sheds light on some Chinese customs (like the production of fake goods) that many of us find difficult to understand.
Worth a read.
Huan Hsu is an American-born Chinese who had little interest in his family history, but became preoccupied with tracking down a lost hoard of valuable imperial porcelain that his great-great-grandfather had buried when the Japanese were advancing to his village.
His research took him to China - where he struggled with the language, the people, the customs and with prying some history out of his ancient grandmother.
This not-particularly-sympathetic look at modern China, it's more recent history, and the story of it's glorious and largely lost imperial porcelain is an engaging read and sheds light on some Chinese customs (like the production of fake goods) that many of us find difficult to understand.
Worth a read.
June 22, 2024
Fascinating journey into the past as author Huan Hsu explores his family’s history within the context of a search for valuable porcelain pottery his family hid before fleeing approaching Japanese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Raised as an ABC (American Born Chinese), Hsu knows very little about actual Chinese life and during the time period depicted in the book he moves to China to live and and work where he learns about where his parents came from and meets many relatives for the first time.
Really well researched with a lot of interesting details about the manufacture of porcelain as well as the lives of people in China both today and as far back as over 100 years ago. I should mention that I am scarred forever by the descriptions of how the Japanese soldiers treated the Chinese during that war.
Really well researched with a lot of interesting details about the manufacture of porcelain as well as the lives of people in China both today and as far back as over 100 years ago. I should mention that I am scarred forever by the descriptions of how the Japanese soldiers treated the Chinese during that war.
April 30, 2018
an interesting book which gives a good insight into Chinese history from a personal point of view and was told in a conversational easy to read style. However this book could be very confusing with regards to who is whom as many members of his family are referred to by their familial name (akin to auntie or grandma) but not distinguished as to which auntie it is that he's talking about. Also as I've seen mentioned in reviews before the ending is quite disappointing as there is no concrete answer as to whether the family's porcelain is still there or not. A great look into history and to learn more about porcelain but is the sort of book that would benefit from you making notes while reading it.
August 23, 2023
Juan Hsu does an excellent job of conveying his desire to find his families buried porcelain on his great grandfather’s property in China. It is a long haul, and, as they say, it is all about the journey. China is a highly bureaucratic country, with everything based on saving face and not making any ripples. For this reason, not much, can be accomplished because the administrator stonewalls the person asking even the simplest of questions.
Hsu covers a fair amount of Chinese history. This is involved but interesting.
There are many family names used in this book, and I found it hard since I listen to books mostly now, to keep all of them straight. However, it was an enjoyable book, and I encourage you to give it a listen.
Hsu covers a fair amount of Chinese history. This is involved but interesting.
There are many family names used in this book, and I found it hard since I listen to books mostly now, to keep all of them straight. However, it was an enjoyable book, and I encourage you to give it a listen.
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