Chinese Mind: Understanding Traditional Chinese Beliefs and Their Influence on Contemporary Culture

by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

A fascinating examination of contemporary Chinese culture, The Chinese Mind offers an informative, accessible look at the values, attitudes and behavior patterns of modern China—and their roots in the history of this ancient nation.

This excellent overview of Chinese tradition, history and culture is perfect for the classroom, for tourists or outsiders living or doing business in China, and for inspiring discussion among readers. Covering everything from the importance of Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, to the influence of foreign fast food and video games, this book provides a wide-ranging glimpse into the seemingly opaque Chinese mind.

Genres: China, Nonfiction

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2009

About the author

Boyé Lafayette De Mente was an author, journalist, and adventurer. He wrote more than 100 books, most of them about the culture and language of Japan, East Asia, and Mexico.

De Mente joined the U.S. Navy and began his career as a cryptographer based in Washington, D.C. In 1948, he joined the U.S. Army Security Agency and was a decoding technician stationed in Tokyo. While there, he he founded and edited the agency's newspaper, The ASA Star.

De Mente wrote the first English guides to the Japanese way of doing business ("Japanese Etiquette and Ethics in Business" in 1959 and "How to Do Business in Japan" in 1962). His other books run the gamut from language learning to the night-time "pink" trades in Japan, the sensual nature of Oriental cultures, male-female relations, and understanding and coping with the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Mexican mindset in business and social situations. He has also written extensively about Mexico and his home state of Arizona.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven't been this disappointed in a book since I read Yu Dan's attempt at Confucius. I knew it was going to be light reading when I picked it up, but sometimes it's nice to whizz through a 'headline issues' book to check I am not missing anything blindingly obvious. But this was just taking the proverbial. The copy editing was bad, which was irritating, the use of pinyin systems was inconsistent, and some of the pronunciation indicators were just wrong. From the very beginning the book seemed to be very unclear whom it was for. Extremely shallow descriptions, consisting of barely two or three paragraphs, were followed by discussion questions which would require in-depth knowledge to even begin to explore properly. It would have been great to see an exploration in the book of some of these interesting questions, but there was nothing of any substance to latch on to. The questions seemed to appear out of nowhere - very provocative, but why were they there? Like me, the people who could try answering them would not find any useful reason to read this book. The last section of the book (the part I had browsed in the shop) was slightly redeeming, though only slightly. It ditched the questions format and went through some common words and concepts that shape Chinese thinking and ways of doing business. It was still not substantial, but it was at least interesting and familiar. The blurb was so promising - what a let down.

[WhuiMei Yeo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book, unlike The Japanese Mind book, does not lay out the key concepts/cornerstones of Chinese culture and give a meaty description of each. It seems to be written as a book for foreign businessmen who want something quick to tell them how to navigate certain situations when doing business in China. Disappointing. Also it was very irritating to read all the non Hanyu Pinyin words for the Chinese culture concepts. I wished the author had actually included the Chinese characters and the Hanyu Pinyin instead of trying to bastardise the words to fit some kind of non Mandarin speaker pronunciation. For goodness sake this is supposed to be a book about Chinese culture!

[Alesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I paid $30 in the Shanghai airport for this book, and finished it in just a couple of hours. It contains a lot of useful ideas. But it's a bit "fluffy", in that the author didn't take the time to provide examples of his thoughts. Yes, it's nice to learn that the Chinese view time in a circular fashion. But what does this MEAN? How does it impact everyday life, especially in business?

It felt like the author didn't really put that much effort into writing this, giving it the substance it might otherwise have had. So although I will use his ideas when giving lectures, I'll have to do further research to flesh out the ideas.

[Gillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incorrect pronounciation throughout along with multiple instances of incorrect pinyin. Xinjiang was also mispelled. Sweeping generalisations throughout and far too many comparisons with Japan when they are very very different.

[John Tipper · Rating 2 out of 5]

De Mente has composed a book on Chinese culture that reads in parts like a sociology textbook. It has questions in the first part that are supposed to trigger discussions. The work contains valuable writing on terms key to understanding the history, economics and customs of the people of the PRC. However, I found his comments on Mao to be narrow to the point of biased against the revolutionary politician. There's some good advice for Westerners here who want to do business or academic work with the Chinese. Sages like Confucius, Sun Zu, Mencius and Lao Tzu are covered briefly. De Mente says even today they are revered by many citizens. Holistic thinking (in the East) is what makes inhabitants seem hard to read and cold to the linear-thinking Westerner. Concepts such as Fong Shay and Song are discussed.

[PleaseJustLetMeRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Det her er, trods bogen kun er cirka 200 sider lang, en grundig gennemgang af det kinesiske mindset og hvordan man som vesterlænding bedst har mulighed for at gebærde sig i blandt kinesere uden at rode sig ud i flere misforståelser og fadæser end højst nødvendigt. Det er omfattende og indholdsrigt, og der er meget at lære, - det er bestemt ikke noget man lærer udenad ved første gennemlæsning (i hvert fald ikke med en regulær hukommelse), og det kræver øvelse for alvor at få det ind under huden, men det er absolut spændende at beskæftige sig med hvor forskellige vore folkefærd kan være.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part of the book is useful if you have never heard of China, don't watch the news and never used internet to research the country. It basically brings it down to this: "Chinese don't speak English, they actually have their own language and culture". The second part was more useful however I still would like more hands-on examples and deeper analysis. And hey, what's with the discussion topics at the end of each chapter?...

[Sam Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t read this unless you’re required to (like I was for a Chinese Culture class). The author is pompous and frequently espouses their opinions as if they were facts. Somehow manages to be both unfair to the West and racist to the East. The only reason it’s not getting one star is because there were a few well-written and interesting segments. I do not think the book is worth reading for them.

[Mark Havenhand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boye seems to have rushed this one off in a couple of days. Probably little that is specifically wrong but a lot of generalisations and need to read between the lines to get much useful out of it. Light reading for a long drowsy flight, not for a serious attempt to understand Chinese culture, Boye seems never to have lived in China, it shows

[Iván · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro generalista sobre China que aborda muchas realidades sociales y culturales. Interesante y fácil de leer

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a very good (although perhaps a bit dry) book to understand China. Discussion topics are a good help for developing training.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don't know anything about China this book is the perfect place to start. An introduction to the history, culture and above all the mentality of the Chinese.

[Nino · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made for easy reading and explained many traits of the Chinese character that I had observed personally. The critical questions included in each chapter helped contrast the Chinese mind with the Western way of life. For some reason however, after reading this book, I felt like getting the same story directly from a Chinese mind. The book is a success in that it made me want to know how the Chinese mind views the West.

In conclusion, this is a good place to start understanding Chinese culture, from the 'Western' reader.