China Smart: What You Don’t Know, What You Need to Know― A Past & Present Guide to History, Culture, Society, Language

by Larry Herzberg

How is China organized politically? What are the issues that young people face in today's China? What is China doing about its problem with pollution? Is the Chinese internet like our internet? What's China's role in the world today? And how much do you know about China's great woman emperor or the Chinese explorer whose voyages may have inspired the legend of Sinbad the Sailor? What are the major Chinese holidays, their superstitions regarding numbers, and the true nature of the Chinese written language? In nearly 60 brief essays, long-time China expert Larry Herzberg tackles important facts and myths about China, its history, people, and culture, as well as its contemporary society. Anyone dipping into this book will emerge that much smarter about China, whether visiting, conducting business, studying the language, or simply being fascinated by one of the world's greatest and most influential civilizations.

Genres: China, History

248 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2019

About the author

Larry Herzberg studied Chinese for five years at Vanderbilt University before doing his Master's and Ph.D. work in Chinese Language and Literature at Indiana University. In 1980 he founded the Chinese Language Program at Albion College and then did the same at Calvin College in 1984. For the past three decades he has taught the Chinese language at the college level.

Reviews

[Esther Bos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the main text for an adult education class on China, led by the author, Larry Herzberg.

The 59 chapters are brief and very readable, and the book is a good beginning guide to what you might want to know as a beginner in learning about China. From the history and ancient culture of China to the present day customs, politics, and current events, Herzberg presents a treasury of facts and bursts dozens of preconceptions the reader may have.

I gained a lot of knowledge from reading this, and intend to follow up with more reading to learn more about China.

[Roger Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating essays about China. I was biased against China because of its human rights abuses and thought I'd never want to visit. These even-handed but truthful essays make me appreciate it as an enduring civilization and appreciate that complexities and contradictions of life there. I'd like to visit now. Each essy self-contained, so that it defines things without your having had to read earlier essays to understand what it's referring to. You can read them in any order. I found this book while browsing at Lincoln Square Books in Chicago. Travel guides are good but they can't give you a sense of the connections among a country's history, culture, current issues, and relation to its region and the rest of the world.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Reinis Simanovskis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book. I always felt like I know too little about China, this book gives a good general info about everything so I can dig deeper in the topics that interest me more.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read and we'll organized with a lot of good information, BUT I can't recommend it - it's pro-Bejing, overly biased towards the CCP, and, because of this, doesn't present an accurate picture of modern China or the events 20th century.