Seannea

Seannea asked Lisa See:

How much do you know about Chinese dialects? If I learn one dialect such as Mandarin will I be able to understand people of other dialects. I heard various things about dialects online but it's confusing.

Lisa See I grew up in a Cantonese-speaking family, specifically the Sze Yup dialect. I studied Mandarin for four years and I got pretty good, but the minute I stopped studying it went right out of my head. I can understand a fair amount, but I can’t have much of a conversation anymore. But there are more English speakers in China than there are altogether in the United States! It’s not hard to get by in a big city. When I go to the countryside, I always hire someone who speaks that particular dialect. (Remember, there are a lot of dialects in China. In Guangdong province alone there are 1,200 dialects.) All the Mandarin or Cantonese in the world wouldn’t have helped me very much in Jiangyong County in Hunan province (where I did research for "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan"), where even today the dialect changes from village to village. I could understand some of what was said, but not everything. I hope this helps!

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Robin Watson

Robin Watson asked Lisa See:

I so enjoy your books! I want to go to China and see what you write about! There is a local church that goes on a yearly basis, to establish a relationship with the Chinese people. I've been unable to go...My dream! Where do you suggest a person go to see the China you remember or write of?

Bkwmlee

Bkwmlee asked Lisa See:

Hi Lisa! I just wanted to say thank you for writing "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane." It's one of my favorite books -- the ending was absolutely beautiful and made me cry. As a Chinese-American myself, Li-yan's story really touched me on a personal level and made me think about my relationship with my family. Oh, I also have a fondness for tea, so that part was fascinating! Lee L. from So Cal :-) (had to add ?)

Kung Tsu

Kung Tsu asked Lisa See:

Hi Lisa, I've been fan since Gold Mountain and that is my favorite book! I've been living in south China for the past five years as an American born Chinese. I like your impression and opinion of the Chinese people today of how their social behavior within all different economic groups from poor to rich from family values, foreign influences, and is the "social" gap widening between men and women of this country? ty!

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