Christopher > Recent Status Updates

This begins around 1600 while Mote ends at 1800. Hopefully it'll be a good continuation now that I'm near the end of Imperial China: 900-1800.

Terrific.

The translation feels a little bland

I am greatly enjoying the descriptions of old Japanese novels from 200 years ago. I've found it incredibly difficult to learn of such books in English given the Western obsession with denying agency to other peoples and thus only treating that which is influenced by Western models as respectable. However, it does seem quite confused at times.

This might be up there with Nishan Saman as one of the greatest folk epics I've ever read.

As was the case with The Brigands' Song, most of these 658 pages are of almost no interest to somebody who isn't a specialist. However, the introduction is quite fascinating and it's giving me high hopes for the translation of the actual text.

Feels a lot less busy than the first book, yet it's even longer. Not much seems to be happening.

I'm really hoping the next half brings this up from 2 to 3 stars. It's pretty bad.

Finally beginning on the Qing. This last chapter greatly expanded my understanding of 雪妃娘娘和包鲁嘎汗 I've been reading, but which unfortunately isn't on Goodreads, dealing with the rise of the Manchu under Nurhaci. Might need to find a book specifically on that topic now, it is incredibly interesting.

A beautiful, detailed account of an almost unknown part of the world. Good history.

This shouldn't be called a history of India, but a history of the marginalized in India. Written with an obsession to tell the story of the marginalized, she gives incredibly unjust weight to certain rather insignificant pieces of history while totally ignoring so many vital people and events. She questions the truth of accounts that cast doubt on tolerance in history while always accepting the opposite. Bad history.