A quartet of apposite reads for the lunar new year
SAM KOK Based on an adaptation by Chen Wei Dong, Translated into Thai by Suksan Vivekmetakorn Illustrated by Liang Xiao Long Thongkasem Publishing, 2011, 20 volumes. Retails for 85 baht per volume or 2,975 baht for a boxed set (reserve now at www.nanmee.com for delivery next month)
WISDOMFROMWARFARE
Want to finish Chinese epicSam Kok (SanGuoYan Yi in Chinese;TheRomance of Three Kingdoms in English) in record time? Try the latest pictorial version launched by Thongkasem, sister publishing house ofNanmee, a major importer of Chinese-language books, and calligraphic supplies.
Written by Luo Guazhong in the 14th century,SamKokisasprawling historical novel supposedly basedon archives recordedwhenChinawas undergoing a turbulent period of internal conflict.
Modern-dayreadershavefoundmany similarities with The Art ofWar, an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun-Tzu, andsomehave even praised the Machiavellian subtext of Sam Kok for teachingthemhowto perform effectively in the world of business.
This series and Xi You Ji (see separate storyon this page) shared first prize for a pictorial book in 2008 awarded by China's Ministry of Culture.
XI YOU JI (Journey to the West) Based on an adaptation by Chen Wei Dong, Translated by Sirawit Visitthavanich and Thanitta Sorasing Illustrated by Peng Chao Thongkasem Publishing, 2011, 20 volumes. Retails for 185 baht per volume or 2,975 baht for a boxed set (reserve now at www.nanmee.com for delivery next month)
INSPIRATIONALWANDERING
Inthesameleague as TheRomanceof Three Kingdoms, Xi You Ji is another literary classic.
Written during the 16th century byWu Chengen, thetome tells the story of amonk making a journey to India to bring back a copy of the Buddhistscriptures.Themonkhasmagical powers and is being constantly assailed by evil spirits, so the deities senthim a trio of special guardians-a magic monkey, magic pig and magic fish-for protection.
Xi You Ji has been adapted, time and again, into films,animatedfeaturesandevencomputer games, not to mention being the inspiration for the famous Dragon Ball cartoon.
Sib Kam Niyarm Jeen (China in Ten Words) By Yu Hua. Translated by Rampan Raksriaksorn Inspire Publishing, 2011, 248pp. Available at local bookshops for 198 baht
China's red hot economic growth over the past decade has prompted the publication of numerous books, most of them penned by foreign scholars, predominantly Western, in an attempt to demystify and critique the phenomenon that is the present-day People's Republic.
Very few books in this genre have been written by people living in China, perhaps because of the tight censorship laws there. So it was a real breath of fresh air when acclaimed Chinese writer Yu Hua _ whose novel, Huozhe (To Live), is being made into a lush film by director Zhang Yimou _ attempted to help foreigners understand his homeland.
In Sib Kam Niyarm Jeen, a non-fiction work which has been banned in China, the so-called Grand Master of Subversion summarises the land of his birth under 10 subject headings: people; leaders; reading; writing; Lu Xun (one of the most influential modern Chinese writers); disparity; revolution; grassroots; copycats; and bamboozle.
One critic noted that the book is set to become a glossary of mainland China's growing pains.
Mae Sua Sorn Louk (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) By Amy Chua. Translated into Thai by Nara Supakroj Post Books, 2011, 279pp. Available at local bookshops for 265 baht
Mother-daughter relationships have never been easy and a host of books and movies have been based on the tempestuous tussles that often result, from Amy Tan's Kleenex-squandering Joy Luck Club to Mommie Dearest, a memoir/expose by the adopted daughter of Joan Crawford about her troubled relationship with the Hollywood legend (in the film version, Crawford is wonderfully portrayed by Faye Dunaway) and the recent Oscar-winning Black Swan.
Then there's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, a phenomenally successful book that criticises the way Americans coddle their children. This quasi-memoir by Amy Chua, a law professor at Yale University, dealing with raising her two daughters in the authoritarian, coercive, traditional Chinese manner and moulding them into musical prodigies.
Ms Chua, who is also a respected writer on international trade and the effects of globalisation on the world community, is more than just a demanding mother. In her world, praise and random encouragement create a false sense of self-esteem; they are ego-inflating, to say the least. Respect must be ``earned'', she says. Modern parenting buzz words such as ``try your best'' or ``have fun'' are sugar-coated poison pills that prevent kids from attaining their full potential. When her American husband tries to encourage or boost the self-esteem of his daughters, Chua shoots back, rolling her eyes, ``Oh, no, not this: Everyone is special in their own special way. Even losers are special in their own special way.''
Or ``Nothing is fun until you are good at it.''
And here are a few things that Amy Chua would never let her daughters do: have a playdate; be in a school play; complain about not being in a school play; not being the No.1 student in every subject except gym and drama; playing any instrument other than the piano or violin.
And Tiger Mother also threw away the card her daughter made to mark her birthday, citing its low quality as the reason, and then ordered her daughter to produce a new one. Political correctness is not discussed in her den, despite the fact that Amy Chua, daughter of Filipino-Chinese immigrants, was born and raised in the American Midwest. She calls her daughter ``garbage'' in front of company and forces her three-year-old to stand outside in the cold as punishment for being below par in her piano playing.
Why has this book of tough love and semi-abusive parenting become such a phenomenon? Chua was one of Time magazine's 100 Influential Persons for the year 2011. She was lambasted as ``obsessive'', ``manoeuvring'' and a ``menace to society''. An online post criticising Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother drew 7,000 comments.
The book is in fact an account of the subtle relations that exist between a mother and her daughters and the exercise of writing it was tantamount to therapy. Chua revealed that she penned it during a crisis period when her youngest daughter was turning against her.
``This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But, instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old,'' she wrote.
``It's about believing in your child more than anyone else _ more than they believe in themselves _ and helping them realise their potential, whatever it may be.''
Noteworthy is an anecdote about Chua's mother who devoted a great deal of time bringing Chua's youngest sister, Cynthia, who has Down's syndrome, to piano and swimming classes. Cynthia went on to win two gold medals in swimming at the International Special Olympics.
The book is highly readable, and many readers boast of finishing it in a single sitting. Many pick up on Chua's self-mockery and share her happiness and triumph when Tiger Mother is eventually subdued by her rebellious cub.
Warning: This is not another manual on how to raise a child prodigy.