Help me find a specific book about Chinese culture -- don't know the title or author...

April 7, 2007 5:47 PM

Help me find a specific book about Chinese culture -- don't know the title or author...The book is supposedly quite scandalous.

A while back a read somewhere about a very contentious and devisive book criticizing various cultural aspects of China (including devotion to the past, submission to authority, etc.). It was said that to be seen reading this in public in the presence of Chinese nationals was an invitation to conflict.

At the time, I searched around a bit for a translation and found a couple of copies but the price was out of my range -- well in excess of $50.

Now I am once again interested in finding a copy (for a more reasonable price, I hope), but I can't recall the author or the title. Does anyone have an idea of what book I may be talking about?

posted by dzot to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: Was it The Ugly Chinaman and the Crisis of Chinese Culture? Never read it, but I recall some of the furore. I see it's 90 bucks on Amazon, but if that is the title the bargain hunting can begin.
A great recent(ish) book on contemporary Chinese culture was Geremie Barmé's In the Red, which will be worth your time too if you're interested.
posted by Abiezer at 10:12 PM on April 7, 2007

Here's a speech by Bo Yang, and an excerpt from his book.
posted by Abiezer at 10:16 PM on April 7, 2007

Response by poster: That's the one! Muchas gracias Abiezer!

Now if I can only find a copy for less than $90...
posted by dzot at 8:15 AM on April 8, 2007