Author Spotlight: Eileen Chang

The Battle of Love - Traditional ChineseEileen Chang was one of the most influential Chinese writers of her time, and perhaps the single most influential female Chinese writer of the 20th century. Born in Shanghai in 1920, Chang lived through the glamor of 1940s Shanghai and the tumult of the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1940s. She came from a fractured family — her parents divorced when she was 10 and she was largely raised by her opium-addicted father who was physically and emotionally abusive toward her. Later, she studied in Hong Kong and spent time living in England with her mother before permanently settling in the United States.

Eileen Chang was a notorious recluse, becoming ever more solitary as she got older. She endured two marriages and a miscarriage before passing away alone in her apartment in Los Angeles at the age of 74.

A born writer, Eileen Chang penned her first short novel at the age of 12 and never looked back. In her early 20s, an important Shanghai editor became interested in Chang’s writings and, by 1944, she was one of the most popular writers in the city. In her 30s after she’d emigrated to the U.S., Chang began to write books in English, although most of her work from that period was not appreciated until after her death. Read the rest of this entry »

Book of the Day: Origins of Chinese Art and Craft

AsiaPac's Origins of Chinese Art & CraftAsiaPac’s Origins of Chinese Art & Craft illustrated by Fu Chunjiang is a visual interpretation of the origins of Chinese arts and crafts.

The Chinese have made great contributions to world culture in fields such as the making of silk and porcelain. This book will provide the details and the many stories related to their origins.

Besides silk and porcelain, the Chinese have also excelled and have been peerless in bronzeware, paper cuts, jade carving, embroidery and face masks.

Find out these interesting details:
* The Silk Route as well as the Pottery and Porcelain Route of old China.
* The multitude of Chinese characters and idioms related to jade.
* The significance of the Qin bronze artefacts unearthed at Lingtong, Shaanxi Province.

This book will give you a quick introduction to these works of art with its vivid illustrations and accessible text and cartoons.

Book of the Day: Tsai Chih Chung’s Records of the Historian

AsiaPac's  Tsai Chih Chung Records of the HistorianAsiapac’s Records of the Historian adapted by the cartoonist Tsai Chih Chung helps Western readers to understand the history in the Warring States period in a fun and accessible way.

Records of the Historian, written by Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty, provides a realistic picture of many different historical figures and aspects of Han society. In this book, Tsai has illustrated the life and characteristics of the Four Lords of the Warring States. We also have lots of other books by Tsai Chih Chung in both English and Chinese.

Chinese bookstore has books written in both English and Chinese. Our English books enable customers who don’t read Chinese to understand more about Chinese culture and literature.

Book of the Day: Origins of Chinese Names

AsiaPac's The Origin of Chinese NamesAsiapac’s the origins of Chinese names helps Western readers to understand some of the meaning behind Chinese names.

Chinese names are rich in meaning and reflect the history, culture and aspirations of one of the world’s oldest civilisations. Such names come in many forms and while they may seem bewildering to the uninitiated, there is usually logic behind the naming process. This book aims to enlighten you on how Chinese names come about.

As you dip into the pages, you will find out the origins of 100 Chinese family names, and understand how names are chosen. It may fascinate you to know that Chinese family names have a history of five or six thousand years, whilst given names are not chosen randomly but reflect the customs and beliefs of the times.

As the book covers the entire span of recorded Chinese history from the past to the present, you will find it an eye-opener as a reference manual and a delightful source of little-known facts..

Chinese bookstore has books written in both English and Chinese. Our English books enable customers who don’t read Chinese to understand more about Chinese culture and literature.

Chinese Book of the Day: A Fox Hunts a Hunter

Jin Jin's A Fox Hunts a Hunter in Chinese characters

Jin Jin’s A Fox Hunts a Hunter is a story which is a kind of modern folk tale. It is said that in Dingtian mountain there was a wolf with three eyes, four ears and five legs. On hearing this, a cunning fox was very happy and disguised himself as that strange-looking wolf and swaggered to the young hunter’s home and extorted the shotgun from the trembling hunter and the story unfolds…. This book is a lovely book which is very portable(dimensions of 19cm x 13cm).

Chinese books has many other books written in Chinese so that you can appreciate them in the original language in which they were written.

Chinese book of the Day: Confucius by Kong Xuelin

Confucius by Kong Xuelin in English

Chen Li’s Kong Xuelin’s Confucius is a great English book which provides both an interesting biography of Confucius’s life as well as an examination of the work and famous of saying of Confucius(such as Lunyu / The Analects). Kong Xuelin is a direct descendant of Confucius so he is best placed to write this book.

Chinese bookstore has many other books written about China in English so that you can learn more about Chinese culture. We also have lots of books in Chinese and for people learning Chinese.

Chinese Book of the Day: The Remote Head of the Yellow River

Chen Li's The Remote Head of the Yellow River in Chinese characters

Chen Li’s The Remote Head of the Yellow River is the story of an island boy looking for his father who was measuring the icy Yellow River. This book is a lovely book which is very portable(dimensions of 19cm x 13cm). Some of the other books written by Chen Li include: Three Gold Bricks, Mansul and Fadilah and the Magic Men.

Chinese books has many other books written in Chinese so that you can appreciate them in the original language in which they were written.

Chinese Book of the Day: Twilight Breaking Dawn

Twilight Breaking Dawn in Chinese

This is a four volume version of Twilight Breaking Dawn in Chinese characters. Breaking Dawn is the fourth book in Stefenie Meyer’s very popular series. Breaking Dawn was released in 2008 and has sold millions of copies worldwide. Divided into three parts, the first and third sections of Breaking Dawn are written from Bella’s perspective and the second is written from the perspective of Jacob.

The movie of Twilight Breaking Dawn will be released in two parts; the first part to be released in November 2011 and the second part to be released in November 2012. Before Twilight Breaking Dawn is released theatrically, why not re-read it in Chinese?

Chinese Bookstore has an vast range of books in Chinese; both fiction and non-fiction and has books from the wonderful Twilight Series in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters. Simplified Chinese characters are used in China and most overseas learners of Chinese use them. Traditional (Fanti) characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.