Thinking through China

In this innovative book Jerusha McCormack and John G. Blair introduce China on its own terms. By explaining ten key concepts that frame the way most Chinese people think about the world, they compare these terms – which don’t translate readily into English – with the ways most of us, as Westerners, think. The book then poses four questions that Westerners routinely ask about China. But rather than answer with Western assumptions, the authors respond using these ten Chinese key words. Not surprisingly, the answers differ in startling ways from standard Western responses.

This intensive bridging work allows those without deep knowledge of China to understand the very different perspectives to be gained by looking at the world through Chinese eyes. As each of the ten words maps out new territory, the premises of a very dissimilar – but equally coherent – world view gradually emerge. Creating a cultural cartography through both text and image, the authors provide readers with a vivid sense of what is uniquely Chinese about China.

Jerusha McCormack is professor emeritus of English and American literature atUniversity College, Dublin.
John G. Blair is professor emeritus of American literature and civilization at the University of Geneva. For more than a decade, they have been teaching as Foreign Experts in the School of English and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.