Oct 26 2011
This week Pejman and I spoke with Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules – For Now, about how geography helps significantly shape destiny, how it explains the rise of the China, and the possibility that it may overtake the West. Listen below.
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Oct 25 2011
If you feel sorry for yourself, read this book. If you think American politics are bad, read this book. If you need some inspiration for your faith, read this book.
What book? you ask. God Is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China
When journalist Liao Yiwu first stumbled upon a vibrant Christian community in the officially secular China, he knew little about Christianity. In fact, he’d been taught that religion was evil, and that those who believed in it were deluded, cultists, or imperialist spies. But as a writer whose work has been banned in China and has even landed him in jail, Liao felt a kinship with Chinese Christians in their unwavering commitment to the freedom of expression and to finding meaning in a tumultuous society.
Unwilling to let his nation lose memory of its past or deny its present, Liao set out to document the untold stories of brave believers whose totalitarian government could not break their faith in God, including:
- The over-100-year-old nun who persevered in spite of beatings, famine, and decades of physical labor, and still fights for the rightful return of church land seized by the government
- The surgeon who gave up a lucrative Communist hospital administrator position to treat villagers for free in the remote, mountainous regions of southwestern China
- The Protestant minister, now memorialized in London’s Westminster Abbey, who was executed during the Cultural Revolution as “an incorrigible counterrevolutionary”
This ultimately triumphant tale of a vibrant church thriving against all odds serves as both a powerful conversation about politics and spirituality and a moving tribute to China’s valiant shepherds of faith, who prove that a totalitarian government cannot control what is in people’s hearts.
Liao Yiwu mostly lets the people he interviews speak for themselves (but offering some rather poetic introductions and descriptions along the way) in this fascinating look at the people who gave everything they had to help grow the Christian church in China. As a result, he book reads more like a journal or series of vignettes than a stand alone book – it really is a collection of interviews – but because the underlying stories are so powerful this style and structure is easily overcome. And it’s simplicity and straightforward witness adds to its power. Yiwu focuses mostly on rural areas and the villages that embraced the Christian faith in the early part of the Twentieth Century only to have the horrors of communism and the Cultural Revolution bring suffering and persecution in ways that are almost impossible for Westerners to imagine.
Keep Reading
Feb 25 2009
Sometimes books I read or receive just get lost in the hustle and bustle of life. I am sure this never happens to you, but sometimes I just am not that organized. But I am trying this year to improve catch myself when books get lost.
One such book is Best-Loved Chinese Proverbs by Theodora Lau. Here is the publiser blurb:
“By filling one’s head instead of one’s pocket, one cannot be robbed.”
The appeal of Chinese proverbs is profound and universal. With brevity, clarity, and simplicity, these carefully chosen words help pass wisdom and insight throughout the ages. This timeless, eloquent collection of proverbs offers fundamental truths about the natural world and the human condition, on subjects such as:
Ability • Adversity • Beauty • Chracter • Conflict
Cooperation • Deception • Defeat • Fortune • Greed • Happiness
Honor • Inspiration • Knowledge • Leadership • Love
Moderation • Necessity • Neighbors • Obstinacy • Opportunity
Perseverance • Pride • Sincerity • Strategy • Success
Thought • Trust • Victory • Wisdom • And More
And really there is not much else to add to that. If you have an interest in China or just enjoy Chinese Proverbs (or pithy insights in general) then this is the kind of book you will want.
It is attractively designed – including traditional calligraphy with a pronunciation key – and laid out by subject as noted above. It is a handy book to have on the coffee table or to dip into when the mood strikes. It is also handy if you are looking for a particularly apt quote to use to introduce a subject; a creative twist on quotable quotes.
Here are a couple of my favorites so far:
Do you have a favorite saying or proverb? If so leave in the comments. If not, check out this handy collection. Who knows you might learn something . . .
