Status Updates From Mr Ma and Son

Oh I do love Mr Ma, he is a ridiculous sort but really quite adorable!

The more things change the more they stay the same, the character traits of Chinese and British people seem to still stand up nowadays. Lao She had a knack for noticing the negatives of both cultures but still making light of them! Though he may be disappointed in the way things haven't changed.

The characters flip flop on whether or not they are racist against Chinese people. It changes from morning to night.

Been reading it all evening and really finding the dialogue and observations quite witty. Until the last chapter when the author pontificates very obviously in the voice of a character about his perceived flaws about China and England of the time. It seems quite jarring as it comes at a right angle to the rest of the story.

Wow can some people be prejudiced or what? I do think there is still a tendency in some to think of people not of your race as somehow inferior. I have witnessed it many times living here in China happening both ways. But nothing compared to how some of these characters are treated!

Also, a very witty book so far!

This should be recommended reading for anybody coming to live and work in China.

"Yes, the character he'd written meant 'beautiful', but when Mrs. Wedderburn had embroidered it, she'd done it upside down, and the 'beautiful' now looked like the three characters 'big', 'king' and 'eight' - the 'big' standing in its head - which together mean 'big bastard'. [Mr. Ma] burst out laughing. "

Reading this and seeing how similar an experience they are having in London as I have had in Beijing is interesting. Like being stared at, registering at the police station... I'm sure I'll find more similarities the more I read.

"If one knows in one's heart something to be good or not, then that is quite sufficient! What's the point in saying it out loud? "

Aw man they're gonna use the old Wade-Giles romanisation for Chinese names. So I'm gonna stare at a name like Li Tzu-Jung and wonder what it would be in the modern Pinyin.

First time in a while reading a real book, instead of an ebook. Tally ho! #2017 #newyear#newme