A Village with My Name Quotes

“You only have to look at the Chinese language today to understand how many modern ideas came via Japan. A remarkable number of words in Mandarin have been imported from Japan: Independence (duli). Women's rights (nvquan). Gender equality (nannv pingdeng). Science (kexue). Industry (gongye). Atom (yuanzi). International (guoji). History (lishi). Market (shichang). Invest (touzi). Economics (jinji). Society (shehui). Telephone (dianhua). The list goes on.”
― Scott Tong, A Village with My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World

“: Every single thing must be moved by something else, but at some point there had to be an original First Mover, or God). Every migration story starts with person one leaving a place for another place. That person in the village was Great-Grandfather Tong Zhenyong.”
― Scott Tong, A Village with My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World

“Consider these numbers from noted British economic historian Angus Maddison: In the fourteenth century, the typical Chinese person made a tad bit more than his or her Western European counterpart—annual income per person totaled $600 in China, compared with $560 in Europe. But then Europe grew and China stood still. China’s income fell to two-thirds of the European standard by 1700, and then it cratered. By 1900, the median Chinese person earned $545 annually—in dollar terms, almost unchanged from six centuries prior—compared with $3,000 in Germany and more than $4,000 in England and the United States. Industrialization and its benefits were passing China by.”
― Scott Tong, A Village with My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World

“I’ve lived in greater China off and on for more than a dozen years. I have taken years of Mandarin lessons. I can recite a Tang dynasty poem. Occasionally I drink bubble tea. But my understanding of China ends at bu tai qing chu. In a literal sense, the phrase does mean “not very clear.” But it has a linguistic flexibility. Each time I grasp a new context for bu tai qing chu, it turns up in a new way. It means at least these things: I can’t help you. I will not help you. I don’t want to tell you. I’ll get in trouble. You don’t deserve to know. I’m moving on now.”
― Scott Tong, A Village with My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World

“eosfans@hotmail.com”
― Scott Tong, A Village with My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World