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My father and I decided to write this book after a
dear family friend took his first trip to China.
When he returned, he said he’d had a wonderful time
except he wished on his tour that they hadn’t served
Peking Duck at every meal. *I never want to see
another Peking Duck as long as I live,* the man
proclaimed. We immediately felt guilty, because had
we known, we could have given him advice on how to
politely speak with his tour group and hosts to
ensure that the menu was more varied.
We later were invited to speak at a conference on
transnational adoption. I was surprised to hear one
mother say how she felt great anxiety that she would
not be able to help her adopted daughter keep in
touch with her Chinese roots because she herself
knew very little about China. She said she’d started
reading novels and renting DVDs about China but had
no way of knowing what was historically accurate or
simply artistic license. As a working mother, she
di dn’t have the time to take a full course of
studies on China, so she was trying to piece
together an education for herself in her spare
moments. Still, she admitted, she worried she wasn’t
doing enough.
We realized then there was a need for a book
that would provide basic information about
Chinese culture, history and etiquette that
would be easy to use and give readers a basic
foundation to help them understand China.
My father has taught about China for more than
45 years and is a frequent lecturer in China. I
myself have taught for ten years and lived and
worked in China, where I travel frequently.
My father’s background as an immigrant from
China to America, a male, and political
scientist as well as translator of the Confucian
classics affords him a different perspective
from mine as an American woman and younger
member of an extended Chinese family, a creative
writer who has studied Chinese history and
literature in America and China, and someone who
has worked in China. We decided this dual way of
experiencing China--dependent upon gender, age
and background--worked to our advantage as
writers. Together we could provide a more
diverse perspective than either of us could have
done alone.
In addition, we both love Chinese culture and
wanted to share that love with our readers.
Thus China A to Z was born.
-May-lee Chai
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