*Compiled by UVM Asian Studies Outreach Particpant*s
CHINA
RESOURCES
JAPAN RESOURCES
Fiction Books Nonfiction Books Kits Videos and Slides Internet Resources
K-12
CHINA RESOURCE LIST- *These
are resources suggested by Vermont teachers. Click on the teacher's initials
for
information about who to contact about this resource*
Level: K-6
A Grain
of Rice, Helena
Claire Pittman. A peasant wished to marry the emperor's daughter,
makes a deal
with the emperor to get one grain of rice doubled for 100 days. Fun
math links
too! Recommended
for grade 4. (SW)
Adventures
of the Monkey King, Cheng-En Wu
Victory Press,
ISBN 0962076511
Magical Monkey
King can change into any shape he wants. He has a magic rod which he stores
in his ear.
Piggy has a 9-pronged hoe that can kill anyone, and an insatiable appetite.
Monk Tang
is kind and
honest. All three go on a journey together. This is a lighthearted telling
of the true story
of the Chinese
pilgrim, Tang Xuan Zang, who is often credited with bringing Buddhism to
China
from India.
(PB)
At the
Beach, Huy
Voun Lee. An introduction to 10 Chinese characters and their Mandarin
pronunciation
by a mother teaching her children language with picture drawings in the
sand.
Activity:
After reading the story, have children make their own picture drawings
with sand,
glitter, and
glue.(TT)
Beautiful
Warrior, The Legend of the Nun's Kung Fu, Emily Arnold McCully.
A folktale
that tells
the story of two unlikely kung fu masters and how their skill in martial
arts saves them
both.
(KA)
Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, Ed Young
Henry Holt & Co., ISBN 080502977X
Cat and Rat are best friends until the emperor holds a race to determine
which 12 animals will
have a year named after them in the Chinese calendar. Rat tricks Cat
to win but loses his friend.
Author’s note comments on the 12 traditional signs, lists the birth
years, and gives personality
traits of each. (PB)
Celebrating
Chinese New Year, Diane Goldsmith-Hoyt. Holiday customs.
This story depicts a
San Francisco
boy and his family preparing for and enjoying their celebration of the
Chinese New
Year, their
most important holiday. (KA)
Chang's
Paper Pony,
Eleanor Coerr. Chang and Grandfather come from China to
California
during the gold rush. An "I Can Read" book for grades 1-3.(SW)
Chinese,
Jodine Mayberry. This book tells the story of Chinese immigrants
from 1849
(The Era of
Laborers) to the present (Era of Asian Refugees). History, culture,
famous people,
and recipes.
Activity:
Collect menus from Chinese restaurants. Pick a dish that you would
like
and practice
the Chinese characters that name that dish. Make a poster of the
class's favorite
dish.(TT)
Chinese
Mother Goose Rhymes, Robert Wyndham, Ed Young (illus.). This
very visual book
is recommended
for grades 1-4. (SW)
Chinese
Tale Series:
Removing
the Mountains, adapted
by Feng Jiannan
Chang's
Flying to the Moon, adapted by Feng Jiannan.
Hou
Yi Shoots the Suns, adapted by Feng Jiannan.
Jingwei
Filling the Sea, adapted by Feng Jiannan
Shen
Nong's Miracle Herbs, adapted by Feng Jiannan.
Da
Yu Controlling the Floods, adapted by Feng Jiannan.
The
Golden Touch, adapted by Wang Hui.
The
Wolf is Coming, Yong An.
Lord Bao Interrogates the Stone, Dolphin Books, Beijing 1996.
The
Little Rabbits and the Gray Wolf, by Jiang Cheg'an. (KA)
City
Within A City: How Kids Live in New York's Chinatown, Kathleen
Krull, illustrated
by David Hautzig.
Two twelve year olds talk about their everyday lives, their responsibilities,
and
hopes for
the future as they live in two worlds; the world of their non-English speaking
parents and
that of their
American peers. Activity: Get a Chinese newspaper that would
report life in a Chinese neighborhood, anywhere in America, from a kid's
point of view.(TT)
Crow
Boy, Taro Yashima. Open your eyes and see. Open your
ears and hear. Open your heart
and know.
A perennial favorite story of growing up wiser and kinder. Activity:
Chibi delighted
everyone with
his drawings. Look out your window and really see what is out there.
Draw this
with the window
as a frame around your picture.(TT)
Dragonwings,
Lawrence
Yep. The story of a young Chinese boy who travels to America to begin
a new life
with his father. We see America through the eyes of a young immigrant
and learn a great
deal about
Chinese Americans in the process. This is a Newberry Honor book for
older readers.
Activity:
Dragonwings is a historical fantasy about a Chinese flier living in California,
who dreamed
about building
and flying a biplane. Research early flying machines on a computer
and/or print
resources
that you have at your disposal. Create an illustration of what the
Dragonwings plane of the
book's title
might have looked like.(TT)
Everybody
Cooks Rice, Dooley, Nora. Carolrhoda, 1991.
A Child is
introduced to a variety of cultures by seeing how rice is prepared in different
households.
Activity:
Cook rice and eat using chopsticks. BB EN
Eyes of the Dragon, Margaret Leaf. A folktale. (KA)
First
Apple, Ching
Yeung Russell. Nine year old Ying has never tasted an apple. She plans
to taste
as well as
share with 71 year old grandfather as a special birthday gift. Wonderful
details of home
and school
life and friendships. Recommended for grades 3-6. (SW)
Five Heavenly Emperors: Chinese Myths of Creation, Song
Nan Zhang
Tundra Books, ISBN 0887763383
13 brief stories, beautifully illustrated, that explain how the universe,
with its five empires, came into
being; how humans were created; how they learned to build houses, control
fire and grow good; and
how a record keeping god invented writing. (PB)
Good
Luck Gold and Other Poems,collected by Janet S. Wong. A poignant
collection of poems
about young
Asian Americans for young readers. Activity: Read aloud
several poems from this
collection.
Compare with examples of traditional haiku poetry. Write your own
poems expressing
feelings that
recent immigrant children might have, such as loneliness, shyness, confusion,
fear, joy,
happiness,
etc.(TT)
Grandfather
Tang's Story, Ann
Tompert. This story contains many geometric concepts and
integrates
well with math and cultures as well. (SC)
Happy
New Year Kung-hsita ts'ai,by Demi. This is a great book to introduce
students to the
Chinese New
Year. (SC)
How the rooster Got His Crown: A Chinese Folktale, Amy
Lowry Poole
Holiday House, ISBN 0823413896
This is a retelling of the Miao folktale. There were 6 suns in the
sky, which caused a drought. The
emperor ordered an archer to shoot them out of the sky. The first five
are shot down; the sixth fled
into a cave. But soon the people were worried because without the sun,
how could their crops grow?
A humble animal helps them solve their problem. (PB)
Homesick;
My Own Story, Jean Fritz.
Putnam, ISBN
0399209336
This is the
author’s story of growing up in China in the 1920’s and longing, more than
anything, to
be an American
girl. Fritz lived in China till she was 12. The book tells of her warm
relationship with
her amah,
life in the city, the death of her baby sister, and the beginning of the
Communist movement.
The author
provides a lively and perceptive account of growing up in China.(PB)
In the Court of the Jade Emperor: Stories From Old China, Rosalind
Kerven
Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521435382
A collection of 16 folktales, myths and legends featuring the adventures
of the wily Monkey King,
enchanted dragons. Gives a fascinating look at the values represented
in these stories. (PB)
In the
Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson,
Bette
Bao Lord. Shirley moves from China to
Brooklyn with
her parents in the 1950's. She learns baseball and American customs
and meets
Jackie Robinson,
her radio hero from the Dodgers baseball team. Recommended for grade
4. (SW)
Jade Stone: A Chinese Folktale, Caryn Yacowitz, Ju-Hong
Chen, ill.
Holiday House, ISBN 0823409198
The carver Chan Lo is given a perfect piece of jade by the emperor.
The emperor commands him
to carve a “dragon of wind and fire”. But Chan Lo can only carve what
he hears in the stone. He
works for a year and a day – and then brings his creation, 3 carp,
to the emperor. The emperor
– instead of immediately punishing him – lets his dreams decide, and
his dreams show him a master
carver. (PB)
Lao Lao
of Dragon Mountain,
Margaret
Bateson-Hill. This dragon story includes paper cutting
samples and
Chinese text. Recommended for grades 1-3.(JK)
Liang and the Magic Paintbrush, Demi. A Chinese folktale.(KA)
Ling-Li
and the Phoenix Fairy: A Chinese Folktale, retold by Ellin
Greene, illustrated by
Zong-Zhou
Wang. Poor, but resourceful, Ling-Li makes her own wedding robe only
to have it
whisked away
by a flock of magpies, when the rich, haughty Golden Flower tries to steal
the robe.
Ling-Li meets
the Phoenix Fairy who returns the robe to Ling-Li before it is seized again.
A
Chinese flocculate
with a unique ending.
Activity: Mythological birds, such as the
fire bird and
phoenix are
often important components of legends and fire birds. Locate pictures
of them and
compare their
appearance with the story's country of origin. Example: Compare
the Russian
firebird with
the Chinese as they appear in story illustrations. This is a challenging
research project
for advanced
or accelerated students. Results of their research, compiled into
a book, would make
a valuable
future reference for the classroom library.(TT)
Lion
Dancer: Ernie Wan's Chinese New Year,
Kate
Waters and Madeline Slovenz-Low. The
reader learns
the details and old beliefs associated with the Chinese New Year celebration
as the
narrator performs
the lion dance in New York's New Year parade in Chinatown. Activity:
Incorporate
this story into a Language Arts lesson. Make a simple lion masks
using paper plates,
markers, and
crepe or construction paper. Attach wooden craft sticks to the bottom
of the masks
so they can
be held in front of the face or used as puppets. Dramatize stories,
perform a poem or
play written
by the students. The Happy Lion by Fatio, Dandelion by Freeman, The
Lion and the
Rat by La
Fontaine, and The Lion and the Mouse by Aesop, are possibilities.
Your class could
also perform
the lion dance.(TT)
Lon Po-Po,
A Red Riding Hood Story from China,
Ed
Young. This book is a Chinese version
of Granny
and the Wolf. One teacher says, "My students re-read this over and
over." Recommended
for grades
3-5. (SW)
Luminous Pearl: A Chinese Folktale, Carol Inoyue
Orchard Books, ISBN 0531084906
The Dragon King’s daughter, Princess Mai Li, rejects her father’s choice
for a husband, saying she
only wants a man who is honest and brave. A test is set – whoever brings
back a luminous pearl that
shines in the night may marry the princess. Two brothers, Wa Jing and
We Ling, try to find the pearl.
We Ling, deceitful, finds the pearl, while Wa Jing helps people in
a flooded village. They give him the
dull black pearl for thanks. In the end, only one pearl shines in the
night. (PB)
Ming
Lo Moves the Mountain,Arnold Lobel. A literary folktale set
in China for young readers
about solving
the problem of moving a mountain away from a house. Activity:
Illustrate this story by
making torn
paper collages of the house, the mountain, the husband, and wife.
Even very young children
can do this
activity. Recommended for grades 2-4.(TT)
Mei Li,
Thomas
Handforth. After spending an eventful day at the fair held on New
Year's Eve,
Mei Li arrives
home just in time to greet the Kitchen God *a Caldecott winner (KA)
Mei-Mei
Loves the Morning, Margaret Holloway Tsubakiyama
Albert Whitman
& Co., ISBN 0807550396
Interesting
picture book about contemporary urban China. The story follows Mei-Mei
as she spends
a typical
morning with her grandfather – eating breakfast, going for a bike ride
in the park, then
returning
home. (PB)
Moon
Lady,Amy Tan, Gretchen Shields, ill.
Aladdin Paperbacks,
ISBN 0689806167
Three sisters
on a rainy afternoon listen to their grandmother, Ying-Ying, tell of the
time she was
7 years old.
On the night of the Moon Festival, she met the Moon Lady herself, who grants
the
secret wishes
of those who have the courage to ask. She learns that the best wishes are
those you
can make come
true yourself. (PB)
Shen
of the Sea, Chinese Stories for Children, Arthur Chrisman.
A selection of 16 short
Chinese stories
accompanied by many illustrations.(KA)
Tales From Within the Clouds: Nakhi Stories of China, Carolyn
Han
University of Hawaii Press
South of the clouds, in the land of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain,
live the descendants of the
Nakhi. In ancient times, family names were passed from mother to child,
there were no marriages,
and women alone raised the children. The legends here introduce a fantastic
cast of female
characters. One story tells of why the Sun, hot-tempered and impetuous,
is unpleasant to look at,
and why the Moon attracts viewers with her silvery light. Another tells
of why the goat complains
and her sister, the sheep, only says “baa baaa.” 10 stories.
PB
The Abacus
Contest: Stories From Taiwan and China by Priscilla Wu, Xiao-Jun
Li (ill.)
Fulcrum Pub.,
ISBN 1555912435
6 stories
connected by common setting and characters, all take place in a small manufacturing
city
in southern
Taiwan. Each story centers on one child in the same class, and each provides
information
about the
culture as well as making a moral point. (PB)
The Beggar’s
Magic: A Chinese Tale, Margaret Chang, Raymond Chang, David Johnson
(ill.)
Margaret McElderry
Books, ISBN 0689813406
This is a
retelling of an ancient Chinese tale about selfishness and sharing. Fu
Nan befriends an old
beggar. The
boy and his friends are fascinated by the old man, whose cheer and care
for all creatures
impress them
as much as the magic he works. Callous Farmer Wu doesn’t look beyond the
beggar’s
appearance
until his is forced to. (PB)
The Boy
Who Swallowed Snakes,Laurence Yep, illustrated by Jean &Mou-Sien
Tseng. Little
Chou discovers
a poisonous snake in a basket of silver coins. He bravely swallows
the snake to
prevent evil
from spreading. Unexpected good fortune awaits! Activity:
What snakes live near
you?
Write a report about them. Draw pictures of the snakes and make a
snake poster, with the
information
included on the poster.(TT)
The Chinese-American
Experience, Dana Ying-Hui Wu and Jeffrey Dao-Sheng Tung.
A book
that traces
the history of Chinese immigration to the United States along with a discussion
of why the
emigrated,
their problems in a new land, and their contributions American culture.
Older readers and
adults will
find this book a helpful aid to understanding the Chinese immigrant experience.
Bibliographic references and index are included.
Activity: Compare
the history of Chinese immigration to the United
States with
the history of any other ethnic group. Students may want to use their
own ethnic backgrounds
as a basis
for comparison.(TT)
The Chinese
American Family Album, Dorothy
and Thomas Hoobler. A fascinating portrayal
of Chinese
Immigration to the United States. This book is good for older students.
Activity:
Collect
photographs
of older members of your family. Put captions under the picture telling
who they are,
where they
grew up and other historical information about their lives.(TT)
The Chinese
Siamese, Amy Tan. Sagwa, a naughty little kitten, accidentally
changes the Magistrate's
written rules
with her tail and some ink. Fabulous illustrations! Recommended for
grades 2-5. (SW)
The Chinese
Mirror, Mirra
Ginsbury. This story is adapted from a Korean folktale. Recommended
for grades
1-2. (KS)
The Cricket’s Cage: A Chinese Folktale, Stefan Czemecki,
Simon Ching, ill.
Hyperion, ISBN 00786802960
During the Ming Dynasty, and emperor named Yongle demands the construction
of 4 watchtowers,
one for each corner of the wale around the Forbidden City. The Master
Builder, about to lose his life
because his designs do not please the emperor, gets some help from
a cricket for whom he builds a
new cage. The emperor thinks he cricket’s cage is the new watchtower
design. (PB)
The Dragon Kite, Nancy Luenn. A folktale. (KA)
The Dragon's
Pearl, Julie Lawson. During a drought, a son finds a magic
pearl which forever
changes his
life. (KA)
The Dragon's
Robe, Deborah Lattimore. A young weaver in the 12th century
China saves her
people from
drought and foreigh invasion by weaving the imperial dragon's robe. (KA)
The Emperor and the Kite, Jane Yolen. A folktale. (KA)
The Fourth
Question, A Chinese Tale Retold, Rosaling C. Wang, illustrated
by Ju-Hong Chen.
Yee-Lee travels
to Kun-lun Mountain to ask the WIse Man why he is still poor even though
he has
worked very
hard. The story shows that thinking of others reveals the answer
to our own unasked
questions.
Activity:
Make up math problems using numbers from the story. For example:
There
were 12 pots
of gold, and 12 pots of silver. How many pots are there in all?
The dragon was
1,000 years
old. How many 10's are there in 1,000? How many 100's?
How many 10's? How
many 5's?
How many 2's? Use a calculator if needed.(TT)
The Funny
Little Woman, retold
by Arlene Mosel, illustrated by Blair Lent. Based on the tale by
Lafcadio Hearn,
this story tells how a simple meal of rice dumplings turns into a rich
adventure for the
funny and
clever little woman.
Activity: What is your favorite meal?
Write down the recipe. Be
sure to include
all the ingredients and how much you need of each one. Collect one
of these recipes
from each
of your classmates. Put them together and publish a class cookbook
full of your favorite
dishes! (TT)
The Hunter: A Chinese Folktale, Mary Casanova, Ed Young
(ill.)
Atheneum, ISBN 068982906X
Hai Li Bu, a hunter, is granted the power to understand the language
of animals, but he can’t reveal
it is the gift of the Dragon King. When he hears the animals talk of
a coming flood, the tries to warn
the villagers, who don’t believe him. To make them believe, he tells
the story of his gift, but is turned
to stone as a penalty. (PB)
The Imp
That Ate My Homework, Laurence Yep. Jim teams up with his
grandfather, who is
known as the
meanest man in Chinatown, to defeat the powerful demon.(KA)
The Jade Stone, Caryn Yacowitz. A folktale.(KA)
The Junior Thunder Lord, Laurence Yep, Robert Van Nutt,
ill.
Bridgewater Books, ISBN 0816734550
Yue helps Beat Face, a poor, awkward stranger. Bear Face follows Yue
everywhere, eventually
saving his life. Bear Face turns out to be a Junior Thunder Lord in
disguise, who helps Yue in time
of drought.
The Khan’s Daughter: A Mongolian Folktale, Laurence Yep
Scholastic Trade, ISBN 0590483897
The story of Mongke, a young shepherd, who believes his destiny includes
marriage to the khan’s
daughter and the ability to master any challenge. He beats some tremendous
opponents, (the magical
three tasks), but the greatest challenge is the khan’s daughter, Borte.
(PB)
The Laziest
Boy in the World, by Lensey Namioka. When Ziaolong devises
a way to capture
the thief
who breaks into his family's home, all the people in the Chinese village
change their minds
about the
"lazy" boy. (KA)
The Legend of the Panda, Linda Greenfield, Song Nan Zhang,
ill.
Tundra Pub., ISBN 0887764215
This is a retelling. Dolma, a shepherdess in the mountains, befriends
a white panda cub. When a snow
leopard attacks the cub, Dolma gives her life to save it. Mourning
her death, the pandas smear their
eyes with ashes. (PB)
The Lost
Garden, Laurence
Yep. This fictional story traces the author's life as a Chinese-American
boy growing
up in San Francisco to adulthood. This book contains black and white
photographs.
An inspiring
autobiography for middle and upper grades. Activity:
Create a "lost garden" picture
in the style
of Chinese painting with watercolor pencils, tissue paper, watercolor crayons,
or
fingerpaint.
Encourage students to place their "lost gardens" in creative places, such
as under the
sea.(TT)
The Luminous
Landscape,Richard Lewis, calligraphy by Loretta Pan. Enhanced
with calligraphy
and art, this
collection of poetry and art reflects an appreciation for the Chinese landscape.
Activity:
Chinese calligraphy
is done with a brush and is a centuries-old art requiring much practice.
Make
greeting cards
using a symbol of Chinese calligraphy as a border decoration.(TT)
The Moon
Lady, Amy
Tan. Ying-Ying tells her grand-daughters in America a tale from her
childhood
in China. A Wealthy little girl gets lost on the day of the Moon
Festival and discovers
the problems
with wishes and having them fulfilled. Activity: Toward the
end of the book, the
Moon Lady
performs a shadow play. Shine a bright light on a blank wall.
Hold your hand in front
of the light
and make shadow shapes and animals on the wall. Have the students
guess what they are.
Have them
make shadow puppets. Recommended for grades 3-6. (SW)
The Moon
Maiden & Other Asian Folktales,Hua Long. Twelve short
fables and legends of
China and
East Asia. Recommended for grades 2-5. (SW)
The Mountains
of Tibet, Mordicai
Gerstein. A woodcutter longs to travel from his valley in
Tibet and
when he dies, he is offered choices to ponder; a journey through the diversity
of life
and creation.
Recommended for grades 1-5. (SW)
The Painted
Fan, Marilyn
Singer. This book is beautifully illustrated with water color paintings.
A tale of
greedy powerful Lord Shang who wants Bright Willow for his wife.
She tucks a treasured
painted fan
secretly into her sleeve before being taken to the palace.
The fan shows how to end her
people's suffering
and end Lord Shang's rule. (SW)
The Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution, Ji Li Jiang.(KA)
The Shell Woman and the King: A Chinese Folktale, Laurence
Yep, Yang Ming-Yi, ill.
Dial Books for Young Readers, ISBN 0803713959
Uncle Wu marries a magical woman from the sea and boasts of her wonderful
accomplishments.
The king hears about it asks Shell to fulfill 3 impossible requests
or lose Wu and become the king’s
wife. (PB)
The Seven
Chinese Brothers,
Margaret Mahy, illustrated Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng. The
traditional
story accompanied by authentic watercolors. The author's note explains
the historical
background
of this tale. Activity: The "Great Wall" stretches
nearly 4,000 miles (6.400 kilometers)
across northern
China. Use a map of the United States to draw a "Great Wall" of the United
States.
The
Wall should reach from coast to coast and part way back again. How
far back would it go?
Through which
states did you travel? You'll need a map legend and calculator to compute
the distance
across the
United States and how much is left over. (TT)
The Seventh Sister: A Chinese Legend, Cindy Chang, Charles
Reasoner, ill.
Troll Associates, ISBN 0816734127
Simple farmer Chang falls in love with Mei, one of seven sisters who
weave the tapestry of the night
sky. She can’t remain on earth because the sun will never set unless
she is there to help her sisters
finish the night sky. Chang follows her to the heavens, and once a
year, the two are reunited. (PB)
The Star
Fisher, Lawrence
Yep. This story is about Chinese immigration to the United States.
One teacher
writes, "Any books by Yep is good." (SC)
The Weaving
of a Dream, Marilee
Heyer. When the beautiful tapestry woven by a poor woman is
stolen by
fairies, her three sons set out on a magical journey to retrieve it.
A retelling of a traditional
Chinese tale.
This Chinese folktale contains lovely illustrations. Activity:
A poor Chinese widow
weaves all
her dreams for a better life into a beautiful brocade that almost takes
her life. Her youngest
son, with
the help of a red fairy returns the stolen brocade to the old woman in
time to see it and her
dreams come
to life. Design your own brocade of dreams! Recommended for grades
1-3. (JK,TT)
The Year
of the Panda,
Miriam Schlein. This story is about the plight of the panda in
Sichaun province.
It integrates well with science and Chinese culture studies.(SC)
Tiger,
Allen,
Judy. When the villagers hire a famous hunter to kill the tiger rumored
to live in the
woods, only
one young boy wishes to protect the animal.
(KA)
Tongues
of Jade, Laurence
Yep, illustrated by David Wiesner. A collection of 17 folktales passed
down from
CHinese immigrants who came to America for a better life. The stories
connected the
immigrants
to China and to their families, some of whom they would never see again.
This is a
companion
book to the author's The Rainbow People. Activity: Choose
a folktale to share with
another group
or class. Sharing stories is one way to share history. Practice
reading aloud or telling
the story
from memory. This is a confidence building activity.(TT)
Two of Everything, Lily Toy Hong, Albert Whitmn & Co.,1993. A folkatale. (KA)
Wan Hu
Is In The Stars, Jennifer Armstrong. Absent-minded poet Wan
Hu is so curious about
the starts
that finally after several unsuccessful attempts, he finds a way to travel
among them. (KA)
Why Snails
Have Shells: Minority and Han Folktales From China, Carolyn Han,
Jay Han,
Li Ji,
Ill.
University
of Hawaii Press, ISBN 082481505X
20 stories
reflecting the ethnic diversity of China. Han collected these stories as
an American teaching
English in
Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. 17 are animal fables and pour quoi stories
from the ethnic
minorities;
3 are Han stories.
Wishbones: A Folktales From China, Barbara Ker Wilson,
Meilo Sa, ill.
American Natural Hygiene Society, ISBN 0711214158
This is another version of the Cinderella story. This version comes
from the aboriginal people of the
Yongzhue in what is now Guangxi province. Yeh Hsien (Cinderella) has
a pet fish as a wise and
magical helper. The mean stepmother cooks and eats the fish, but Yeh
Hsien finds the bones. The
magical bones grant the girl her wish and the ending is happy. (PB)
White
Wave-A Chinese Tale,Diane Wolkstein. A lonely young farmer
finds a gleaming
snail shell.
Here lives the moon goddess, white wave, who transforms her life.
Recommended
for grades
2-5. (SW)
Yang
the Second and Her Secret Admirers, Lensey namioka. While
her younger siblings have
adopted many
American customs since moving from China to Seattle, Yinglan Yang clings
to her
Chinese heritage,
so her brother and sister hatch a plot to convert her to American culture.
(KA)
Yang
the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, Lensey
Namioka.Yingtao's position as the youngest in
a Chinese-American
family of four children is required to play violin when he is tone-deaf.
Issues of
diversity
and self-realization are explored. (SC)
Yeh-Shen,
A Cinderella Story from China,
retold
by Ai-Ling Louie, illustrated by Ed Young.
A young Chinese
girl overcomes the wickedness of her stepmother and stepsisters to become
the
bride of a
prince. This version of the CInderella story has been told in China
since the T'ang dynasty
(A.D. 618-907)
Activity:
Compare and contrast this version of the Cinderella story with those
from other
countries.(TT)
LEVEL: 7-12
Beautiful Warrior: The Legend of the Nun’s Kung Fu, Emily
and Arnold McCully
Scholastic Trade, ISBN 0590374877
This is a story of two 17th century Chinese women. Jingyong, or Quiet
Courage, is taught as a son
would be, developing her qi, or vital energy. She wins a place as a
Buddhist nun in the Shaolin
Monastery and a new name, Wu Mei, or beautiful warrior. Wu Mei helps
a young girl learn kung
fu to save herself from an unwanted marriage.
Child Bride by Ching Yeung Russell, Jonathan T. Russell,
ill.
Boyds Mills, ISBN 1563977486
Should a young girl follow the traditions of her culture and go through
with an arranged marriage,
or try to escape the situation? This is the situation that Ying, 11,
finds herself in. This is a thought
provoking picture of Chinese society in the 1940s, when children have
no rights, but belong totally
to their father’s family.
Chinese Fairy Tales, Frederick Herman Martens, Yuko Green
(ill.)
Dover Publications, ISBN 0486401405
The stories are interesting and entertaining, but there are many typos.
(PB)
Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies (Pantheon Fairy tale
and Folk Lore Library) Moss Roberts
Random House, ISBN 0394739949
This is a wonderful collection of stories and fables from China. They
are all very brief, and similar to
Aesop’s fables. They also give a rare and fascinating look at Taoist
folklore, with magic crickets,
dragons and a few ghosts. (PB)
Daughters of the Mountains, Louse Rankin
Puffin, ISBN 0140363351
Old fashioned, but sweet story of Momo, who has always wanted a Lhasa
terrier, a dog like the
ones the Tibetan Buddhist priests hold scared in their temples. When
a tracer bring Pempa to her
pares’ teahouse, Momo’s dream comes true. Then a band of robbers steals
the valuable dog, and
to recover him, 10-year-old Momo must take a dangerous journey from
the mountains of Tibet to
the city of Calcutta. PB
Demons and Dragons: Myths of China, Japan and India Stewert
Ross, Francis Phillipps (ill.)
Cooper Beech books, ISBN 0761307087
This is a collection of 6 tales drawn from the myths and legends of
the Far East.
Dragon Seed, Pearl S. Buck
Moyer Bell, Ltd., ISBN 1559210338
This novel tells of the plight of the Chinese peasants during the years
of World War II. PB
Dragon’s Village, Yuak-Tsung Chen
Viking Paperbacks, ISBN 0140058117
Main character is Ling-Ling, 17, who joins a revolutionary theater
troupe in Chinese countryside
in 1949, the year the communist state was established. Ling-Ling is
from a wealthy Shanghai family.
This gives a powerful picture of the terrible living conditions of
the Chinese peasants, and the men’s
reluctance to let women be treated as equals, as well as a look at
the attempted land reforms. PB
Drawn by a China Moon, Dave Jackson
144 pages., Bethany House, ISBN 0764222678
The main character is Mollie, who receives letters from a friend who
has moved to China. The letters
describe life in China, as well as the work of a woman named Lottie
Moon, who was a 19th century
missionary in China. When Mollie’s friend catches a deadly disease,
Mollie resolves to help her.
Historical fiction PB
Growing up in Ancient China, Ken Teague, Richard Hook
(ill.)
Troll Assoc. ISBN 0816727163
This book describes life in ancient china, customs, schooling, family
life, food, clothing from a
young person’s perspective. Also discusses life in the country, life
in the city and festivals.(PB)
Iron and Silk, Mark Salzman
Vintage Books ISBN 0394755111
In 1982 Salzman headed off to China to teach English in Changsha. He
writes about bureaucrats,
students and survivors of the Cultural Revolution. He learns much about
China, especially through
his work with a famous teacher of martial arts. Funny, honest, wonderful
anecdotes. (PB)
Mountains of Tibet, Mordecai Gerstein
Harper Trophy, ISBN 006443214
Award winning book and one of my favorites, it tells the tale of a
Tibetan woodcutter, his death and
reincarnation. The issue of choice is explored in a very sensitive
way. (PB)
Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom, Katherine Paterson
Puffin, ISBN 0140376100
Wang Lee, 15, is taken from his home by bandits. He is rescued from
slavery by a mysterious girl who introduces him to the Taiping Tienkuo,
a secret society partly based on Christian beliefs and dedicated to the
overthrow of the Manchu government. (PB)
The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Best Tale,
Laurence Yep, Kam Mak (ill.)
32 pages, HaperCollins, ISBN 0064436180
A small, harmless water serpent is saved from death by a young girl,
but then changes into an
immense dragon who threatens the life of a poor farmer. The farmer’s
only chance for survival
lies in convincing one of his seven daughters to marry the dragon.
The youngest and prettiest
daughter agrees, and dragon and girl soar into the night sky, then
into the depths of the sea,
where the girl’s courage is tested. Eventually, she discovers that
her future husband is a
handsome ruler of the sea kingdom. PB
The Ch’l-Lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories, Linda
Fang, Jeanne M.Lee(ill.)
Farrar Strauss & Giroux, ISBN 0374411891
Linda Fang, who grew up in Shanghai, has produced a collection of 9
stories with helpful source notes.
The stories come from Chinese opera, legends and a novel from the Ming
Dynasty. Subjects range
from charity which is rewarded, to the clever doings of 2 reformed
thieves who help a lord escape
captivity. The stories often involve difficulties that are overcome
by the characters who are kind
and clever. (PB)
The Cricket Warrior: A Chinese Tale, Margaret Chang, Raymond
Chang,Warwick Hutton(ill.)
Margaret McEderry Books, ISBN 0689506058
Picture Book. In ancient china, the emperors enjoys watching cricket
fights so much that he imposes
and cricket tax to be paid by all his people. A poor farmer at last
catches a cricket to pay his tax,
but his curious son accidentally releases it. Magically transformed
into a fighting cricket, the boy
saves his family and their farm. The story was first told in China
some 300 years ago.
The Good
Earth, Pearl S. Buck. Great description of daily life in
China from a peasant's
perspective.
This protagonist grows to become the "great man" in the village.
The book
also examines
natural disasters (flood, locust plagues) and common people's reaction.
It
also examines
women's roles, concubines and family structure. Very good book to
be used
in a 9'th
grade humanities course. (JP)
The Weaving
of a Dream by Marilee Heyer
Viking, ISBN
0140505288
A traditional
Chinese folktale about an old woman who weaves a beautiful tapestry that
is stolen
by fairies.
Her three sons set out on a magical journey to retrieve it. (PB)
Tibet:
Through the Red Box, Peter Sis
Farrar Strauss
& Giroux, ISBN 0374375526
As a child
in 1950s Czechoslovakia, Sis listened to tales of Tibet told by his father,
a filmmaker who
was separated
from his crew in Tibet, caught in a blizzard and rescued by gentle Yetis.
Magical
illustrations
and story – using words from his father’s diaries. (PB)
Ties
That Bind, Ties that Break,Lensey
Namioka
Laurel-Leaf
Books, ISBN 0440415993
The book begins
in 1911, and young Ailin does not want her feet bound. Her progressive
father
agrees, and
even lets her go off to school to learn English. Once her father dies,
Ailin must conform
– no more
school and she must marry. Ailin escapes her family and becomes a nanny
to an American
missionary
family. She eventually goes to the U.S. with them, and builds a new life
as an immigrant.(PB)
Judge
Dee Detective Mysteries,Robert Van Gulik. These books give
a picture of
traditional
Chinese life that is accessible to 7'th and 8'th grades. Very interesting
reading. (JN)
Spring
Moon, Bette
Bao Lord. Similar to The Good Earth but with a female protagonist.
Incredible
story spanning 1892-1950's. (MG)
Level: K-6
A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art,
Song
Nan Zhang
Tundra Books, ISBN 0887763200
Zhang was born in Shanghai in 1942. Through his paintings, he tells
of his life during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
He studies art in Paris, and in 1989, escapes to China, only to learn of
Tiananmen Square. (PB)
A Beginners
Guide to Chinese Painting, Maggie
Cross. A good how-to book with great
illustrations!
(AT)
A Young
Painter, the Life and Paintings of Wang Yani-China's Extraordinary Young
Artist,Zheng
Zhensun and Alice Low. Examines the life and words of the young Chinese
girl who
started painting
animals at the age of three and, in her teens, became the youngest artist
to have a
one-person
show at the Smithsonian Institution. An inspiring story of a contemporary
artist at work.
A glossary
of Chinese terms included.
Activity: Read this book as a Read-Aloud.
Use it as a
beginning
point for the study of Chinese art. Work with the art teacher and
librarian to expose and
examine Chinese
art. Try some of the artwork.(TT)
Art From
Many Hands, Jo
Miles Schuman. Multicultural art projects, including Asian arts,
that may also
be used at the middle and high school level as well. Student tested
art projects with
cultural information.
(AT)
China, Alberto Zola. A large hardcover book, nearly all the photos are spectacular! (SW)
China, Catherine Charley. Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1995. Examines the landscape, climate, weather, population, culture, and industries of China. (KA)
China, Catherine Charley. Fiesta Series, Grollier, 1997. Discusses the festivals of China andhow their songs, recipes, and traditions reflect the culture of the people. (KA)
China, Diana Granat, Scholastic 1995. A complete resource filled with background information, primary sources, hands-on activities, art projects, maps, reproducibles, and much more! (KA)
China, Linda Scher,Scholastic 1996. Activities, projects, poster, audiotpe, and map (KA)
China-All
Provinces and Autonomous Regions,Gallery Books, W.H. Smith Publishers.
Good resource
information book with photos, about 300 pages in length. (SW)
China
the Land, Bobbie Kalman. Book contains a lot of colored photos
and brief content on
many topics.(SW)
China:
The Culture, Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing,
ISBN 077879380X (PB)
Chinese Children's Games, Fung Shiu-Ying. Recommended for grades k-1.(DF)
C is for China, Sungro-So. Recommended for grades k-1.(DF)
Cooking
the Chinese Way, Ling
Yu. This book introduces the fundamentals of Chinese cooking
including
special ingredients and cooking utensils. Also provides recipes for
suggested dishes.
Activity:
Purchase chopsticks (very inexpensive) and prepare rice/or a special dish
and teach
students how
to use and eat with chopsticks.(TT)
Count Your Way Through China, Jim Haskins. Recommended for grades k-1. (DF)
Famous
Asian Americans,
Janet
Nomura Morey and Wendy Dunn. A book for older readers
that chronicles
the lives and accomplishments of 14 Asian Americans, including Jose Aruego,
Michael Chang,
An Wang, and Ellison Onizuka. Activity: Jose Aruego,
one of the most famous
Asian Americans
mentioned in this book, is a well-known illustrator of children's books.
Look for
them in the
library. He often collaborates with Ariane Dewey, and Robert Kraus.
Set up a display
of his works
and other Asian writers and illustrators. Read these books with younger
readers.(TT)
Fun with Chinese Characters,Good book to use for calligraphy. (JP)
Growing
Up in Ancient China,Ken Teague. Describes daily life
in ancient China,
discussing
life in the country, life in the city, schools, festivals, and other aspects.
(DK)
Mooncakes
and Hungry Ghosts-Festivals of China,Carol Stepanchuk, Charles
Wang.
Facts and
information on Chinese festivals, customs, food, songs and dance. (SW)
The Children
of China, Matti
A. Pitkanen.
A good first
book on China with beautiful pictures.
Recommended
for grades 1-4. (DF)
The Children
of China: An Artist’s Journey, Song Nan Zhang
Tundra Books,
ISBN 0887763634
Full page
paintings and first person text. Zhang tells of his journeys in China to
visit minority people, including the Mongolians, the Miao, the Tajiks and
the Yi. He tells about the lives of each group and shows how they look
and dress. There is also a section on the han. (PB)
The Chinese
in America,Betty
Lee Sung. The author is a second generation Chinese American
who lived
for many years in China. She relates the history of the earliest
days of Chinese immigration
to the United
States and draws upon her own experiences as a Chinese American to describe
customs, celebrations, foods, and life styles.
Activity: Select
parts of the author's experiences as a Chinese American to read aloud.
Point out that this book was written in 1972, use this information to compare
and contrast what the class might expect the experiences of Chinese Americans
today. This would be an activity for middle and upper grade students.
(TT)
The Chinese
New Year, Cheng
Hou-Tie. This book describes the sounds, smells, pageantry, and
ritual of
the most important Chinese holiday, which signals the end of winter and
the coming of spring.
Written and
illustrated with paper scissor cuts by a Chinese American artist who learned
the art from his grandmother. Activity: The Chinese
believe that a person's animal sign determines much of his or her
character
and destiny. What animal would you like to represent your character?
Create a cut-paper
picture of
yourself and your Chinese animal sign. The Chinese animal signs are:
the snake, horse, sheep,
monkey, rooster,
dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, and dragon.(TT)
The Great
Wall of China, Leonard Everett Fisher. A brief history of
the Great Wall of China, begun
about 2,200
years ago to keep out Mongol invaders. (KA)
Red Eggs
and Dragon Boats,Carol Stepanchuck. This book includes good descriptions
of
Chinese Festivals.
Recommended for grades 1-4. (DF)
Level: 7-12
Beijing
– Cities of the World, Deborah Kent
Children’s
Press, ISBN 0516200232
Published
in 1996, but still gives an interesting and informative look at the place,
the history, social life
and customs
of Beijing. (PB)
China’s
Long March: 6000 Miles of Danger, Jean Fritz
Putnam, ISBN
0399215123
In 1986, Fritz
went back to China to talk to survivors of the Long March. Based on their
recollections
and her own
research, this is compelling account, easy to read, of the 6000 mile long
journey made by
Mao and the
Chinese Communist army in 1934 and 1935 as they retreated from the forces
of Chiang
Kai-shek.
(PB)
Confucius:
Philosopher and Teacher, Josh Wilker
Franklin Watts,
ISBN 0531114368
Contains chronology
of Confucius’ life. One of a format series, that begins with an important
moment
in his life,
then looks back on childhood and important accomplishments. (PB)
Cowboy
on the Steppes, Song Nan Zhang
Tundra books,
ISBN 088776410X
This is the
story of the author’s brother, who was sent, at the age of 18 from Beijing
to Mongolia to
herd cattle.
This was during the Cultural Revolution. Yi Nan kept diaries of his thoughts
and experiences
living in
a place where the homes, customs, and the language were strange. Little
by little Yi Nan comes
to learn the
ways of the Mongolians and begins to feel a bit at home in their culture.
(PB)
Legacies,
A Chinese Mosaic,
Betty
Boa Lord. This book describes life in China during the
Cultural Revolution
and immediately following those years. The author immigrated as a
child to the
United States and returned to China as the wife of the U.S. Ambassador
to
China.
Excellent novelist! Recommended for grades 10-12.(DK)
Mao Zedong: Founder of the People’s Republic of China, Rebecca
Steffof
Millbrook Press, ISBN 1562943519
A clear text that tells of Mao’s crucial role in transforming China.
Includes quotes from Mao’s
poetry. (PB)
Nien Cheng: A Prisoner in China (Library of Famous Women),
Robin Langley Sommer
64 pages
Blackbirch Marketing, ISBN 1567110118
Retells the life story of Nien Cheng, author of Life and Death in Shanghai.
Makes her story
accessible to younger readers who cannot tackle the autobiography.
(PB)
Woman
Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston. Chinese-American autobiography
that examines
cultural contrasts.
(MG)
Iron
and Silk, Mack
Salzmann. The author spent 2 years in China teaching English.
He was
very interested
in martial arts and describes his relationships with various teachers.
(MG)
Level: Adult
Baba: A Return to China Upon My Father’s Shoulders, Belle
Yang
Harvest Books, ISBN 0156002396
Baba means papa in Chinese, and this is the story of Belle Yang who
set out to save her father’s
memories of his life growing up in China. Joseph Yang was born in Manchuria
in 1928. The book
contains both paintings and stories of the Japanese occupation, the
Russian invasion of the area, and
the Chinese civil war. (PB)
Cripple
Tree, Mortal Flower, Birdless Spring, Endless,Han Suyin quintet
series.
The book is
written in an autobiographical writing style but contains good historical
background.(SN)
Spider Eaters, Rae Yang
University of California Press, ISBN 0520215982
Rae Yang was born in 1950 to parents who were Communist intellectuals.
They were both denounced
during the anti-rightist campaigns of the 1950s. during the Cultural
Revolution of the 1960s, Yang, a
Red Guard, Traveled throughout the countryside spreading the revolution.
Later she worked a collective
pig farm, then managed to get a student visa to leave China for the
U.S. (PB)
Thirty Years in a Red House: A Memoir of Childhood and Youth in
Communist China, Xiao Di
Zhu, Ross Terrill
University of Massachusetts Press, ISBN 155849216X
The author was born in 1958. He tells the story of his family’s difficulties,
especially during the Cultural
Revolution when his father was prominent communist official. A memoir
that focuses more on how the
author’s father reacted and responded to the excesses of the Cultural
Revolution. (PB)
Daughter of the River: An Autobiography, Hong Ying
Grove Press, ISBN 0802136605
Hong was born during the Great Famine of the early 1960s and raised
in the slums of Chongqing. She
was the sixth daughter of a very poor and distant family. This coming
of age story takes Hong through
the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution to Tiananmen Square. (PB)
Bound Feet and Western Dress, Pang-Mei Natasha Chang
Anchor Books, ISBN 0385479646
When Chang Yu-I, the subject of this book, was three, her mother tried
to bind her feet as was accepted
around 1900. Growing up between the time of the fall of the last emperor
and the Communist Revolution,
Yu-I struggled against cultural restraints. She followed her husband
to Oxford, made history by getting a Western-style divorce at the age of
22, raised her son alone and continued her education. She eventually
became president of a bank. (PB)
Iron and Silk, Mark Salzman
Vintage Books, ISBN 0394755111
In 1982 Salzman headed off to china to each English in Changsha. He
writes about bureaucrats, students
and survivors of the Cultural Revolution. He learns much about china,
especially through h is work with a
famous teacher of martial arts. Funny, honest, wonderful anecdotes.
(PB)
Whispered Prayers: Portraits and Prose of Tibetans in Exile, Stephen
R. Harrisonk, Dalai Lama
Talisman Press, ISBN 0966726111
100 photographs combined with the narratives of what it is like to
be a Tibetan refugee. These are woven
in with Harrison’s commentaries on the nature of man. (PB)
Mao: A Life, Phillip Short
Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 0805031154
Exhaustive biography from a noted China scholar. (PB)
Mao Zedong (Penguin Lives), Jonathan D. Spence
Viking, ISBN 0670886696
Concise, easy reading biography of Mao. (PB)
Red Azalea: A True Story of Life and Love in China, Anchee
Min
Berkley Pub. Group, ISBN 0425147762
Fascinating memoir of a young Chinese girl growing up in Shanghai during
the late 50s and 60s. As a
schoolgirl, Min distinguishes herself as a young Communist. As head
of the Little Red Guard she
denounces a beloved teacher as a reactionary. Later, at 17, Min left
her family to plant race, working
16 hour days. Two years later she returned to Shanghai to complete
for the title role in a film called Red
Azalea by Madame Mao. She eventually left for American in 1984. (PB)
The Soong Family, Sterling Seagrave
Harper Collins, ISBN 0060913185
The biography of the 3 Sooong sisters who were influential and well
educated. One married Chiang Kai
Shek, one married Sun Yat-sen and another married a powerful banker.
Gives a fascinating look at the
turbulent years of China – 1900s to the 1960s. (PB)
Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China, Paul
Theroux
Ivy Books, ISBN 0804104549
Although this journey took place in the 1980s, the book is still a
fascinating one about Theroux’s
yearlong journey. The descriptive writing is unforgettable, but as
interesting is the way the author
provides a bit of an insight into the period following Mao’s death
and the end of the Cultural
Revolution.(PB)
Grace in China: An American Woman Beyond the Great Wall, 1934-1974,
Eleanor
Cooper,
William Lieu
Black Belt Press, ISBN 157966024X
This is the story of an American woman who lived and taught in Chian
for many years written by her
son and her cousin. She meets and marries fiche Lieu in New York City.
They marry and have a
daughter, then return to Tianjin, China. The story was researched by
family members who used Grace’s
letters, clippings, photographs, and many primary sources to develop
the story. Grace returns to the
U.S. for a visit in 1974, but realizes China is her true home. (PB)
Son of the Revolution,Linage Hen, Judith Shaper
Random House, ISBN 0394722744
Linage Hen was born in 1954 in Changsha, a large city in central China.
His parents were
intellectuals – his father a reporter on a provincial newspaper, his
mother a ranking cadre in the local
police. This is his story of growing up during the Cultural Revolution.
The author seems to be able to
portray and understand why people caught in those events acted the
way they did. (PB)
Daughter of China: A True story of Love and Betrayal, Meshing
Xu, Larry Engelmann
John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0471390194
This is both a memoir of a young girl growing up during the Cultural
Revolution and a cross-cultural
love story that highlights the questions of loyalty to one’s country
and love. This is the story of Meshing,
an enthusiastic recruit to the People’s Liberation Army. In 1988 she
is assigned to a joint venture with
Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins University. She meets and falls
in love with Larry Engelmann,
arrested and interrogated for being involved with an American. Eventually,
in 1990, she marries him
and they are able to leave china. A compelling love story. (PB)
Hangchow, My Home: Growing Up in Heaven Below, Eugenia
Barnett Schultheis
Lost Coast Press, ISBN 1882897463
Born in China in 1914, the author loved in Hangchow, called by the
Chinese, “Heaven Below. “ this book describes the city and its life as
experienced by a young girl. She left China at 16 to study in the United
States,
but returned to work as a teacher and librarian in Shanghai and Beijing
until 1938. (PB)
Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now, Jan Wong
Anchor, ISBN 0385482329
Fascinating account by an award-winning journalist who first went to
China in 1972 as a Canadian
college student. She returned for a longer stay in 1974, eventually
marrying an American and earning a
job as a correspondent for the New York Times. She initially was very
much a supporter of Mao, but
her experiences led her to come more sympathetic to the dissident movement
that began under Deng
Xiaoping. Contains an amazing and moving account of Tiananmen Square
revolt. (PB)
In the Pond: A Novel, Ha Jin
Zoland Books, ISBN 0944072925
A darkly comic novel of a man trying to get better housing for himself,
wife and child. He becomes caught
in a battle with the political system. This gives a realistic look
at living conditions and the frustrations of
dealing with the system. (PB)
Legacies: A Chinese Mosaic, Bette Bao Lord
Fawcett Books, ISBN 0449906205
Short bibliographies of artists, educators, writers and intellectuals
interwoven with Lord’s own story. She
was born in Shanghai and married Winston Lord who became ambassador
to china from 1985 to 1989.
The biographies cover the time from the Cultural Revolution up to Tiananmen
Square. It is interesting
how Lord can move between her Chinese and American cultures and be
sympathetic to both.
Colors of the Mountain, Da Chen
Random House, ISBN 0375502882
Da Chen is now a writer living in New York. In this book he describes
his youth in China. He was born
in 1962, the grandson of a landlord, which colored and affected his
life tremendously during the Cultural Revolution. He became a bit of a
juvenile delinquent, but after Mao’s death in 1976, got back on track,
finally being accepted to University.
Wild
Swans, Three Daughters of China,Jung Chang. The story of
three generations of
Chinese women
surviving a century of disaster. (SN)
INTERNET
RESOURCES
Web Sites
http://ancienthistory.miningco.com/education/ancienthistory/msub22.htm
This site
contains many links to sites that have excellent information about ancient
China and
Japan. (DK)
http://ChinaSite.com
Complete reference
to China with related web sites. Festivals, language, sports, travel,
martial arts,
history and Chinese leaders are some examples of topics found at this site.
(DK)
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~felsing/cstuff/toqing.html
Good site
to locate historical information up to Qing Dynasty. (GO)
http://dept.english.upenn.edu/Projects/Buck/index.html
Information
and pictures about Pearl S. Buck (DK)
http://eawc.evansville.edu/chpage.htm
Information
about Ancient China, the Analects of Confucious and Taoism. (NC)
http://members.aol.com/MrDonnHistory/K12east.html#CHINA
Lesson plans
and links for lesson plans on China can be found at this site.(DK)
http://pasture.ecn.purdue.edu/~agenhtml/agenmc
Audio tutorial
of basic expressions of Mandarin Chinese, audio of Chinese music, food
recipes, scenery,
virtual tours of the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Imperial Gardens etc.,
*Great site
for students! (DK)
http://public.lib.ci.clearwater.fl.us/cpl/china.html
Clearwater
Public Library's annotated bibliography of Chinese folklore and children's
literature.
(DK)
http://tdq.advanced.org/10662/normal_xmain.html
Information
about living in Ancient China; games, celebrations, medicine, etc. (DK)
http://www.abuzz.com/?a=vch&c=c.7
Ask a lesson planning question on The New York Times Learning Network
Teachers Circle on Abuzz, a free service that connects people with questions
to people with answers through email and the web.(DM)
http://www.aems.uiuc.edu/index.las
Media materials
you can use in learning and teaching about the cultures and peoples
of Asia. Asian
Educational
Media Service helps k-12 teachers locate audio-visual resources about Asia.
(DK)
http://www.asiasociety.org
The Home Page
of the Asian Society, an excellent resource for information about
China, Japan, and other parts of Asia.*also includes a site
for students only(CC)
http://www.chaos.umd.edu/history/handbook.html
A comprehensive
collection of files of the Army Area Handbook. *Excellent site (GO)
http://www.china5k.com/welcome.html
This site
helps enrich people's understanding of China's culture. Click on
wedding traditions, culture
room or visit
some museums. *Excellent site for students to visit too! (DK)
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/index.html
Excellent
site with information about many characteristics of Chinese culture. (NC)
http://www.cri.com.cn.english/
China Radio
On Line (news, travel, life in China, etc.).
http://www.easc.indiana.edu
EACP-East
Asia Curriculum Project. Revised lesson plans from the Columbia project.
Includes
resources
on China, Japan and Korea. Look for China teaching work and lesson
plans.
Excellent
resource! (GO)
http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/chin-ja.html#CHINA/JAPAN
(DMII)
http://www.fonz.org/animals/gpdecline.htm
Panda populations
during 3 different time periods (SC)
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/culture/culture.html
Information
about chinese clothes, music, food, culture, art etc. * Excellent site
for students (DK)
http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas.html
University
of Hawaii at Manoa's site. Listings of resources and programs related
to Southeast Asia
(JW)
http://www.infinet.com/~baugust/china.html
Home Schooling Daily site that provides online activities, resources,
lesson plans and ideas of for
both ancient and modern China. (DMII)
http://www.kiku.com/electric_samurai/index.html
Excellent
site for students to learn about what different regions of China look like
and explore
museums.(DK)
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/index.html
China Webquests.
Excellent learning activities for middle level students. (DK)
http://www.mrdowling.com/
Site developed
by a 6'th grade social studies teachers called Passport to the World.
Information
about ancient
Chinese history and China today. (DK)
http://www.nature-net.com/bears/index.html
Information
about all types of bears including Panda and Asiatic bears. (DK)
http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/DimSum%20T.ofCon.HomePg.html
Lesson plans
on China in all subject areas. (DK)
http://www.nga.gov/education/ep-index.htm
Slides, CD's
etc. available for loan from the National Gallery of the Arts.(DK)
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/
k-12 lesson
plans that include Asian studies learning activities. (DM)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/china/age.html
On-line Nova
site that describes an ancient Chinese bridge building technique that was
recently replicated. (JW)
http://www.span.com.au/100women/index.html
Tales about
100 celebrated Chinese women. (DK)
http://www.
thegateway.org/index2/artsvisualarts.html
Chinese and
Japanese art history and visual art lesson plans.(DK)
http://www.tntech.edu/WWW/ACAD/HIST/asian.html
Many connections
to Asian sites. (GO)
http://www.5000years.com/culture.html
Information
on Chinese cooking and recipes, poetry, music, literature, dynasty culture
and
idioms.(DK)
Looking for information about the Chinese New Year?
http://www.afk.com/resources/lunarnewyear.tmpl
http://jasono.hypermart.net/tradition.htm
http://www.familyculture.com/holidays.htm
http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/index1.htm
http://www.web-holidays.com/lunar
China
Kits-Asian Studies Outreach Progam.
For a complete listing of materials
from the University
of Vermont Asian Studies Outreach Program, see ASOP
Resources. To borrow materials, contact Fumi Stevenson
at (802) 656-5765.fkido@zoo.uvm.edu
China-Flemming Museum Education Kit, contains authentic museum objects with a teacher's manual that includes additional information , suggested activities and other resources for exploring the topic with students. The China kit contains coins, a bronze mirror, cricket cage, embroidered shoes for bound feet, scroll painting on silk, abacus, a child's vest, terra cotta soldier, silk jacket, and signature stamp. The cost of rental is $30.00 for an 18 day period. Call (802)656-0750 in Burlington, Brattleboro 888-848-4646, Montpelier 800-870-0388, Rutland 800-747-0546 for kit rental information. (SC)
Five
Colleges Center for East Asian Studies. Excellent
resource that offers extensive resource
catalogs on
China and Japan. Books, videos, units of study are available for
free loan and can be
ordered by
phone. Their quarterly newsletter provides information on regional
conferences and classes on Asian studies. Contact Five Colleges Center
for East Asian Studies, 8 College Lane, Smith College, Northhampton, MA
01063. Visit their web site at www.smith.edu/fcceas.
(JP)
Hood
Museum, Dartmouth College,
New Hampshire. This museum has a good collection of
Asian handicrafts
and artwork. (SP)
National Geographic Map of China and Nationality Cultures,National Geographic. (JP)
Center
for World Education.
A lending library with many resources located at the University
of Vermont,
539 Waterman. Call (802) 656-3356 for additional information. (SC)
THE ARTS
Flynn
Theater Matinee Series.
The Flynn Theater often has programs that would integrate
nicely with
units on China. Call the Flynn Theater in Burlington to request additional
information.
(SC)
Martial
Arts Academies.
Local martial art academies are often willing to do demonstrations
for students.
(SC)
VIDEO/SLIDES
ASOP
Spring Trip for Vermont Teachers in China: Spring 1999. Edited
by Bill Reed,
participant
of the Institute on China and It's Cultures, Spring 1999. Video is available
to purchase
for $10.00
(to cover reproduction cost) from the Asian Studies Outreach Program contact
Fumi Stevenson
at fkido@zoo.uvm.edu. For
information about video content, contact Bill Reed
(BR).
Big Bird
in China, Children's Television Workshop, 1987. A
75 minute video. Big Bird
and Barkley,
the dog, visit China, meet Monkey King and learn Chinese words and songs.
Fun to share
and hear the language. Good for grades 2-4. (SW)
Dainyo.
A 28 minute tape on Chinese theater and tea ceremony. Available as
a free loan
from the National
Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov. (GG)
Holidays for Children Video Series, Video on the Chinese New Year. (SC)
Save
the Panda, National
Geographic Video. Excellent facts about climate, human
encroachment
and the chances of survival for the endangered giant panda. Students
learn how
we can best
help the Panda. (SW)
Secrets
of the Wild Panda,
National
Geographic. Excellent video about the life cycle and
plight of
Daxiong Mao, the great bear cat. Great for inclusion in the study
of endangered
species. (SC)
The Chinese
Past. 80
slides and audio tape. Available for free loan from the National
Gallery
of Art, www.nga.gov.
(GG)
The Emperor
and the Nightingale. Traditional
story read by Glenn Close that is 40 minutes
in length.
Recommended for grades 1-4. (SW)
The Last
Emperor. This
very visual, highly symbolic video shows the imperial dynasties in
China. It
shows restrictions placed on the emperor and personalizes history.
A very good
analysis of
historical change. Recommended for high school level. (GO)
The Passport
Travel Guide; China-The China Experience.
This video contains nice
footage of
the Great Wall, etc. Gunther Less narrates the first 10 minutes of
the video and at
times it is
difficult for children to understand what he is saying. Recommended
for grades 4-12. (SW)
The Splendors
of Imperial China. This PC or Mac version CD is available for year-long
loan.
Available
as a free loan from the National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov. (GG)
Touring China, Questar Video. Recommended for grades 3-5 (DF)
Video
Visits China and Tibet.This video shows scenes from Beijing to
Tibet and contains good
visuals.
It is 52 minutes in length. (SW)
Recommended
for Teacher Viewing
Beyond
the Clouds, National
Geographic Society special. A three or four hour documentary filmed
in Lijiang,Yunnan)
presented on PBS a while back Available for sale from NGS. Fascinating.
(DMII)
Blue Kite. A Chinese woman's experience after 1949
through her son's eyes. Married
to a librarian in the early 50s, life seemed to be full of happiness
at the beginning. When the
Hundred Flowers campaign was launched in 1957, her husband was identified
as a "Rightist"
only because he left a meeting for the bathroom and was sent to a remote
area for hard labor.
Going through all the hardship due to her husband's political problems,
she decided to
marry a "revolutionary cadre" with the hope that his "red" background
could protect her and her
son. Then the "Cultural Revolution"came and herhusband was taken
away by the Red Guards
when he was suffering from heart attack. Good material about
political campaigns since 1949
until the 60s. Made in the early 90s. JW
Farewell
My Concubine,1993, 157 min., Color, Chinese/Sub, directed by
Chen Kaige
with Gong Li, Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi. A drama that spans
from the 1920's
to 70's about two male opera stars and a woman whom one of
them marries.A
remarkable story of greed, lust, love and manipulation set
within the
dramatic sweep of China in the 20th century. JWII
Iron
and Silk , available at Blockbuster, a joint US-China fild production
just before the
time of Tiananmen.
Based on a highly recommended novel of the same title. A
young American
teaches English and studies martial arts in China.
(DMII)
Ju Dou,
1990, 98 minute color, Chinesewith English subtitles, directed by Zhang
Yimou with
Gong Li and
Li Wei. Stark, contorversial film set during the 20's about the plight
of a beautiful
young peasant
girl after she's sold to an old, bitter, abusive dye mill owner. The first
Chinese film
ever to be
nominated for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award, even though it was banned
in China,
supposedly because authorities feared that audiences would see it as a
metaphor for
the manner in which China's leaders control society. (JWII)
Not One
Less - wonderful film
depicting rural China- the story revolves around a substitute teacher
in a small
village who is promised a bonus if all her students are still in school
when the regular
teacher returns.
The King
of Masks, 1999 movie. The main character is
the King of Masks, a street
performer,
who buys a son on the street so that he can have someone to take care of
him in his
old age. Through a series of events he discovers that his son is
really a girl.
What happens
next is full of cultural symbolism. The actress (little boy/girl) is great.(LF)
Qiu Ju's Story. A country girl married to a farmer,
Qiu Ju has to stand up to the village
head when he wrongly blamed her husband. She goes to authorities
at all levels to "ask for
the words" that her husband is correct and mistakenly punished.
The village head was arrested
due to Diu Ju's efforts, and Qiu Ju was confused:"I only wanted the
words, how come he was arrested?" Good visual materials indicating
the struggle of the Chinese trying to establish
a system governed by the law. Made in the early 90s.
JW
To Live,
1994, 129 minutes, Mandarin with English subtitles, directed by Zhang Yimou
with
Gong Li, Ge
You and Niu Ben. Powerful drama about the fortunes of one family and how
its
members become
swept up in the events of recent Chinese history. A deeply personal story
of love
and devotion, loss and forgiveness. One of my all time favorites. Gong
Li is fabulous.
(JWII)
Raise
the Red Lantern, 1991,125 minutes., Mandarin with English subtitles,
directed by
Zhang Yimou
with Gong Li, Ma Jingwu. Fascinating tale about a beautiful, well educated
young woman
who becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy and powerful nobleman. The
interactions
with the other wives who reside on the estate are complex and intriguing.(JWII)
Red Firecracker,
Green Firecracker, 1993, 111 minutes, Mandarin with English subtitles,
directed by
He Ping, with Ning Jing, Wu Gang, and Zhao Xiaorui.Set in turn of the century
China, about
a woman who dresses as a man, takes on the roll of master, disavows her
femaleness
and runs her family's flourishing business. But things get complicated
when a poor
artist falls
in love wit her. Sort of like Tennesse Williams meets Qing dynasty out
in the
provinces.
Fascinating film.(JWII)
Red Sorghum,
1987, 92 minutes., Chinese with English subtitles, directed by Zhang Yimou
with Gong
Li, Jiang Wen and Teng Rujun. Visually stunning epic set during the 20's
and 30's
about a young
woman who is supposed to be wed to a much olde man but who ends up with
an entirely
different lover. The events occuring in China and Japan at that time play
a key role
in the film.
Another big favorite of mine and one of Zhang Yimou's earlier films.(JWII)
Yellow
Earth,1984, 89 minutes, color, Mandarin with English subtitles,
directed by
Chen Kaige,
starring Xue Bai, Wang Xueqi, Tan Tuo. Zhang Yimou,the cinematographer,
was quickly
to become one of China's leading directors. This haunting tale of young
revolutionary
soldier in 1939 collecting folk songs in the north of China was hailed
as a
visual masterpiece
and widely considered by many critics to be the first "modern" film to
emerge from
China.(JWII)