This was an interesting and compelling format to learn about and gain some insight into China, its history, its people, and its proverbs. The author did a good job of intertwining China’s history with her own which illustrated how much China’s past is linked to the present.

The recounting of the history of the First Emperor of China followed by the establishment of the Han Dynasty was a bit difficult to follow but likely because it’s a bit difficult to follow haha! A sprinkling of the history of China under Mao Zedong was a welcome respite.

This is an accessible history if you are interested in learning about China and Qin Dynasty’s Terra Cotta Army. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who has been or plans to travel to China.

I hadn’t expected to enjoy this book nearly as as much as I did, in the end it was an entertaining and educational read that works on a number of levels.

The organizing framework for the book is explanation of a number of ancient Chinese proverbs and how these proverbs explain the way that Chinese people think (in the same kind of way that Poor Richards Almanac had such an impact on American cultural be;kegs perhaps). It is revealed that may of these proverbs came from the early history of China, Shiji, written by the scholar Sima Qian over two thousand years ago. The proverbs established then were largely aphorisms coined to describe the strategies and machinations of the first two emperors of a unified China and the war that followed between two other generals which in turn led to the establishment of the Han dynasty. Alongside all of this the author provides autobiographical stories of her own life and writing career intended to demonstrate how the proverbs are still used today and the wisdom and values that they encapsulate still govern Chinese thought in the modern era.

This was the first ancient Chinese history book I have ever read, and it really is fascinating stuff. I do confess to getting lost here and there, finding it difficult to keep track of the different names, the shifting alliances and the various warring states, but this is more my problem than the author’s. It brought home to me just how strategically advanced China was long before the West reached a similar stage of development and whetted my appetite to find out more about this period of Chinese history.

The author makes the point throughout the book that concepts are thought of in terms of words and so the words we have determine the values and culture of a country, the point is well made and the book does indeed offer an insight into the minds of the Chinese people.

A mix of Chinese history and memoir. While the historical parts were very interesting, the author's recounting of her endlessly angsty family life became wearying.

A friend was raving about this book and lent it to me. Initially, I was rather skeptical: after the success of "Wild Swan", there were tons of 'me-too' books wailing about the hardship of living under Communist China and how they got new lives overseas. One of which, I thought, was Adeline Yen Mah's Falling Leaves.

But I had to eat my words. This is a very good book: 1/3 autobiography, 1/3 chinese history, 1/3 proverb explanation. Weaving two parts (autobiography and chinese history, ancient and modern) around proverb explanations to produce one complete, flowing story is a remarkable feat. At times, the relevance of one part to another seems jagged but I can't complain. It's a pleasure to read and, along the way, I find out more about the Chinese history. There are a lot of illustrations on the chinese philosophies and way of life, peeks into her own life, and lessons that history repeats itself.

Fascinating. There is no need to understand chinese or its proverbs to enjoy this book.

PS: now I am curious about "Falling Leaves"

Proverbs are one of the best ways to teach morals to children and they form a quick witted response for adults. This book is a compendium of such Chinese proverbs and talks about their origin through the passages of Shiji by Sima Qian. All through the book the author weaves her own life experiences and her interpretation of the proverbs. It’s a beautiful book which would not have been easy to write. Enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I love anything this author writes. I enjoyed the history, culture and proverbs from this book.

The story of a young girl who's father, although he calls her his treasure, ultimatly sells her when the family face famine in China in the 1870's. She ends up sold again, comes to America where she is enslaved until she is eventually lost (and ultimatly won) in a poker game. From her very grim beginnings, Lalu/Polly triumphs as an inspiring woman - a true heroine.

If you have any interest in China or Chinese history, this is a great book for you. It's interesting, informative, and well written, but not heavy reading at all.

A Memoir of China's past through it's Proverbs.

This book was written by Adeline Yen Mah. I have written a review on her first book Falling Leave.

When she was young, her Ye Ye (grand father) taught her and told her stories of China's history through proverbs. This book i think is her dedication to her Ye Ye.

With each proverb (for each chapter), tells us the stories of the rise of First Emperor (Qin) of China till the fall of his empire, in between she also wrote about her life and China during Chairman Mao's reign.

I have heard of the cultural revolution but did not truly understood it until i read this book.

She compared chairman Mao's rule with the rule of China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi (Qin dynasty). Towards the middle part of his rule, he had books, history of China destroyed, about 400 over scholars was killed during his purged. Chairman Mao did the same thing during the 1960's revolution. He had his political 'ememies' destroyed...killed 40,000 over scholars, books destroyed..he wanted to be better than the first Emperor.

The book also covered the rise of the Han dynasty, which lasted for about 400 years because the rulers were more just then the previous one.

The stories of her life was covered in Falling Leaves, in this book, sort of continuation... Such as how they reacted when she wrote her book...she was disowned by her relatives because of 'face' issue. One of her brother even mocked her...'no one will publish your book, no one will read your book, why give up being a doctor....and if you did write, i will sue you'...

Lucky some lady had faith in her and willing to publish it provided she cut off one hundred thousand words (for her first book) and she also warned her that once it is published some family members may not like it. Adeline went for it and never look back.

She still missed her brother, the one she was closed too. She was sad that he was a pawn set up by her older sister and step mom.

Men/leaders = Lust, betrayer, greed, ego, hunger for power..all covered in this book, from ancient time till modern day. Somethings just never change.

With the help of this book I learned to understand many Chinese proverb, most of them very difficult to understand.

Having read Falling Leaves, I looked forward to reading another of Yen Mah's books. My disappointment in this book stems from a definite relationship to her first book. Undoubtedly, she had a harsh childhood and is a very bright woman. I won't take away from that, but I will look to enjoying anything she writes that tells me she has moved beyond that bizarre childhood and is relishing her successful life. She has way to much too offer to spend her days wallowing in something she cannot change.

i liked the concept .. but I got tired of all the gore of the ancient battles.