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9780307986306 English 0307986306 A journalist travels throughout mainland China and Taiwan in search of his family s hidden treasure and comes to understand his ancestry as he never has before. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu s great-great-grandfather Liu s Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moves to China to work in his uncle s semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family s long march back home. Melding memoir, travelogue, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers an intimate and unforgettable way to understand the complicated events that have defined China over the past two hundred years and provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity. ", Hsu, a first-generation Chinese American, returns to China to discover the fate of his great-great-grandfather's long-buried porcelain collection and, in the process, unearths the key to understanding his family's history over the past one hundred years of Chinese history In the tradition of the best works of history that uncover a forgotten family story, such as "The Hare with Amber Eyes" or "The Lost," "The Porcelain Thief" recounts journalist Huan Hsu's journey through the old and new worlds of China to find hidden treasure, reconnect with his ancestry, and come to terms with his hyphenated identity. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Hsu's great-great-grandfather's Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, the family was forced to bury their valuables, including a vast and prized collection of antique porcelain, and to flee on a decades-long trek that would splinter it over thousands of miles and countless upheavals. Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed with mere strands of a family legend, moves to China to work in his uncle's semiconductor chip business and begins to understand his family's history as he never has before. A conversation with his grandmother, the last living link to his family's life in dynastic China, ignites his desire to learn more about not only his ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering conversational Chinese enough to launch himself into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have grown up around both his family and China, and finally complete his family's long march back home. Melding memoir, travelogue, ethnography, and social and political history, "The Porcelain Thief" takes the reader along with Hsu as he travels throughout mainland China and Taiwan in search of his family's fabled porcelain collection and, as a result, discovers the great-great-grandparents and estranged aunts and uncles he never knew. "The Porcelain Thief" is an intimate and personal way to understand the bloody, tragic and largely forgotten events that defined Chinese history in the 19th and 20th century., Hsu, a first-generation Chinese American, returns to China to make his fortune and, in the process, discovers his great-great-grandfather's long-buried porcelain and with it the key to his family's history over the past one hundred years of Chinese history In the tradition of the best works of history that uncover a forgotten family story, such as The Hare with Amber Eyes or The Lost , The Porcelain Thief recounts journalist Huan Hsu's journey through the old and new worlds of China to find hidden treasure, reconnect with his ancestry, and come to terms with his identity. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Hsu's great-great-grandfather's Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, the family was forced to bury their valuables, including furniture, jade, scrolls, and a vast and prized collection of antique porcelain, and to flee on a march that would cover thousands of miles and last more than ten years. Hsu, born in the Bay Area and raised in Salt Lake City, moves to China to work in the family business and begins to understand his family's history as he never has before. Mastering conversational Chinese enough to launch himself into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have grown up around his family, discovering more about China--and himself--than he thought he would ever know. Melding memoir, travelogue, ethnography, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers a unique and unforgettable window onto the dramatic narrative of China's past and present.
9780307986306 English 0307986306 A journalist travels throughout mainland China and Taiwan in search of his family s hidden treasure and comes to understand his ancestry as he never has before. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Huan Hsu s great-great-grandfather Liu s Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, Liu was forced to bury his valuables, including a vast collection of prized antique porcelain, and undertake a decades-long trek that would splinter the family over thousands of miles. Many years and upheavals later, Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed only with curiosity, moves to China to work in his uncle s semiconductor chip business. Once there, a conversation with his grandmother, his last living link to dynastic China, ignites a desire to learn more about not only his lost ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering the language enough to venture into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have obscured both China and his heritage and finally complete his family s long march back home. Melding memoir, travelogue, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers an intimate and unforgettable way to understand the complicated events that have defined China over the past two hundred years and provides a revealing, lively perspective on contemporary Chinese society from the point of view of a Chinese American coming to terms with his hyphenated identity. ", Hsu, a first-generation Chinese American, returns to China to discover the fate of his great-great-grandfather's long-buried porcelain collection and, in the process, unearths the key to understanding his family's history over the past one hundred years of Chinese history In the tradition of the best works of history that uncover a forgotten family story, such as "The Hare with Amber Eyes" or "The Lost," "The Porcelain Thief" recounts journalist Huan Hsu's journey through the old and new worlds of China to find hidden treasure, reconnect with his ancestry, and come to terms with his hyphenated identity. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Hsu's great-great-grandfather's Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, the family was forced to bury their valuables, including a vast and prized collection of antique porcelain, and to flee on a decades-long trek that would splinter it over thousands of miles and countless upheavals. Hsu, raised in Salt Lake City and armed with mere strands of a family legend, moves to China to work in his uncle's semiconductor chip business and begins to understand his family's history as he never has before. A conversation with his grandmother, the last living link to his family's life in dynastic China, ignites his desire to learn more about not only his ancestral heirlooms but also porcelain itself. Mastering conversational Chinese enough to launch himself into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have grown up around both his family and China, and finally complete his family's long march back home. Melding memoir, travelogue, ethnography, and social and political history, "The Porcelain Thief" takes the reader along with Hsu as he travels throughout mainland China and Taiwan in search of his family's fabled porcelain collection and, as a result, discovers the great-great-grandparents and estranged aunts and uncles he never knew. "The Porcelain Thief" is an intimate and personal way to understand the bloody, tragic and largely forgotten events that defined Chinese history in the 19th and 20th century., Hsu, a first-generation Chinese American, returns to China to make his fortune and, in the process, discovers his great-great-grandfather's long-buried porcelain and with it the key to his family's history over the past one hundred years of Chinese history In the tradition of the best works of history that uncover a forgotten family story, such as The Hare with Amber Eyes or The Lost , The Porcelain Thief recounts journalist Huan Hsu's journey through the old and new worlds of China to find hidden treasure, reconnect with his ancestry, and come to terms with his identity. In 1938, when the Japanese arrived in Hsu's great-great-grandfather's Yangtze River hometown of Xingang, the family was forced to bury their valuables, including furniture, jade, scrolls, and a vast and prized collection of antique porcelain, and to flee on a march that would cover thousands of miles and last more than ten years. Hsu, born in the Bay Area and raised in Salt Lake City, moves to China to work in the family business and begins to understand his family's history as he never has before. Mastering conversational Chinese enough to launch himself into the countryside, Hsu sets out to separate the layers of fact and fiction that have grown up around his family, discovering more about China--and himself--than he thought he would ever know. Melding memoir, travelogue, ethnography, and social and political history, The Porcelain Thief offers a unique and unforgettable window onto the dramatic narrative of China's past and present.