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Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen” by Marilyn Chin. The story is told in 41 tales that are, at turns, lyrical, ironical, fantastical and satirical. Then there are the gratuitously profane and vulgar parts, which can at best be described as provocative, and will surely challenge many a reader’s comfort zone. Its practical effect might be that the book would be embraced for college teaching but barred from the average high school English class.

It is too bad, since one wonders what a teenager would make of the characters’ hijinks and romps. The grandmother —- who does not appear to ever leave home without her cleaver —- visits the San Francisco mayor’s new water garden and kills the carp gifted by the Emperor Hirohito of Japan, because “Hirohito was a mass murderer and rapist and this pond was built with Chinese blood.” Moonie does Gung-fu (kung-fu) on unsuspecting boys. Mei Ling, the sexpot of the two, constantly throws herself at men, testing her powers and satisfying a desire that no respectable Chinese girl should dare admit. All the while, there is a huge dance around prepping, cooking, serving and delivering food to customers of Double Happiness, the restaurant owned by the grandmother. Throughout the novel, Moonie and Mei Long move inexorably toward fulfilling their Chinese immigrant destiny: both go to Ivy League colleges and become successful.
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In the private dining room of a restaurant, chef Su Ning* sings a song from a new hymnal. Her face glows as she finds the melody, marking time by drumming her fingers on the table. Others around the table join her as she adds motions to the hymn, smiling as she remembers one gesture then falters at another.

Su and a group of friends pooled their money to print the hymnal, which will be distributed to house churches in China. The one she holds in her hand was one of the first off the press.

“We have not had a hymnal,” she says smiling. “All of the songs are written by Chinese. It’s very exciting to have our own praise songs.”

Like so many others, Su came to the city from a rural family of nine children to build a better life. Families are larger in rural areas since minority families often can legally have more than one child.

“I have six older siblings and two younger ones,” Su says. “We knew we needed to move to the city if we were going to succeed.”

Su’s interests lie in cooking. Since she was young, she has been in the kitchen learning to prepare new dishes.

“At first, my mother and my aunts let me cook only the greens,” she says. “I learned more as I got older.”

One of her older sisters moved to the provincial capital and became a believer. She began sharing her faith with Su, especially after she also had moved to the city.

“I didn’t like this Jesus,” Su recounts. “I told my sister her beliefs were not Chinese, that this religion was foreign and not good for us.”

She did notice, though, that her sister seemed much happier, and her personality was different — so much so that Su began to listen.
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New Asian Emperors.
Authors: George T. Haley, Usha C.V. Haley and Tan Chin Tiong; Publisher: John Wiley and Sons

Thousands of business delegations enter China every year. Most of these delegations comprise Overseas Chinese who live in other parts of Asia, and the West, who now sees an opportunity for trade and business in Mainland China.

Although they may not know the language and business culture there, the Overseas Chinese are somehow drawn to the familiar, or what they perceive to be familiar. In all likelihood, much of their aspiration may be due to a pining for their roots.

Be it a search for one’s history or clan, the authors of New Asian Emperors delve into the subjects of roots, shoots and harvests that may arise as a result of the differing business strategies of the Overseas Chinese.
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The trend is buried deep in United States census data: seemingly minute deviations in the proportion of boys and girls born to Americans of Chinese, Indian and Korean descent.

In those families, if the first child was a girl, it was more likely that a second child would be a boy, according to recent studies of census data. If the first two children were girls, it was even more likely that a third child would be male.

Demographers say the statistical deviation among Asian-American families is significant, and they believe it reflects not only a preference for male children, but a growing tendency for these families to embrace sex-selection techniques, like in vitro fertilization and sperm sorting, or abortion.
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Rescuers blasted through rock and debris Sunday to try and reach 27 miners trapped after a massive landslide buried an iron ore plant and several homes in a valley in southwestern China, leaving 26 people dead and dozens missing.

The landslide buried the Jiwei Mountain iron ore mine and covered its two entrances with rocks Friday while 27 miners were still inside, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Authorities believe they could still be alive.

No official death toll has been released, but state broadcaster CCTV reported Saturday that 26 people were killed — 19 miners and seven staff from a mobile phone company. When asked to confirm the report, Chongqing government spokesman Ai Yang said no bodies had been found so far.

The landslide occurred in Wulong county, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from resource-rich Chongqing city, where industrial accidents are common.

Rescuers attempted to reach the shaft where the miners are believed to be trapped by setting off explosives Saturday near one of the plant’s entrances, Xinhua said. More explosives were detonated Sunday, CCTV said. Plans were under way to drill a 130 foot (40 meter) deep hole to give the miners air and send water and food down.
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The most blistering cyberspace dictionary is immediately taking the world – Nciku.com. In major cities of China like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Nciku is fast becoming a household name among students, travelers, and just about anyone else who has an interest in learning Chinese. But now it is all over the world. Although Nciku is an online dictionary, it looks like anything, but a typical learning website. It has a neat looking interface and an innovative interface that boasts features like Nciku for mobile devices, an ezine, handwriting recognition tool. They have a blog that has a loyal following, it´s winning over younger audiences outside of China.

The main appeals of Nciku is its extensive vocabulary lists in both Chinese and English, which even includes popular slang. Something of the other online dictionaries don’t feature thjis. It also offers conversation scenarios supporting topics. It ranges from how to order Chinese food to opening a bank account, there´s a scenario to fit everyone´s needs. Users simply look up the conversation and read or listen to it.

Nciku.com is an excellent word source for both English and the Pinyin system; it is also rich with Chinese characters. You can read and write Chinese characters is often the biggest hurdle for those who are studying Chinese. Nciku´s latest online feature is an innovative character recognition tool that allows you to write strokes with your mouse. It instantly brings up similar or related characters along with the Pinyin and meaning of each. Nciku is an entirely free service and open to all public users, and even on mobile devices.

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If you were born in the Year of Rat or Mouse or Mongoose (1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Ox or Buffalo or Bull or Cow (1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Tiger (1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Rabbit or Hare or Cat (1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Dragon (1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Snake or Serpent (1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Horse (1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Goat or Sheep or Ram (1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Monkey (1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Rooster or Hen or Cock or Chicken or Phoenix (1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Dog (1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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If you were born in the Year of Pig or Boar or Hog (1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007) as per Chinese Astrology Horoscopes, know your Destiny in 2008 in your Career/Business, Health, Wealth, Harmony, Love and Studies. Be aware of your strengths and be warned of the negative energies that you may have to face, to plan your strategies well ahead. Get to know the Feng Shui Enhancers and Cures that can help you, too.

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