Perhaps then, days such as these, there is nothing more comforting than literature that not only understands us, but uplifts us with the resilience of humanity in the face of hardship. Or, to put it simply, misery loves company.

If you’re looking for such a literary companion — and specifically a China-related one — you may enjoy Pearl S. Buck’s Dragon Seed. (Note to loyal readers — yes, I’m stuck on Buck as it were, and no, I have no idea when this love affair with her writing will end.)

Dragon Seed takes place on the eve of the Japanese invasion in East China (what seems to be the Shanghai area and surrounding environs), so it has all of the makings of a glorious disaster, far worse than our own. Yet, it is the perspective that gives the story its charm — that of Ling Tan, a farmer so fiercely devoted to the Earth that he even believes his earth stretches all the way to the other side of the planet (beware foreigners on the opposite side), and his family, which consists of his wife, Ling Sao, three sons (Lao Ta, Lao Er, Lao San) and two daughters (X and Panhsiao).  When the first signs of war — bombers flying over Ling Tan’s home — touch the land, no one, not even Ling Tan, believes there is anything of great concern to farmers like him. A country like China, with thousands of restless years of rebellion, infighting, warlords restling for power and the like, has endured regime change so often that people like Ling Tan only care for the safety of his land and family. But this time, it is much more than a new set of rulers sweeping out the old — it is ruthless destruction, completely divorced from all of the mores and values that, in good times, embody humanity. Soon Ling Tan finds his two prized possessions — land and family — in jeopardy, and can no longer hide from the pain of war.  It truly pales in comparison to our economic losses.

If the East-Ocean people (as the Japanese are referred to in the story) aim to dehumanize the area, it is Buck herself who saves humanity by bringing us such vivid, delightful characters who represent Chinese culture, yet have personality of their own. Naturally, being the feminist I am, I adore the strong women. There is the fiercely independent Jade, wife of Lao Er, who persuades him to buy her a book even if he cannot read, and who marches with her husband to the West, heavy with child, to escape the oncoming soldiers. There is also Ling Sao, Ling Tan’s wife, who, while occupying herself with many of the typical duties of a housewife is nevertheless stubborn and independent in her own right (refusing to leave the home, despite Ling Tan’s pleading at one point) and still the loveliest woman in the world to her dear husband. Panhsiao, while an unplanned child for the family, still longs to learn how to read and write even if she is a girl.

Along the way, complicated characters make trouble for Ling Tan in his fervent quest to save his land and family. There is a dodgy opium-addicted cousin, a somewhat traitorous merchant son-in-law, and even the war-torn personalities that emerge from his oldest and youngest son.

The story ends with Ling Tan asking “Is there not promise of rain?” — only to be told “only a promise” by his son. Things are never the same after a crisis, and so it must be for Ling Tan as he rises like a phoenix from the ashes of conflict. But just as we must face economic difficulties before us, no matter what, there is always a promise of something better, if only we have the patience to wait for it.

Happy reading!

But yet, there was always one part of the book I found heartbreaking, perhaps for personal reasons. In “A House Divided”, the character Yuan goes to the US to study, and nearly falls in love with the daughter of a Christian family — a soulful girl with penetrating dark eyes and hair, who somehow felt a connection with this “son of Han” from a country far away. I say Yuan “nearly” falls in love with her, because after a while, he decides against the idea of a union with a foreigner. Of course, this decision is understandable. Even today, the idea of marrying a foreign women is still met with reservations. Some see us as too casual or “complicated” (a euphemism the parent of a Chinese friend used to refer to questionable sexual orientation) than Chinese, or wonder if we could accept the Confucian family structure. Yet part of me still longed to find a literary counterpart in Buck’s stories, a foreign girl who could indeed marry a Chinese man and overcome the barriers to somehow still live “happily ever after”.

I only wish I had found “East Wind: West Wind”, a story where the ardent love between a Chinese man and foreign woman challenges the traditional Chinese family structure and view of the world, all that sooner.

Even better, “East Wind: West Wind” is a welcome read for any feminist (right here!) because the narrator is a woman. Specifically, Kwei-lan, the sister of the Chinese man who falls in love with the foreign woman. If you’ve read “House of Earth” and longed to get the woman’s perspective, here’s your chance. Ironically, though, it’s not Kwei-lan, but rather her foreign-schooled husband, who calls into question all of the traditional practices in Chinese society that quietly promote the inferiority of women. Certainly, there are the usual suspects, such as when he persuades her to unbind her feet (“How you have suffered!” he proclaims as he helps her with the painful process). But he also addresses more subtle, yet insidious, issues, such as the slavish deference of women to their husbands (“I shall never force you to anything. You are not my possession — my chattel. You may be my friend, if you will.”). For a woman such as Kwei-lan, whose entire childhood was in preparation for quiet servitude to the man she was long betrothed to, it is as painful as unbinding those “tiny lotuses” she learned to walk on long ago. The specters of this old world still linger on with each visit home, where her mother is confined to the bitter existence as a first wife, while her often absent father is drawn away by the next concubine or conveniently planned business trip that removes him from any domestic disputes.

The changes in Kwei-lan and her life are certainly cause for concern from her mother. But it is Kwei-lan’s brother, and his foreign wife, Mary, who create a seismic rift within the family structure.

As the wife of a Chinese man, I’ve often wondered about how people in China perceive my relationship. While it’s certainly not the last word, and perhaps somewhat dated (roughly set in the 1930s/1940s), East Wind: West Wind offers many clues to that end. I had to laugh, for example, at how Kwei-lan is shocked in Mary being much taller than her husband (same for me), or in Mary’s freedom (“But most of all, she likes to sit in the garden dreaming, doing nothing at all. I have not once seen any embroidery in her hands.”) or especially, in the ways that Mary and her husband display their affection openly (“She avows her love for my brother as simply as a child may seek its playmate. There is nothing hidden or subtle in her. How strange this is!”).

But even stranger to Kwei-lan is how she must become an ambassador for her brother and Mary, in their attempt to gain acceptance to the family. This whole chapter in the story is almost a rite of passage for any foreign wife of a Chinese man, and I relish it with a certain nostalgia, even when my husband had to make such declarations outwardly: “Although in her veins is foreign blood, she wishes me to tell our honorable mother that since she is married to me, her heart has become Chinese.” Mary’s eventual move with her husband into his old family home is much more of a cultural clash than I ever experienced when spending Chinese New Year at my husband’s family home. But while I may not have known the stinging seclusion imposed upon Mary, the situation made me reminisce on those frigid nights alone in my then-boyfriend’s old unheated bedroom, wondering what my potential future in-laws thought of me, or why people looked upon me so curiously. I only wish I had such a devoted friend as Kwei-lan, who defends Mary’s honor. In response to the suggestion that Mary is “so ridiculous and inhuman in appearance” that she “must expect to be looked at — and laughed at”, Kwei-lan declares “Nevertheless, she is human, and she has feelings like ours.”

And in the end, isn’t that what we all hope for — a universal acceptance and understanding that transcends countries and cultures? I think Buck puts it best in the words of Kwei-lan’s husband, who declares the joy of the marriage between her brother and Mary: “Those two hearts, with all of their difference in birth and rearing — differences existing centuries ago! What union!”

Here’s the scoop on Geithner’s ties to China, from an article published in China News (中国新闻网）:

他与盖特纳的父亲彼得·盖特纳有过12年亲密合作的经历。从1984至1996年间，他们共同为在中国推广现代经济学教育而努力，其中包括“福特培训计划”，“当盖特纳还年轻的时候，我在中国见到了他，但他就职纽约联邦储备银行后就没有遇到了。”

[Princeton University Professor Zou Zhizhuang] and Geithner’s father spent 12 years working closely together. From 1984 to 1996, they worked very hard together to promote the education of modern economics, including for Ford’s training plans. “When Geithner was young, I saw him in China. But after he went to the Federal Reserve in New York, I never ran into him again.”

也因为这些经历，盖特纳相比其他高级官员具有更多的国际经验优势，有的媒体甚至把他称为“中国通”。

Because of this history, Geithner has the advantage of more international experience compared to many other high officials, so some of the media have called him an “old China hand.”

资料显示，盖特纳从小随在福特基金会任职的父亲在亚洲和非洲生活，曾学习日语和汉语，拥有达特茅斯大学政府与亚洲研究的学士学位。之后他在约翰斯·霍普金斯大学高等国际研究学院获得国际经济与东亚研究的硕士学位。1985 年在基辛格公司也是亚洲事务专家。

According to records, from an early age Geithner lived with his Ford Foundation employed father in Asia and Africa. He has studied Japanese and Chinese, and received a bachelors degree from Dartmouth University in government and Asian studies. Afterwards, he received a master’s degree in East Asian studies from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. In 1985, he served as the Asian Affairs Expert in [Henry] Kissinger’s company

Update: In Barack Obama’s speech today, introducing Timothy Geithner and the rest of the economic team, he mentions Geithner’s international experience in Asia and his understanding of Chinese (and Japanese) as part of his qualifications:

Tim’s extensive international experience makes him uniquely suited for this work. Growing up partly in Africa and having lived and worked throughout Asia; having served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs — one of many roles in the international arena; and having studied both Chinese and Japanese, Tim understands the language of today’s international markets in more ways than one.

In case you didn’t follow the news, there was a ballot measure in California, Proposition 8, that would ban gay marriage (in opposition to the California Supreme Court decision this summer making gay marriage legal). Proposition 8 passed on Tuesday.

Here’s one of these so-called pundits weighing in on Phoenix News why overseas Chinese families would support Proposition 8 （八号提案）：

那么华人到美国以后，尤其第一代移民打拼，都是为了为孩子创造一个良好的教育环境和生活环境，现在生活环境已经被毒品弄得痛苦不堪，现在又弄出一个同性恋出来。

(Rough translation: After Chinese go the US, especially the first generation of immigrants, they want to create a healthy environment for their children to live and study. Now this living environment has been made miserable by drugs. And now homosexuality has been brought out as well.)

Yes, that’s right — having homosexuals in your community is as bad as widespread drug abuse.

But wait, the hatred doesn’t stop there. In the same discussion, he goes on to castigate the African American community as well:

现在在华人当中，两件事情是最让家长头疼的：一个是女儿嫁给了黑人，一个是儿子变成了同性恋。那个是整个是做父母的就就要跳楼了。

(Rough translation: For today’s overseas Chinese, two things would be considered the worst headache for parents: one is your daughter marrying a black man, one is your son being gay. If this is true and you’re a parent, you would jump off a building.)

Excuse me?

Look, I know that many Chinese and Chinese parents have a very traditional perspective on the world. And I know there is still racism in China. But these two pundits are supposed to be well-educated, and representing Chinese as a whole. Their words (and positions as professors, for that matter) add credence to what are, in my opinion, some dangerously divisive and hateful ideas.

I give the host credit for at least calling them out on their words:

你说一个女儿嫁给黑人，一个是同性恋，这俩都是偏见哪。照所谓政治正确的立场来讲，这不都是偏见吗？

You say a daughter marries a black man, the other is homosexuality, these are prejudice. From a politically correct perspective, aren’t these all prejudice?

Fair and balanced in China? Phoenix News, you’ve got a way to go.

But what’s the take on Obama in China? How does China view Obama’s presidency, after eight years of the Bush administration where Chinese exports were embraced?

Of course, there is some concern on the trade side. A number of websites, including Hexun and Sina, cite a rather cautious quote from Obama regarding his stance on China:

中国既不是朋友，也不是敌人。他们是竞争者

(rough translation: China is not a friend, nor an enemy. The Chinese are competitors.)

Indeed, the article from Hexun, which includes in its title “The pressure is great for Chinese foreign trade”, suggests that Obama will put dampen the foreign trade market, which previously had been such a runaway locomotive under Bush. Of course, things have already slowed down. The article mentions a letter Obama wrote to a textile organization in the US, where he promises to pressure China to float the RMB and reduce exports. On the other hand, the author suggests some common ground for the two countries, namely working together to help resolve the current financial crisis.

As for Sina, the view is more positive than you’d think as well. The author points out Obama’s reputation for pragmatism — meaning that he would always act prudently when considering any policy changes towards China.

He reminds us that Obama spent four of his formative years in Indonesia, leaving him with a positive impression of Asia. He also once visited Karachi, and was shocked by the poverty and lingering landscape of feudalism that gripped many of the citizens there. These and other experiences have influenced Obama, and helped him to make better foreign policy decisions.

He also mentions Obama’s tendency to surround himself with the best and the brightest advisors, including Jeffrey Bader of the Brookings Institution, who is described as one of today’s preeminent China experts.

Additionally, this blog provides the translation of a discussion about Obama’s policy from Shanghai:

Despite this, in light of the large number of Obama’s China advisors with realist positions, and even more due to the fact that America and China’s common interests outweigh their differences, Obama’s “not a friend nor enemy” and “competitor” strategic position towards China is bound to be discarded about half a year after taking office, just like what happened early on in the Clinton and Bush administrations.  His China policy will gradually become more rational and realistic.  Compared with Bush’s current China policy, when the time comes, the differences in Obama’s policy will mainly appear in issues regarding America and China’s economic relationship.

So, what’s the verdict? Certainly, there’s going to be pressure on China — but, on the other hand, China sees Obama as a steady hand who, when it comes to governance, will, to borrow a phrase from a Spike Lee film, do the right thing.

UPDATE: This story on the World also talks about how China views Obama…mentions that people are excited about the election as a historic moment, but also cautious in their concern that he may be more protectionist.