China Worldcraft: From Beijing: Four Concise Keywords of Chinese History You Need to Know to Deal with Chinese

This was a fantastic primer for those looking to understand modern China with an eye toward better comprehending its role in the modern world. This book was beautifully written and a joy to read. 100% recommend for anyone interested in learning more about China!

This is a self-published book. Although the author is a Korean diplomat working in China, and thus seems to have useful knowledge and insight into China and how it sees the world, this book was badly written only because the author does not have the requisite command of the English language to publish a book such as this, by himself, in the English language. The description on the book’s cover is a nightmare for linguists. Apart from wondering whether he meant to write ‘Wordcraft’ or Worldcraft’, the phrase, ‘Four Concise Keywords’ make no sense. A word is a word. How much more concise can it be? If he meant the four words taken together, he should have used ‘A key phrase’. It is not clear even in the book because the four words appear to be: Business, People, People 2, and The Cycle. The book is a bit disconnected from chapter to chapter, and the maps are drawn amateurishly, probably by the author himself. This may have been a readable book had it been written in Korean and translated professionally. As it is, the book is just a rambling of the author’s personal thoughts and observations.

A learned and considered account by a Korean diplomat with deep experience in China, and is well-worth reading.

This is a self-published book. Although the author is a Korean diplomat working in China, and thus seems to have useful knowledge and insight into China and how it sees the world, this book was badly written only because the author does not have the requisite command of the English language to publish a book such as this, by himself, in the English language. The description on the book’s cover is a nightmare for linguists. Apart from wondering whether he meant to write ‘Wordcraft’ or Worldcraft’, the phrase, ‘Four Concise Keywords’ make no sense. A word is a word. How much more concise can it be? If he meant the four words taken together, he should have used ‘A key phrase’. It is not clear even in the book because the four words appear to be: Business, People, People 2, and The Cycle. The book is a bit disconnected from chapter to chapter, and the maps are drawn amateurishly, probably by the author himself. This may have been a readable book had it been written in Korean and translated professionally. As it is, the book is just a rambling of the author’s personal thoughts and observations.