Think Through China by Jerusha McCormack John G. Blair Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, US. 2016. ISBN 978‐1‐4422‐4792‐5.

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1648
Date01 February 2017
Published date01 February 2017
BOOK REVIEW
THINK THROUGH CHINA
by Jerusha McCormack |John G. Blair
Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, US.
2016. ISBN 9781442247925.
This is one of the most insightful and profound books available on
understanding China. It has a structured, indepth approach to appre-
ciating the cultural and historic underpinnings of what is the longest
extant civilization in the world. It is timely and grounded in knowledge
and allows the inquisitive reader to understand how China that was
the world's largest economy in the 1820s could regain that position
again potentially by the 2020s.
In Thinking through China,Jerusha McCormack, Professor
Emeritus, from University College Dublin, and John G. Blair, Pro-
fessor Emeritus, University of Geneva, two leading scholars who
have taught and researched in China for almost a decade teaching
a course called Western Civilization with Chinese Comparisons,
offer 10 key Chinese concepts that explain what makes China Chi-
nese from both Western and Chinese views with cultural
comparisons.
These are
1. Xiao, binding families.
2. Mianzi, locating a self through others.
3. Guanxi, The people network.
4. Xin, where is my mind.
5. Qi, the energy unifying the world.
6. Yi, chameleon reality.
7. Dao, realizing a way.
8. He, thinking in harmony.
9. Luan, the lurking threat of chaos.
10. Celue, strategizing life.
The book opens by giving a stark example of how a Chinese stu-
dent gave up a great opportunity to embark upon a degree supported
with a scholarship at Cambridge University, because they were obey-
ing their parents' wishes.
The authors' point being made here is that Xiao translated as
family reverenceor the duty of lovetowards one's parents
and grandparents is a core value in China in both families and Chi-
nese hierarchies. Parents can intervene in every aspect of their
child's lifestudies, career, and marriage as part of Xiaoand as
everything is connected,so the privatelife of individuals and
families feeds seamlessly into the publiclife of communities and
authority structures. So this makes Chinese people value kinship
and their connections with their family and others, but can also
lack a sense of where boundaries start and end. The authors also
mention that part of the reasoning behind Xiao is utilitarian in ori-
gin in that the spirits of the ancestors will help to further the plans
and ambitions of the living so a secondary meaning or feature for
Xiao is mourning.But with the impact of urbanization and mod-
ernization, the thinking about spirits and mourningactivities are
gradually vanishing; Xiao is mostly based on the love towards par-
ents nowadays. But deep in the roots, it still survives as a central
Chinese value.
The authors see through the representation and provide critical
introductions and commentaries through evidence gathered in differ-
ent aspects. For instance, with vivid examples on the two key words
Mianzi and Guanxithey are seen as complementary to each other.
Mianzi, translated directly as face, by the authors, it is perfectly
interpreted as locating a self through others. Seen as the people net-
work, the main value of Guanxi reciprocity is payback. The authors
clearly found that through giving face, Guanxi is established,
protected, and maintained, and with extensive Guanxi net, one can
gain more Mianzi. Although I think they are not solely Chinese char-
acters but also a general character in human nature, one seeks to be
respected and valued.
The authors put forward their own views about Chinese policies
through interpreting the other three key words, He,Luan, and Celue.
Chinese authorities' decisions are mostly based on He, to keep social
harmony and avoid Luansocial disorders, Celuestrategizing life,
and the system plays an important role in this. These can explain the
authorities' means in dealing with a lot of things, as the example given
in the book, Liu Xiaobo's case, Liusi and Falungong.
This is not a text that looks at China purely through Western
eyes and consequently at a very superficial level, but is a book giving
deep and detailed knowledge of China with Chinese own terms as
well as ancient Chinese poems to illustrate their philosophy and
behaviours. The book lives up to its title, and it successfully gives
readers an idea of the hidden rule of Chinese behaviours, the base
of Chinese government's decision making, comparing westerns' belief
and practices.
McCormack and Blair have written a text that is well
researched, well written, and easy to read. It is a highquality narra-
tive that in its first ten chapters gives an indepth insight into the
distinct evolution of China and its culture. It moves into a more
DOI 10.1002/pa.1648
J Public Affairs. 2017;17:e1648.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1648
Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of2

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