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Today's scientists are showing us how stem cells create and repair the human body. Unlocking these secrets has become the new Holy Grail of biomedical research. But behind that search lies a sharp divide, one that has continued for years. Stem cells offer the hope of creating or repairing tissues lost to age, disease, and injury. Yet, because of this ability, stem cells also hold the potential to incite an international biological arms race.The Stem Cell Dilemma illuminates everything you need to know about stem cells, and in this new edition the authors have included up-to-date information on scientific advances with iPS cells, clinical trials that are currently underway, hESC policy that is in the U.S. courts, stem cells and biodefense, developments at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and growing international competition, plus all the basics of what stem cells are and how they work.

frontier topics in theoretical and applied science and engineeringSelected, peer reviewed papers from the 2010 Wase Global Congress on Science Engineering, Yantai, China, November 27-28, 2010

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2010 International Conference on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Processes (ICAMMP 2010), 6-8 November, 2010, Shenzhen, China

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2011 International Conference on Computational Materials Science (CMS 2011) in April 17-18, Guangzhou, China

La nouvelle édition de La pratique de la médecine chinoise décrit les applications de la médecine chinoise traditionnelle. De la théorie au diagnostic, en passant par les différents traitements possibles, c'est plus de 48 maladies qui sont étudiées dans le présent volume. S'appuyant sur les textes fondateurs chinois, classiques et modernes, l'auteur expose avec le soin qui a fait sa réputation les concepts de la pratique de l'acupuncture et de la phytothérapie. Cette seconde édition pensée comme une encyclopédie a été enrichie de nombreuses illustrations et de 14 pathologies comme l'anxiété, l'hypertension ou encore la fibromyalgie. Faisant suite aux Principes fondamentaux de la médecine chinoise, cet ouvrage apportera aux étudiants et aux cliniciens des réponses concrètes à leurs questionnements. Chaque chapitre présente : • L'étiologie et la pathologie ; • Une sélection de traitements utilisant l'acupuncture et les plantes médicinales ; • Une liste de publications contemporaines chinoises ; • Les différences entre les diagnostics traditionnels chinois et occidentaux ; • De nombreuses illustrations, cas cliniques et résumés qui viennent éclairer et faciliter la lecture.

This two-volume proceedings constitutes the refereed papers of the 17th International Multimedia Modeling Conference, MMM 2011, held in Taipei, Taiwan, in January 2011. The 51 revised regular papers, 25 special session papers, 21 poster session papers, and 3 demo session papers, were carefully reviewed and selected from 450 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on audio, image video processing, coding and compression; media content browsing and retrieval; multi-camera, multi-view, and 3D systems; multimedia indexing and mining; multimedia content analysis; multimedia signal processing and communications; and multimedia applications. The special session papers deal with content analysis for human-centered multimedia applications; large scale rich media data management; multimedia understanding for consumer electronics; image object recognition and compression; and interactive image and video search.

This two-volume proceedings constitutes the refereed papers of the 17th International Multimedia Modeling Conference, MMM 2011, held in Taipei, Taiwan, in January 2011. The 51 revised regular papers, 25 special session papers, 21 poster session papers, and 3 demo session papers, were carefully reviewed and selected from 450 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on audio, image video processing, coding and compression; media content browsing and retrieval; multi-camera, multi-view, and 3D systems; multimedia indexing and mining; multimedia content analysis; multimedia signal processing and communications; and multimedia applications. The special session papers deal with content analysis for human-centered multimedia applications; large scale rich media data management; multimedia understanding for consumer electronics; image object recognition and compression; and interactive image and video search.

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2011 International Conference on Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, (CEAM 2011), 28-30 May, 2011

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 7th International Forum on Advanced Material Science and Technology (IFAMST-7), June 26-28, 2010, Dalian, China

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the International Conference on Manufacturing Science and Engineering (ICMSE 2011), 9-11 April, 2011, Guilin, China

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2011 International conference on Environmental Biotechnology and Materials Engineering (EBME 2011), March 26 - 28, 2011, Harbin, P.R. China

First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The book begins with a history of previous translations of Tang tales, surveying how Chinese scholarship has shaped the reception and rendition of these texts in the West. In that context, Tang Dynasty Tales offers the first annotated translations of six major tales (often called chuanqi, “transmitting the strange”) which are interpreted specifically for students and scholars interested in medieval Chinese literature. Following the model of intertextual readings that Glen Dudbridge introduced in his The Tale of Li Wa (Oxford, 1983), the annotation points to resonances with classical texts, while setting the tales in the political world of their time; the “Translator's Notes” that follow each translation explain how these resonances and topical contexts expand the meaning of the text. Each translation is also supported by a short glossary of original terms from the tale and a bibliography guiding the reader to further studies.The meticulous scholarship of this book elevates it above all existing collections of these stories, and the inclusion of a history of the translation work in the west, intended for graduate students, researchers, and other translators, broadens the collections'appeal.

'This book focuses on e-collaboration technologies that enable group-based interaction, and the impact that those technologies have on group work'--Provided by publisher.

It is our great pleasure to present the proceedings of the second Russia–Taiwan Symposium on Methods and Tools of Parallel Programming (MTPP 2010). MTPP is the main regular event of the Russia–Taiwan scientific forum that covers the many dimensions of methods and tools of parallel programming, algorithms and architectures, encompassing fundamental theoretical approaches, practical experimental projects, and commercial components and systems. As applications of computing systems have permeated every aspect of daily life, the power of computing systems has become increasingly critical. Therefore, MTPP is intended to play an important role allowing researchers to exchange information regarding advancements in the state of the art and practice of IT-driven services and applications, as well as to identify emerging research topics and define the future directions of parallel computing. We received a large number of high-quality submissions this year. In the first stage, all papers submitted were screened for their relevance and general submission requirements. These manuscripts then underwent a rigorous peer-review process with at least three reviewers per paper. At the end, 33 papers were accepted for presentation and included in the main proceedings. To encourage and promote the work presented at MTPP 2010, we are delighted to inform the authors that some of the papers will be accepted in special issues of the Journal of Supercomputing, which has played a prominent role in promoting the development and use of parallel and distributed processing.

China blickt auf etwa 9.000 Jahre Zivilisation zurück, davon sind fast 4.000 Jahre durch Schrift-zeugnisse belegt. Die Geschichte der chinesischen Literatur, die bislang umfassendste Darstellung der etwa 3.000-jährigen chinesischen Literaturgeschichte, stellt jedes literarische Genre in seiner historischen Entwicklung von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart vor. Namhafte Fachgelehrte entwerfen ein Panorama der längsten lebendigen literarischen Tradition der Menschheit. Sieben Bände widmen sich einzelnen Gattungen - eine Bibliographie zur chinesischen Literatur in deutscher Sprache, ein Biographisches Handbuch chinesischer Schriftsteller und ein Registerband schließen das Werk ab. Interview mit Wolfgang Kubin zum Abschluss der Reihe https://blog.degruyter.com/chinesische-literatur-war-schon-immer-weltliteratur-ein-interview-mit-wolfgang-kubin/

The papers in this volume go back to a conference held September 14-15, 2002, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., in honour of Prof. Daniel L. Overmyer on his retirement. The contributions pay tribute to this renowned scholar of Chinese religious traditions, whose work is a constant reminder to look beyond text to context, beyond idea to practice, to study religion as it was and is lived by real people rather than as an abstract system of ideas and doctrines.ContentsPHILIP CLART: IntroductionRANDALL L. NADEAU: A Critical Review of Daniel L. Overmyer's Contribution to the Study of Chinese Religions. I. Popular Sects and Religious MovementsHUBERT SEIWERT: The Transformation of Popular Religious Movements of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: A Rational Choice Interpretation SHIN-YI CHAO: The Precious Volume of Bodhisattva Zhenwu Attaining the Way. A Case Study of the Worship of Zhenwu (Perfected Warrior) in Ming-Qing Sectarian GroupsCHRISTIAN JOCHIM: Popular Lay Sects and Confucianism: A Study Based on the Way of Unity in Postwar Taiwan SOO KHIN WAH: The Recent Development of the Yiguan Dao Fayi Chongde Sub-Branch in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand PHILIP CLART: Merit beyond Measure. Notes on the Moral (and Real) Economy of Religious Publishing in TaiwanJEAN DEBERNARDI:'Ascend to Heaven and Stand on a Cloud.'Daoist Teaching and Practice at Penang's Taishang Laojun Temple. II. Historical and Ethnographic Studies of Chinese Popular ReligionJOHN LAGERWEY: The History and Sociology of Religion in Changting County, Fujian KENNETH DEAN: The Growth of Local Control over Cultural and Environmental Resources in Ming and Qing Coastal FujianPAUL R. KATZ: Religion, Recruiting and Resistance in Colonial Taiwan: A Case Study of the Xilai An Incident, 1915WANG CHIEN-CH'UAN. Transl. PHILIP CLART: The White Dragon Hermitage and the Spread of the Eight Generals Procession Troupe in TaiwanTUEN WAI MARY YEUNG: Rituals and Beliefs of Female Performers in Cantonese OperaJORDAN PAPER: The Role of Possession Trance in Chinese Culture and Religion: A Comparative Overview from the Neolithic to the Present. III. The Religious Life of Clerics, Literati, and Emperors JUDITH BOLTZ: On the Legacy of Zigu and a Manual on Spirit-writing in Her Name STEPHEN ESKILDSEN: Death, Immortality, and Spirit Liberation in Northern Song Daoism. The Hagiographical Accounts of Zhao DaoyiROBERTO K. ONG: Chen Shiyuan and Chinese Dream TheoryBAREND J. TER HAAR: Yongzheng and His Buddhist Abbots.Glossary – Index

GSP 190 contains selected papers presented at 2009 GeoHunan International Conference, Challenges and Recent Advances in Pavement Technologies and Transportation Geotechnics, held in Changsha, Hunan, China, August 3-6, 2009.

'This set addresses a range of e-collaboration topics through advanced research chapters authored by an international partnership of field experts'--Provided by publisher.

Paperback + CD-ROM Closing the loop for nutrients in wastewaters (municipal sewage, animal wastes, food industry, commercial and other liquid waste streams) is a necessary, sustainable development objective, to reduce resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Chemistry, engineering and process integration understanding are all developing quickly, as new processes are now coming online. A new'paradigm'is emerging, globally. Commercial marketing of recovered nutrients as'green fertilizers'or recycling of nutrients through biomass production to new outlets, such as bioenergy, is becoming more widespread. This exciting conference brings together various waste stream industries, regulators, researchers, process engineers and commercial managers, to develop a broad-based, intersectional understanding and joint projects for phosphorus and nitrogen recovery from wastewater streams, as well as reuse. Over 90 papers from over 30 different countries presented in this volume. This conference is sponsored by: • Metro Vancouver • Global Phosphate Forum • Stantec Consulting Ltd. • The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) • Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, Inc. (ONRTI) • The University of British Columbia (UBC) • The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • The British Columbia Water and Wastewater Association (BCWWA) • The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) • The Ostara Research Foundation (ORF)

th Welcome to the 15 International Multimedia Modeling Conference (MMM 2009), held January 7–9, 2009 at EURECOM, Sophia-Antipolis, France. MMM is a leadinginternationalconference for researchersandindustry practitionersto share their new ideas, original research results and practical development ex- riences from all multimedia-related areas. MMM 2009 was held in co-operation with the ACM Special Interest Group on MultiMedia (ACM SIGMM). It was a great honor to host MMM 2009, one of the most long-standing th multimedia conferences, at EURECOM in Sophia-Antipolis, France. The 15 edition of MMM marked the return of the conference to Europe after numerous years of activity in Asia, and we are proud to have organized such a prestigious conference on the French Riviera. EURECOM is an engineering school in the domain of information and communication technology and a research center in communication systems. Since its creation in 1991 by TELECOM ParisTech and EPFL, it has developed strong international links with both academic and industrial partners. The heart of EURECOM is its internationally renowned research activities which focus on three areas: networking and security, mobile communications, and multimedia.

The regulation of the body provides an important concern in law, medical practice and culture. This volume contributes to existing research in the area by encouraging experts from a range of related disciplines to consider the legal, cultural and medical ways in which we regulate the body, further exploring how conceptions of self, liberalism, property and harm inform and influence contentious legal and ethical questions about what we can and cannot do to or with our own bodies.

National, European and international concepts and strategies concerning the legal and ethical framework of chimera and hybrid research are still largely missing, even though they are absolutely necessary in order to use the potential of chimera and hybrid research effectively and efficiently for the benefit of science and society. The outcome of the CHIMBRIDS-Project successfully sheds light on the chances and risks of this research and provides legal solutions to existing problems in order to help decision-makers fulfil their tasks in an informed and efficient manner. This comprehensive volume details the complete results, contributed by 40 scholars from 10 member states of the European Union, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Switzerland and the US, with descriptive reports of the legal situation in specific countries and in-depth analysis of all scientific, medical, ethical and legal implications of chimera and hybrid research.

For a number of years, plastic wastes have been accumulating at such a rate that there are now huge environmental concerns with their disposal. Options such as landfill and incineration have not been well received by the public, or indeed government legislation, and focus is now firmly upon the use of biodegradable alternatives for mass applications. One material that has been considered for mass application has been polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH). To date, the use of this material has been confined to comparativey low technology applications such as paper coatings and fibre sizing, which rely upon.

The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Education is the first authoritative reference work to provide an international analysis of the relationship between power, knowledge, education, and schooling. Rather than focusing solely on questions of how we teach efficiently and effectively, contributors to this volume push further to also think critically about education's relationship to economic, political, and cultural power. The various sections of this book integrate into their analyses the conceptual, political, pedagogic, and practical histories, tensions, and resources that have established critical education as one of the most vital and growing movements within the field of education, including topics such as: social movements and pedagogic work critical research methods for critical education the politics of practice and the recreation of theory the freirian legacy. With a comprehensive introduction by Michael W. Apple, Wayne Au, and Luis Armando Gandin, along with thirty-five newly-commissioned pieces by some of the most prestigious education scholars in the world, this Handbook provides the definitive statement on the state of critical education and on its possibilities for the future.

Would you drink milk from a cloned cow? Should we clone extinct or endangered species? Are we justified in using stem cells to develop cures? When will we clone the first human? Ever since Dolly the sheep, such questions have rarely been far from the public consciousness. Aaron Levine explains the science of cloning and guides readers around the thorny political and ethical issues that have developed.

Education in east Asia varies widely, due to the cultural and political histories of each country. The communist governments of China, North Korea, and Vietnam mandate schooling differently from the limited democracy of Hong Kong and the parliamentary government of Japan. The history of the educational philosophies, systems, and curricula of seventeen East Asian countries are described here, with a timeline highlighting educational developments, and a special day in the life feature, a personal account of what it is like for a student to attend school in that country.

A globalization of innovation has produced the most massive spurt in biotechnology in world history. Businesses, universities, and non-governmental organizations are collaborating to produce a'science-industrial complex'in biotechnology. Using case studies of stem cell research, cloning, genetically modified food, in-vitro fertilization, and chimeras in a number of Eastern and Western countries around the world, I argue that much of this biotech activity is global in nature and independent of state control. This shift in the relative influence of state and non-state actors has led to the virtual deregulation of biotechnology and the liberation of innovation from geo-political constraints. These trends post a number of interesting social, political, and ethical issues for the contemporary period and suggest the need to rethink how controversial moral issues are handled by the science-industrial complex.

Post-Industrial East Asian Cities analyzes urban developments and policies responsible for the growth of producer services and creative industries. This study is based on the findings of firm surveys conducted in East Asia and a review of the data and literature on several key regional cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Tokyo) that are transitioning away from traditional manufacturing activities.

The present volume provides an overview on Human genome project, which offers gene therapy, drug therapy and prevention of genetic diseases. Since both plant and animal DNA is made of four nucleotides of adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine, it is no wonder that secondary metabolites of the former (e.g. alkaloids, isoprenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, lignans etc.) become a drug for the latter. Thus reviews on diterpenes of Euphorbiaceae family; Glycyrrhizin, a triterpenoid saponin from Glycyrrhiza; fruits of Schisandra chinensis, a lignan containing herb in Chinese traditional medicine; Artemisia annua a Chinese plant containing antimalarial drug-artemisinin, plant thionins, Cissampelos mucronata, Patchouli oil-an aromatic crop and 1,8, Cineole (Eucalyptol) are presented. Effects of factors like highly differentiated plantlet or shoot culture, high level of CO2, immobilization of cells, use of elicitors, feeding controlled release polymeric precursors, in situ product removal, molecularly imprinted polymers on yield of essential oil by plant tissue/cell culture have also been reviewed. Clinical efficacy of Anxicalm (tablet containing St John's Wort and Valerian) in general anxiety disorder, hypotensive effect of Persea americana and Hibiscus sabdariffa of Nigerian origin, antibacterial effects of plant extracts, clonal propagation of Safed moosli, a natural aphrodisiac, have been presented as original article. Pharmacognostic standardization of important Ayurvedic drugs like Calotropis procera and Desmodium gangeticum have been included. Besides, cultivation practices of Guggal, and conservation strategies of endangered plants have also been addressed. Contributors are from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. Herbal drug formulators, researchers in the field of natural product, Pharmacy, Pharmacognosy, Biology and Pharmacology would find this volume useful.

Rugose corals of the Family Phillipsastreidae are abundant, diverse, and geographically widespread in the Frasnian (lower Upper Devonian) of western Canada.

Based on extensive field research over a period of twenty years, this is the first comprehensive study of the Puyuma people of Taiwan. The Puyuma belong to the Austronesian peoples, which today number less than 370,000. In Taiwan, they are the least known of the aboriginal groups, numbering only 6000, and inhabiting the Southeastern province of Taitung. The study looks at the historical changes in the status and definition of these people in relation to the central state, the criteria by which people determine their own ethnic identity, and the evolution of that identity through history. The increasing awareness in the West of the importance of ethnic relations makes this an especially timely book.

Proceedings of the 3rd China Cross-strait Conference on Composite Materials, Wuhan, China, May 7-12, 2003

Using ingenious research methods, the contributors to this book explore the search for meaning among ordinary people in China today. The subjects of these vivid essays span the social spectrum from hip young entrepreneurs to sweatshop workers and homeless beggars. The issues are equally diverse, ranging from domestic violence to homosexuality to political corruption. The culture of popular China emerges as a mixture of exhilarating new aspirations—as seen in the basketball fans who dream of'flying'like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant; rueful cynicism—as bitingly conveyed in the many satirical jingles that circulate by word of mouth; and painful ambivalence. The people depicted here have built their popular culture out of ideas and symbolic practices drawn from old cultural traditions, from concepts about modernity debated during the early twentieth-century republican era, from the legacies of Maoist socialism, and from contemporary global culture. Throughout, the book shows how economic and social changes caused by globalization, in combination with the continuing Party dictatorship, have presented ordinary Chinese with a new array of moral and cultural challenges that they have met in ways that have changed the face of China.Contributions by: Julia F. Andrews, Anita Chan, Deborah S. Davis, Leila Fernández-Stembridge, Robert Geyer, Amy Hanser, Richard Levy, Perry Link, Richard P. Madsen, Andrew Morris, Paul G. Pickowicz, Kuiyi Shen, Liping Wang, Li Zhang, Yuezhi Zhao, and Kate Zhou.,

This is the first book to present in English a history of post-colonial and diasporic Chinese literatures in Singapore and Malaysia. The 12 essays collected in it provide an in-depth study of the emergence of the new Chinese literatures by looking at the origins, the themes, the major authors and their works, and how the creativity is closely connected with the experience of immigration and colonialization and the challenge of the post-colonial world. In examining a wide range of post-colonial texts and their relation to the cultures of diasporic Chinese and post-colonial society, the author shows that each of the new literatures has its own traditions which reflect local social, political and cultural history. The essays also show that the literature of Singapore or Malaysia has a tradition of its own, and writers of world class. Besides the Chinese literary tradition, a native literary tradition has been created successfully.

The Handbook of Organic Compounds: NIR, IR, Raman, and UV-Vis Spectra Featuring Polymers and Surfactants represents a compendium of practical spectroscopic methodology, comprehensive reviews, and basic information for organic materials, surfactants, and polymer spectra covering the Ultraviolet, Visible, Near Infrared, Infrared, Raman and Dielectric measurement techniques. This set represents a complementary organic compound handbook to the Nyquist inorganic handbook, published in 1996. This set comprises the first comprehensive multi-volume handbook to provide basic coverage for UV-Vis, 4th overtone NIR, 3rd overtone NIR, NIR, Infrared, Raman spectra, and Dielectric data for common organic compounds, polymers, surfactants, contaminants, and inorganic materials commonly encountered in the laboratory. The text includes a description and reviews of interpretive and chemometric techniques used for spectral data analysis. The spectra included within the atlas are useful for identification purposes as well as pedagogical for the instruction of the various interpretive and data processing methods discussed. This work is designed to be of help to students and vibrational spectroscopists in their efforts of daily spectral interpretation and data processing of organic spectra, polymers, and surfactants. All spectra are presented in wavenumber and transmittance, with the addition of ultraviolet, visible, 4th overtone NIR, 3rd overtone NIR, and NIR spectra also represented in nanometers and absorbance space. In addition, some Horizontal infrared ATR spectra are presented in wavenumber and absorbance space. All spectra are shown with essential peaks labeled in their respective units. The material in this handbook was contributed to by several individuals, and comments were received from a variety of prominent workers in the field of molecular spectroscopy. This type of handbookproject is a daunting task. This Handbook can provide a valuable reference for the daily activities of students and professionals working in modern molecular spectroscopy laboratories.• Indices for UV-Vis, fourth overtone NIR, third overtone NIR, NIR, IR, raman, and dielectric spectra• Unique detailed correlation charts for each of these spectral regions• Indices of spectra by alphabetical order, chemical class, and chemical formula• Cross referencing of common compounds for all spectral regions • Literature reviews of historical and most useful references in the field• Research oriented for those using molecular spectroscopy on a routine basis for interpretation, qualitative and quantitative analysis • An emphasis on near infrared and infrared spectral regions

Grannies, geishas, warriors, mystics, recluses, and predators_these are the dangerous women of traditional China. Through her exploration of the myth and history of the Ming, Victoria B. Cass brings their world brilliantly to life. In a culture that is resoundingly patriarchal, these women are a vivid counterpoint. Violating state-sponsored orthodoxies, the granny mocks and mimics, the geisha charms with her intellect, the warrior rules in icy superiority. Using new and freshly interpreted sources, the author leads us confidently into this surprising world, bolstering her erudite and engaging text with stunning color and black and white art of the period.

Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis is one of the oldest and most cited series in the field. It offers a privileged view of the topic covering the theory, applications and engineering of all topics of catalysis, including Heterogeneous-Homogeneous, Biocatalysis and Catalysis for Polymerization. This volume provides an invaluable source of information for academics and industrialists as well as graduate students.

Catalysis by Metals and Alloys

Gaseous Air Pollutants and Plant Metabolism mainly talks about plants and air pollution. The publication of this book is inspired by a symposium on plants and pollution, which generated great interest among the personnel related to the field. The book begins with a brief background on air pollution and continues with a discussion on different types, effects, and solutions to the pollution. The book also features studies about the gaseous air pollution in North America, China, and Japan. The chapters that follow explore the different effects of pollution on chloroplasts, respiration, biochemistry, plant, and plant cells. The text is a valuable reference to undergraduates or postgraduates of chemistry and its related studies.

Spider Eaters is at once a moving personal story, a fascinating family history, and a unique chronicle of political upheaval told by a Chinese woman who came of age during the turbulent years of the Cultural Revolution. With stunning honesty and a lively, sly humor, Rae Yang records her life from her early years as the daughter of Chinese diplomats in Switzerland, to her girlhood at an elite middle school in Beijing, to her adolescent experience as a Red Guard and later as a laborer on a pig farm in the remote northern wilderness. She tells of her eventual disillusionment with the Maoist revolution, how remorse and despair drove her almost to suicide, and how she struggled to make sense of conflicting events that often blurred the line between victim and victimizer, aristocrat and peasant, communist and counterrevolutionary. Moving gracefully between past and present, dream and reality, the author artfully conveys the vast complexity of life in China as well as the richness, confusion, and magic of her own inner life and struggle.Much of the power of the narrative derives from Yang's multi-generational, cross-class perspective. She invokes the myths, legends, folklore, and local customs that surrounded her and brings to life the many people who were instrumental in her life: her nanny, a poor woman who raised her from a baby and whose character is conveyed through the bedtime tales she spins; her father; her beloved grandmother, who died as a result of the political persecution she suffered.Spanning the years from 1950 to 1980, Rae Yang's story is evocative, complex, and told with striking candor. It is one of the most immediate and engaging narratives of life in post-1949 China.