Harmony: A Treasury of Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents (This Little Light of Mine) [Paperback]

Sarah Conover (Author), Chen Hui (Author), Ji Ruoxiao (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: This Little Light of Mine

Harmony: A Treasury of Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents is a collection of traditional stories from one of the world's oldest civilizations. For over two thousand years, the Chinese have used brief sayings known as chengyu to sum up practical wisdom and ethical principles. Most chengyu are associated with a story that illustrates their meaning, and these stories have been passed down by word of mouth over the centuries.



Gathered in this volume are twenty-four of the most popular chengyu and the stories based on them, each beautifully illustrated by one of China's foremost artists, Ji Ruoxiao. For readers curious about the cultural context of the tales, the book includes a brief overview of Chinese religious traditions as well as background notes on each story, a map, and chronology. Simple, often humorous, and always wise, these tales will delight readers of all ages, making Harmony a book to cherish.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah Conover's interests lie with world religion and multicultural storytelling traditions. She holds a BA in religious studies from the University of Colorado and an MFA in poetry from Eastern Washington University. The founder and general editor of the This Little Light of Mine series, she lives and writes in Spokane, Washington, where she teaches at Spokane Valley High School.

Chen Hui majored in English literature and education at Hunan Normal University, in Chansha. She subsequently earned an MA in education from Harding University, in Searcy, Arkansas, and taught Chinese at St. George's School, in Spokane, before her recent move back to China.

Ji Ruoxiao is a professor of art at Sichuan Normal University, in Chengdu. She studied at Beijing's Central Institute of Fine Arts, and her paintings hang in the Chinese Art Museum, also in Beijing. The recipient of many honors, she was one of two Chinese artists whose work was chosen for the art exhibition at the Fourth United Nations World Conference of Women. She lives in Seattle and returns to Sichuan each year to teach. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 155 pages
• Publisher: Eastern Washington Univ Pr (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597660442
• ISBN-13: 978-1597660440
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,582,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A harmonious and beautiful book, January 24, 2010

By 

Roobeans (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harmony: A Treasury of Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents (This Little Light of Mine) (Paperback)

Sarah Conover and co-author Chen Hui, have drawn on 24 ancient Chinese "chengyu" (Chinese sayings and proverbs) and turned them into a delightful book entitled Harmony: Chinese Wisdom for Children and Parents, a book that goes a long way to giving readers of all ages special insight into how the Chinese think and what largely defines their culture.

One of the things I most noticed and appreciated about this book is how well it crosses over to readers of all ages. I can only imagine this is not an easy task for an author to accomplish. From young to old it is a perfect introduction to China. Young children will love having this book read to them and will gaze for hours at the incredible brush paintings and illustrations by Ji Ruoxiao. Adults of all walks of life, from students of Chinese, businessmen traveling to China, Congressmen and women needing to understand Chinese culture, will greatly benefit from this book. Many of these chengyu are frequently used by the Chinese people to state and/or clarify their position on an issue--sometimes overtly, sometimes not. As an example given in the book, Mao Zedong used the proverb "foolish old man moves mountain" to show that obstacles can be removed given enough determination. And, we have all heard about actual hills in China being leveled and moved to make way for modern projects.

The chengyu are brought to light by 3 methods; the title and exact translation of the original proverb, the stunning brush paintings that capture the essence of the fable, and the "retelling" of the story for modern audiences. The retellings are terrific in that they flesh out the traditional proverbs, some of which may not have immediate meaning to a western audience since we largely grew up with different ones. (You will immediately recognize some of the fables or titles, such as "Yu Gong Moved Mountains", and "Blind Men Touch an Elephant", however, the storylines do not always progress how one might expect, as in the case of "Practice Makes Perfect"). At the end of the book Conover has provided a final recap explanation on each chengyu's use in today's society.

Conover and Chen also incorporate a section on philosophical and religious influences in China over the millennia that created the chengyu and a handy guide to pronunciation of common Chinese expressions.

Finally, if it is the goal of chengyu and fables world wide to distill a story down into teachable sayings, the title of this book, Harmony, could not be more appropriate. One gets a very clear picture that harmony itself is the driving force behind Chinese Culture.