Customer Reviews

Macau: A Cultural Janus

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Macau was the Portuguese foothold on mainland China and reflects a merging of the two cultures. Cheng Beng focuses on the ambivalent history of Macau and reveals the historical reality of cultural vacillation between two political entities and the emergence of a creole minority -- the Macanese. With the judicious use of English, Chinese and Portuguese sources, Beng provides the reader with a multi-focal perspective of the last Portuguese outpost in Asia and challenges the easy assumptions of what to expect with the "decolonization" of Macau that took place in December 1999. Macau: A Cultural Janus is an important, timely contribution to Asian studies and highly recommended reading for anyone with a political, social, cultural, familial, or economic interest in Macau.

I suppose any publisher desires glowing reviews to be printed on the back of a book he/she wants to sell. But this particular text is so filled with preconceived notions that any claim of fairness is impossible to entertain. Scholars most often research prior to formulating opinions; the opposite is true with this rather awkwardly written text. Ms. Bing cautiously has one eye on Beijing while busily castigating the Portuguese at every turn. Her book should have been about symbolism as she sees it with every existing and non-existing statue, building, and bridge. Her description of the opium trade and the so-named "coolie" trade practically absolves the Chinese from any involvement. Any budding reader of Asian history knows that neither could have been accomplished without the compliance of many a Chinese official. Even the British come off well in comparison to the Portuguese; after all, it was they who forced the closure of the coolie trade according to Bing. She claims to all Chinese, Macau both "hurts and wounds." I find only a little irony in the existing of this 23.5 square kilometer bit of land can be so traumatic. Perhaps her verbs would be more apt in telling of the current attitudes of the Tibetans. She claims that the PRC did not take back Macau in the Cultural Revolution (1970s) period, as it might have "shocked" the people of Hong Kong. No possibility apparently existed that the few pragmatic Chinese who existed during this time needed another view of the West besides Hong Kong. A short visit to Macau will emphasize to anyone even remotely interested in Macanese history that a great deal of pride exists regarding the 400 year plus association with the Portuguese. The magnificent Museum of Macau is only a small example. Surely there are other more qualified scholars who can write dispassionately about the history of Macau. Unfortunately this book rather than being "A Cultural Janus" is rather just a one-faced one.