Dreaming in Chinese

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language by Deborah Fallows

The author, a lady from the USA, lived in China for years, and writes about her experiences there. What's interesting about this book is she doesn't write much about tourist sites, cuisine or martial arts, but rather about what she learned about Chinese people and society while living in China while trying to learn Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua). She writes about getting a Chinese name, something that “would demonstrate that we weren't just here to flit around China, but intended to stick it out for a while.” Foreigners are given a name made of Chinese words that sound like their name in their native tongue. For example, Dr. Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (who wrote as Cordwainer Smith) became “Lin Bai-lo” (“Forest of Incandescent Bliss”). Alas, Deborah became “jie bi” “borrow a pen”, which just plain sucks. She correctly deep-sixed the bad name, and spent three years dodging it. There's a lot more about Chinese culture, society and language – a lot of Chinese language here – because it takes a lot of work for English speakers to dream in Chinese.