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Letters and Blogs
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-02 07:46
This novel is a slow burner Comment on "Not easy to read China" (Sept 8, 2009, China Daily) The article claims that the reason why Jiang Rong's book Wolf Totem hasn't been selling as well as expected internationally is that Western readers fail to understand the cultural nuances in this work. In my view, Wolf Totem is one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time and will, eventually, be recognized as such. While Jiang writes in a style that is unmistakably Chinese, even in its English translation, and the story is embedded in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, like all great literary masterpieces it transcends culture, time and place. Wolf Totem's many subliminal messages are eternal yet relevant to the current human predicament. I have lent and given this book as a present to many of my Australian friends and, while some were slow to appreciate it at first, all thoroughly enjoyed and got something out of it eventually. So much so that most like me, have read Wolf Totem a number of times so compelling is the story and the message it carries. That such a profound, complex and sensitive work like Wolf Totem was an immediate bestseller in China speaks volumes about the literary standards and intelligence of the average Chinese reader. This book is what we call in the West, a "slow burner" which means it may take time before it is fully understood and appreciated by a mass Western audience. Dr Ross Grainger via e-mail Encourage good conduct The country's first intelligent performance evaluation system for teachers was displayed at a seminar on primary and secondary teachers' working performance. The system can evaluate teachers' professional ethics with quantitative standards, and will be put to extensive use in Hunan province after the National Day vacation. Professional ethics, according to the system, accounts for 25 percent of a teacher's overall working performance and is judged by 10 criteria. Violations of each item, such as physical punishment, corruption, irregular charges and drug abuse, will lead to five to 100 percent deduction from a teacher's merit pay. From an optimistic viewpoint, teachers' professional ethics can be easily calculated via the system. Yet the standards adopted are questionable. Quantitative evaluation, considered as being fair, feasible and convincing, has become some officials' favorite in recent years. Yet we should always keep in mind the primary goal of performance evaluation is to not only punish abuses but also to encourage good conduct. Xiong Bingqi http://xiongbingqi.blog.sohu.com/ (China Daily 10/02/2009 page5) |
