Hybrid alphabet

Maywan Shen Krach (author)
Hongbin Zhang (illustrator)
D is for Doufu: An Alphabet Book of Chinese Culture)
Shen's Books, 1997

Maywan Shen Krach's introduction to Chinese culture is organized like an alphabet book with a single entry per letter (excepting i, u, and v), but it would more appropriate to think of it as a very select and idiosyncratic encyclopedia. For each letter, we encounter a term, such as ai (love), naohuadeng (lantern parade), xiaoshun (filial piety), or zhongguo (China). The terms are given in Chinese (written in a red cartouche), in pinyin, and in English translation. Following that, the author sometimes offers an explanation of the visual components of the character, which is at times illuminating (che), at other times less so (wo). Two or more short paragraphs then explain the term. The content is uneven as when the author relates the pipa to the American blues guitar without recognizing that both trace their origins to a common middle eastern musical ancestor. I was also disappointed in the quality of the writing, which unfortunately did not enliven the subjects. The divergent illustrations, too, seemed in need of some editorial direction. Still, the concept is an interesting one, and perhaps worth another visit.