The Question of Hu

Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Review: Although I'm not a expert on China, I'm sure Jonathan Spence's "The Question of Hu" has to be one of the most innovative, readable books on Chinese-European relations. The author focuses on the life of John Hu, an early-18th-century Chinese convert to Christianity. Spence relates the tragic story of Hu's experiences in China and in France as he accompanies Jean-François Fouquier and his Jesuit colleagues: he confronts racism, the desire of various French academicians to make him and his people "noble savages," and so on.

"The Question of Hu" is much like another of Spence's great books, "Emperor of China: A Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi." Just as that book is more or less a reworking of strands of K'ang-Hsi's own writings into a sort of posthumous autobiography, the bulk of "The Question of Hu" is a rather liberal rendering of Father Fouquier's journal into English, with enough of Spence's own touches to make it truly his work. It is a very creative approach, and Spence's writing is extremely readable. Something you won't be able to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Not yet a master piece
Review: I have a couple of other books by Mr. Spence. I don't think this book is up to the standard of the others. It is somehow hindered by not-so-excited nature of the subject matter. First, Foucquet needed a Chinese for his bragging rights to Rome. Then, he lost his original candidate. So, he filled up with Hu, a recently convert peasant whom, I doubt, hardly know much about Chinese classics and hardly capable to understand/accept a new concept because of insufficient scholastic training. Foucquet abandoned Hu latter because of the awkward situation of losing his bragging rights. Now, as a analogy, if you bring Tarzan, out of jungle and abandon him latter without teaching him any language understood by the citizen of the city where he dwells, what will Tarzan turn to be? Most probably an insane. This is much worse than a Kafkasque situation in which the protagonist still can communicate with the other. So, the story is simple. The only reason that Hu was locked up was because an irresponsible Father, Foucquet, whom needed a Chinese to show off to Rome lost his bragging treasure because of incapability of Hu and was trying to escape his responsibility to host Hu by ignoring him. Don't forget Foucquet hand-picked Hu himself. The vain of showing off to Rome ate someone's integrity, even Foucquet, a well-educated Jesuit. So, a not-so-excited story turned up to be a dull book. If you know Mr. Spence, skip this one and try the other, e.g., The Emperor of China.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Tale Well Told
Review: If you enjoyed "The Professor and the Madman", this book might just be your cup of tea. In both books, the central character becomes schizophrenic. In "The Professor and the Madman", he's an American officer in London. In "The Question of Hu", he's an assistant to a Jesuit scholar in France. This is a comparatively thin book, but it contains many threads: infighting among Jesuits, the Catholic missionary strategy in China in the 18th century, culture shock, treatment of the mentally ill, fidelity, circumstances in 18th century Paris and Canton, and careerism, among others. This is an engaging story well told.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Tale Well Told
Review: If you enjoyed "The Professor and the Madman", this book might just be your cup of tea. In both books, the central character becomes schizophrenic. In "The Professor and the Madman", he's an American officer in London. In "The Question of Hu", he's an assistant to a Jesuit scholar in France. This is a comparatively thin book, but it contains many threads: infighting among Jesuits, the Catholic missionary strategy in China in the 18th century, culture shock, treatment of the mentally ill, fidelity, circumstances in 18th century Paris and Canton, and careerism, among others. This is an engaging story well told.

Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book By Jonathan Spence
Review: Once again Jonathan Spence has written a wonderful book, which is both a model of historical research and a wonderful story. It is hard to even know where to begin when talking about the quality of Spence's work. As a person who has studied East Asian history academically for too many years to count, I am always amazed and to some degree jealous of his abilities as a writer. This is not his most recent book, or his best for that matter (I suggest reading "In Search of Modern China" if you do not have much knowledge of Chinese histroy, and then reading "Treason by the Book" and "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" for starters.), but it is still a wonderful read. For anyone interested in the history of China and its interactions with the West, you will be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book By Jonathan Spence
Review: Once again Jonathan Spence has written a wonderful book, which is both a model of historical research and a wonderful story. It is hard to even know where to begin when talking about the quality of Spence's work. As a person who has studied East Asian history academically for too many years to count, I am always amazed and to some degree jealous of his abilities as a writer. This is not his most recent book, or his best for that matter (I suggest reading "In Search of Modern China" if you do not have much knowledge of Chinese histroy, and then reading "Treason by the Book" and "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" for starters.), but it is still a wonderful read. For anyone interested in the history of China and its interactions with the West, you will be pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Not yet a master piece
Review: The Question of Hu is historian Jonathan Spence's reconstruction of the real-life saga concerning a Chinese man named Hu. In the 1720s, Hu traveled to France as an employed servant of his Jesuit master, Jean Francois Focquet, who later renders his accounts of Hu into writing. Hu began to exhibit strange behavior on the ship's voyage to France, demonstrating an alarming incorrigibility that escalated after his arrival in Europe. Becoming unmanageable, he was thrown into an insane asylum for two years. Why? What happened to put a previously normal appearing man in the madhouse? And why was he later released to return to China as a respectable man, compensated monetarily for what he perceived as a great injustice? Spence tells Hu's story with an engaging, entertaining, and intriguing touch. This fairly short book is easy to read, a good story that will hold a reader's interest.