It's been a few days since I've read it, and I don't think it left much of an impression on me. Hus release is obtained, though in fairness to Foucquet--who is now a bishop, by the way, and having to justify his treatment of Hu--Hu acts no less queerly on release than at Charenton or before. However, the question remains if Spence's research fits within the strict confines of historical literature, or whether its narrative-driven style is more characteristic of a historical novel. Huck only changes in regards to his opinions of the duke and king. When Huck steps away from his cocoon on the raft, he witnesses the Duke and the Dauphin's attempt to sell Jim, Hucks loyal runawayformer-slave friend, back into slavery. Huck, by ripping up his letter to Ms. Watson, and vowing to steal Jim out of slavery again, refuses to conform to the society and slavery (223). This is a bit admirable to a more reserved person because it shows how outgoing she is when diving into a new culture. It is the story of John Hu, a lowly but devout Chinese Catholic, who in 1722 accompanied a Jesuit missionary on a journey to France--a journey that ended with Hu's confinement in a lunatic asylum. It uses an unusual present tense narrative style, is presented a bit like a diary, albeit written by a nearly omniscient narrator, and is liberally sprinkled with all kinds of insights into life and society in early 18th century France and to European-Chinese relations and their intellectual context. John Hu is a Chinese man that is literate but not educated. The Question of Hu, written beautifully by Jonathan Spence, should be considered an important contribution to the broad field of humanities. 2. Now staying in the Bayneses home, Hu is just as terrible as he was in Renaults home. I forgot the title but not the absurd problem of Hu. WebAt once a triumph of historical detective work and a gripping narrative, The Question of Hu deftly probes the collision of tw ocultures, with their different definitions of faith, madness, and moral obligation. To support this claim, I will talk about how Ah Goongs accomplishments were silenced by photography and by unfortunate circumstances. We never really learn what Hu thinks. Foucquet was in a major rush and didn't have time to fully evaluate Hu before he was hired. This is an analysis of the main character, Huck in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. When he hears of the news that Foucquet is going to France and needs a copyist he quickly agrees. Over twenty-five years Fouquet has been in China, he has gathered many books to study once he returns to Europe. I'm not entirely sure what to make of this book. Author of a thin book called Hunger of Memory, that summarized the memories of how he became Americanized, Rodriguez shares how he believes we all are blending and being fluid with individualism but unifying as Americans. I guess this is what happens to primary sources that an eminent historian (Spence) can't work into his other historical works. What this book does bring to the table is a controversial literary device. Whenever he encounters problems, he will use his clever ideas to solve the problem. In the end, his strong heart broke through, and he decided to escape from the incorrect moral standards and confines of the society, and, Deep in the story of the Hklea and the culture of her creation is a story of a two thousand year old relationship with the sea and Islands. Huck opposes anything or anyone that might attempt to "sivilize" him. WebThe question of Hu, by Jonathan D. Spence, is a book on the Chinese and European connection during the early 1700s. The difference is, Hucks improvisation is relatively harmless and always to get him or someone else a greater good, while the Royal Nonesuchs schemes are designed for their benefit, and their benefit only (12). Known for her notable achievements in memoirs and fiction, Maxine Hong Kingston published China Men: a literature composed of stories about Chinese men in her family. Is it an extended ethical dilemma case study, or a history book, or? Thich is one of the largest deficiencies in his character. Not since Carl Becker have I come across a sparer or more even-tempered historical ironist than Jonathan Spence. As the reply shows--and the Jesuit is never sure if Hus reasoning is ingenuous or not--the Chinese, when he chooses to speak, is not at a loss for words or logic or appealing motive. Hundert can simply not deal with adversity, because even though the second time he should be even more inclined to uncover Sedgewick's cheating he does not and repeats his sabotage of Sedgwick. In the part of Jack rejects many things including the looks , talking to his mother in Chinese and rejects his culture. Foucquet, the French Jesuit missionary thinks that he is doing Hu (a Christian convert)a favor taking him from China to France and then to Rome, and that Hu can help him by acting as his clerk and translator. In the book, Father Fouquet is called from China back to France. He is a bright, cheerful Kid, intelligent, a good astuteness, humourist, trickster and what is important is he love the adventure. Focusing on an outsider in the West, Spence is able to highlight paradoxes and inconsistencies in Western behavior. What if an alien spaceship took Joe the plumber to a planet far, far away. He obviously didnt like the civilized life, as he kept running off to have adventures with his best friend Tom Sawyer, and even escaping from civilization while travelling with Jim. In reality, Foucquet is just a man that feels he is behind in life, and wants to return back home to continue his work in his own research office. Regardless, Huck has a myriad of opportunities to turn Jim in--and doesnt. In the book, A Transnational History of a Chinese Family, by Haiming Liu, we learn about the Chang family rooted in Kaiping County, China, who unlike many typical Chinese families exemplified hard-work and strong cultural values allowing them to pursue an exceptional Chinese-American lifestyle. It is the poet who is supposed to see things so clearly to remember. (29) The businessman does not meticulous as the poet but Unlike poetry, being businessman has to be straightforward and supposes to see a whole picture not as details-orient as poetry does. The Chinese culture is represented as a high- context culture. Even with immigration laws preventing Chinese laborers and citizens to enter unless maintaining merchant status, Yitang and Sam Chang managed to sponsor approximately 40 relatives to the states with their businesses in herbalist. The Chinese in All of Us is an essay written by Richard Rodriguez. I finished it up in three days. Through them, Huck gains a better view of the world. WebJonathan Spences novel The Question of Hu covers mid-eighteenth century travels from China to the western world of a Jesuit missionary, Father Jean-Francois Foucquet, and a Chinese scribe, John Hu. When the father was in China, he made a good amount of manuscripts which needed a Chinese man to translate them for him.

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Lias parents were immigrants to a Western nation. He is shown to be very self-centered and prideful "I was struck anew with how great a privilege my profession had been (Canin, pg. WebJonathan Spences novel The Question of Hu covers mid-eighteenth century travels from China to the western world of a Jesuit missionary, Father Jean-Francois Foucquet, and a Chinese scribe, John Hu. One story distinguishes the heroic journey of grandfather Ah Goong. Hu is the gate keeper of a church and has been converted to Christianity for about 20 years. Hu isn't the top choice, but he's available. He was the keeper of the gate in the Catholic Church of Canton. Summary Of The Question Of Hu By Jonathan D Spence, In The Question of Hu written by Jonathan D. Spence, there are many differences in culture found in the book between Chinese customs and Western Europe customs. This book however begins with the Jesuit community that has settled and negotiated their influence in China, a sort of reverse role. However, the reality of a language barrier and day to day behavior settled in. Writers would permanently demonize the entire Hun population and make their existence just a speck in the timeline with a lack of true written records. A series of uncomfortable exchanges illustrate the challenge of being accepted into a new culture. The historical novel portrays a story of two people, John Hu, and Jean-Franois Foucquet. By saying this Chinese sentence in America, it taunted and made Jack embarrassed because Jack always thought he will not get accepted and his mother was one that is blocking his way to get recognized since, she made Jack different from peers. 189). The toy that his mother made for. Hu was to help the priest in translating a Chinese document. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Ah Goong worked to build the railroad, but was driven out when it was completed in 1869; he then became a homeless wanderer in San Francisco. Liu lived from 1857 to 1942 and began his diary in 1891, so information about Lius childhood and education is dependent on his memories from that time. Religions look up to people who are dead and that did great things in the past. ), 289., [ 2 ]. The essence of the story is that Hu was a converted Christian and went to France to help a returning Jesuit priest translate some classic Chinese literature. The incongruent belief structure of the East and West created difficulty when the two systems collided in an effort to care for Lia Lee. Jonathan Spences novel The Question of Hu covers mid-eighteenth century travels from China to the western world of a Jesuit missionary, Father Jean-Francois Foucquet, and a Chinese scribe, John Hu. Eventually, another Chinese-speaking Jesuit shows more patience with him and does not think Hu mad. At this stage in the novel, it is important to denote his ambivalence toward the situation. A brief but interesting story. He is adopted widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Living in the Hungarian Plains, Attila and the Huns controlled the Western and Eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. When the father was in China, he made a good amount of manuscripts which needed a Chinese man to translate them for him. She always speak Chinese to Jack, in the quote his mother uses Chinese word such as Sha jio chink?. Missy James and Alan P. Merickel. (2015). Fascinating story of a Chinese traveling to Europe in the early 18th century told through the writings of a French Jesuit priest. Fong See would make trips to China to buy Chinese. I played video games and studied French (4). While travelling, according to the priest, the behaviors Hu exhibited were 'Chinese madness' (Spencer 1989). WebThe Question Of Hu Summary. Their fight for control over trading clashed with the much earlier settled Jesuit community. 'Speak English. She tried. Hundert feels that he is the sole reason his students have grown up into great and powerful men. Yet it is not until Jing Mei realizes that the key to understanding who her, Throughout the book The Question of Hu by Jonathan D. Spence the Chinese man John Hu often has his sanity called into question due to several episodes where his actions appeared insane to a European from this era. Anyone who's been an outsider or tried to befriend one will relate to this story in one way or another, even if they never travel nearly as far. In The Question of Hu I felt as if I was an observer to this incredible story of a Jesuit priest who brought a Cantonese man, Christian-named, John Hu, to Europe in the early 1700s. To support this claim, I will talk about how Ah Goongs accomplishments were silenced by photography and by unfortunate circumstances. However, the question remains if Spence's research fits within the strict confines of historical literature, or whether its narrative-driven style is more characteristic of a historical novel. 1st ed. The life of John Hu is not really that interesting. The third section of the essay uses narration but also analysis, as Liu examines the effects of his assimilation. Foucquet also shows how little respect he has for Hu when he does not even think about paying for Hus trip home or his stay at the asylum in Charenton. His slight hesitation escaping with Jim makes him question the authenticity of his morality. John Hu is a Chinese man that is literate but not educated. During his reign, he invaded the empire on several occasions. Before his experience on land, Huck remained conscious of, but not fully aware of heartless actions. In the personal essay My Mothers Tongue (1990), Amy Tan, widely known author explains her insights on language and culture identity using details and memories from her own life experiences. It is also a story of a community revaluing relationship to its island home. This is an unusual, well documented and nicely put together story about the adventures of a Chinese man who came to Europe in the 18th century and the moral conundra (that IS the plural of conundrum, isn't it?) A French Jesuit, Jean-Francois Foucquet, is preparing to depart China after 20 years of unremitting labor, during which time he has amassed a treasure of erudition and linguistic skills, books and manuscripts and, not least in his own eyes, of progressive opinions about the value of the Chinese rites. This verifies that Huck progresses in developing his maturity and poise. I'm not, so the superfluous bits seemed all the more irritating. The Question of Hu, written beautifully by Jonathan Spence, should be considered an important contribution to the broad field of humanities.

The historical novel portrays a story of two people, John Hu, and Jean-Franois Foucquet. WebIn the book question of Hu, I learned that communication between two cultures and gets to experience many differences. Subsequently the childs medical team contacted child services, which lead to Lias removal from her family. Was he maligned or insane? These succinct sentences stood out, as the surrounding. Ah Goong worked to build the railroad, but was driven out when it was completed in 1869; he then became a homeless wanderer in San Francisco. It's justsomething that happened. Dr. Spence received a lot of positive critics by major newspapers and journals like Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, etc. Known for her notable achievements in memoirs and fiction, Maxine Hong Kingston published China Men: a literature composed of stories about Chinese men in her family. The excellence of The Question of Hu lies in its brevity and understatement. It is very unlikely that riding a strangers horse without permission would be acceptable in China so why Hu would think this behavior is acceptable is a mystery other than the obvious reason being that Hu is not completely sane. This feeling of sympathy is the reason The Question of Hu was written in the first place, given that we know about Hu because there were rumors that Foucquet had mistreated Hu so Foucquet wrote letters to nobility and senior members in the Jesuit church. Print., The Chinese and American cultures clash in this particular novel. WebThe question of Hu, by Jonathan D. Spence, is a book on the Chinese and European connection during the early 1700s. He looked different; American students called Jack a chink and they made fun of Jack, so as his neighbour Mark. 437-58., The two main advocates of this theory are St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century and William Paley in the 19th century; we will examine both in turn.

"[One] of the major items in the church [Maison Professe] was for extra chairs and for washing out the mud and dust that poured into the church each day on the boots and shoes of the faithful" (73). On the eve of departure, he hurriedly interviews one, John Hu, a 40-year-old widower and a Christian convert. The tale American Born Chinese by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. I guess his theory didn't catch on, but in our story the priest is embarking on his great journey of persuasion to Rome with his thousands of books and vital Chinese texts, and he wants a scribe to help him along the way. A new book asks how and why, True Mexican stories become legends in Fernanda Melchors genre-defying nonfiction, The Bangles Susanna Hoffs wrote her debut novel about a pop star. By the way, he shot a wild pig and take a pig to the hovel. Focusing on an outsider in the West, Spence is able to highlight paradoxes and inconsistencies in Western behavior. This also shows how his aspects of racism are changing; he starts to believe people are people, no matter, Throughout the novel, Huck scorned upon the idea of civilization. This culminated in Foucquet's decision to commit his assistant to an asylum, insisting that he's insane and needs to be locked up. The reader is led to have a sympathetic view of Hu, even though the narrator does not come out and explain exactly how the reader should feel, because he is a Chinese scribe in Europe where little people can communicate with him through speaking. Yet, by and large--and this is perhaps Spences greatest accomplishment--it is the reader who does the reflecting, not the author. The arrival of the Duke and Dauphin in the text marks the transition from a commentary on race to a commentary on society, and, Specifically, through the controversy of slavery at the time, Huck learns how to listen to his intuition and conscience. The historical novel portrays a story of two people, John Hu, and Jean-Franois Foucquet. THESIS - When evaluating Arnold Junior Spirit from Sherman Alexies The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Jin Wang from Gene Luen Yangs American Born Chinese, similarities radiate in both characters as their disparity in race deem the two of them as outcasts in the entirety of society. Unremorseful, he questioned why he could not ride it while no one else was using it (Spence 51). Genres History China Nonfiction School Biography College Microhistory more 208 pages, Paperback First published January 1, 2011 The Encyclopedia of Philosophy Volume 7 & 8.