"[A] compulsively readable new book on today's China . . . Chinese Lessons is a rich, first-hand account of modern Chinese history as it was lived and experienced by five of the author's 1981 classmates at Nanjing University . . . Pomfret's affection for the people he is writing about almost always shows through, which keeps Chinese Lessons from feeling like a polemic; the book's accumulation of acutely observed detail is compelling."—Karl Taro Greenfeld, The Washington Post Book World

"David Hinton has translated the poetry of Wang Wei, Lao Tzu, Meng Chiao, and a host of other major classical Chinese poets . . . [Classical Chinese Poetry] represents 3,000 years of Chinese work, tracing its journey from an oral tradition practiced by singing bar girls and peasants to a written endeavor done only by the elite who worked for the Chinese government. The poems may be distant from American life in terms of origin and culture, but the details within them remain relevant to people reading the work today."—Vanessa E. Jones, The Boston Globe

"A pleasure to read, the book brings back a culture now distant in time, as well as space, with both specificity and sensuality. Vietnamese American readers may be particularly moved and enriched by the book's evocation of their historical and cultural legacy. The accessible style makes the book appropriate for undergraduate as well as graduate courses. It would fit naturally in courses on indigenous religions and on religion and healing. In Buddhist studies, it would be valuable in courses on Buddhism in practice as well as, of course, Buddhism and healing. Additionally, I can imagine excerpting chapters as bracing additions and antidotes to the usual fare in Buddhist survey courses."—Franz Metcalf, Journal of Global Buddhism