Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze

Great book with huge insight into Chinese thinking and culture. Full of adventure and drama, with a rich cultural background. Very educational, with a focus on character issues! Definitely recommended for teens and adults or a challenge-loving younger student.

I was sorry to see that many kids had trouble reading this book. It's true that it may seem to bog down in spots, but only to build up to the next interesting bit that comes along. This book is very well written, but, alas, it is not geared towards the younger set. One could compare it to, say, the Hornblower novels, or A Single Shard... Perhaps the problem is with the Chinese culture being so different, but the main thrust of the book is a rags-to-riches theme, much like Horatio Alger's books, but not so simplistic. People who have read the other works I mentioned should enjoy this book with little or no problem. But I know that there are cultures which I don't want to read about, maybe the Orient isn't your cup of tea (pun?)... I wish it had been longer, as thick as "Shogun" or something...

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze is a wonderful book that I could continue reading a long time. The literature provided by Elizabeth Foreman is rich with interesting characters and a lush background. It seems like you want to get inside of the book and find out what's going on in their heads. The story is set in 1920's China after the Empress dies. There is turmoil and mayhem. Looting and theivery is expected every day. Corrupt soldiers wander the streets looking for an unexpected peasant to push around. Fu is a young boy from the countryside who has come to the city after his father dies. Fu Be Be is Young Fu's mother and she is wary about moving to the dangerous and exhilarating life of the city. Fu is an apprentice to a craftsman named Tang. Immediately Fu is thrust into a whirlwind of responsibility and he shows his soft side. Many obstacles are thrown his way, but he always keeps his humanity intact. When an American woman needs help from a burning building, Fu pushes aside the tales of them and how they can inflict evil upon contact. To see an Chinese book being written by an American is refreshing for the mind.

This book was so interesting from the cultural as well as human point of view. It is a great book for children as well as adults to read. It can serve as a point of departure for discussions on such things as what is right and wrong -- the little boy is always faced with difficult decisions to make, and what are some differences with the way people live in other countries. This book shows what is "good" by example, yet it is charming and delightful to read.

This book is the story of a thirteen year old boy from the farms of central China who, with his widowed mother, moves to the big city, Chungking (now spelled Chongqing). Because life on the farm is so uncertain, and, in fact, rather dangerous because of banditry, Fu will be apprenticed to Tang, a master coppersmith. The book portrays a turbulent time, after the fall of Imperial government, and before a new order could arise, a time of war and disunity.I often read this book with my sixth grade class. The author is Western (she left America for a career as a teacher and missionary in Shanghai, Chungking, and Nanking) and sometimes this bias shows through, as does her distaste for rabble-rousing young revolutionaries (early communists?), though perhaps her sentiments would be shared by many modern Chinese.Still, the book makes fascinating reading. It introduces the reader to a China that has passed into history (thank goodness - it was such a violent time), yet many authentic cultural ideas and customs that are presented in the book persist, such as payment of debts on New Years, crooked streets catching ghosts, etc. There are even a few Chinese expressions. Some are translated into English (like FangXin - let down your heart) and others are kept in Chinese, such as Tuchun (a military governor).The book is well-written, though quite episodic. This episodic nature can be an advantage, though, since it may be possible to shorten the book when presenting it to a class by skipping some chapters. Also, in the back of the book is an appendix, keyed to the chapters, that explains some differences between the China of today and the China of the 1920's. The characters are well drawn. Although there is little character development outside the main character, Young Fu does have to deal with a lot of the issues confronting a young man growing up. His adventurous spirit and willingness to embrace new ideas are contrasted with the attitudes of others around him. This openness to change (and to Western ideas, such as Western medicine)usually lead to his successes.Some of the main issues dealt with in this book are: superstitions, the value of education, the roles of foreigners in the China of that time, the value of education, the effect of war and politics on a large, though backwater, town, as well as friendship and family.This book is probably appropriate for very high fifth grade through ninth grade. It makes excellent material for a sixth grade class, but they may some guidance or orientation, because the life depicted is so different from our own. The illustrations help when explaining ideas such as "Wedding Chair" or "Load-pole."