In my country we do not study much about Chinese history, so I am always glad to find a good book about it. Moment in Peking follow the story of a traditional big family with all of their friends and partners, so there are many people in the story and sometimes it is not easy to follow the names. The book describes some interesting decades of the Chinese history: from the second half of the 19th century until the first years of the 20th century. An interesting period of time with a good author gives a good story as a result. The so many actors of the book gives the possibility to show several destinies in a period full of contradictories. I really enjoyed the period of the very end of the 19th century with all the conflicts of the changing lifestyle and the conflict of the traditions and moderns life.

I am a chinese university student. I visited the website by chance and I was so happy to read all the comments about Yutang's books above and got to know not only me, a Chinese girl who loves his books very much, but there are so many people, even foreigners, enjoy them so much like me.

I have read some works of Lin, some in English and some in Chinese. And the one I have read recently is Moment in Peking in English. Please believe me that what he said in his book is totally true. And from it you can get an idea of our country, our cultures and people living here, although things have changed so much in the modern times and nowadays China is quite different from the one in his book. But there are still many people,like me, here who bear the same believes, values and dreams as Mulan and Lifu did and want to make the good cultures and moral standards pass down from generation to generation.

When I read the book Moment In Peking, I just had the feeling that I was reading something in Chinese.(I wish it had been written in Chinese, since someting must be lost from one language to another. And some of Lin's articles in Chinese read so melodic just like music because of our chinese's swing, while you just cannot find that when it is translated in English.What a pity! ) And I just wondered if a native English was able to understand what he said. Of course, after reading the reviews above, I am sure it is not that so. But still, I think you may get confused at some points. I think perhaps I can explain it for you and help you understand our cultures better. It must be a great pleasure to me. :) And I hope I can talk about his books with people like me, who love them so much as well. :)

Thanks for reading:)

During the mid-1960s A Moment In Peking was the first book by Lin Yutang I ever encountered. The work impressed me enough to cause me to search everywhere to find everything else he ever published in English. After I'd done so, at considerable time and trouble, I concluded that Moment in Peking was his most enjoyable read. I made it a policy to read it again, at least once per decade until I loaned my copy to someone and lost it.

I think you'll love this book.

Every time I go to my school's library, I always head straight to the Chinese literature section. I'd always overlooked Moment in Peking because it was such a big book, but recently, I resolved to pick it up and read it. I stayed up through the night to finish the book, and I think it was completely worth it. I'm a Chinese-American teenager. I live in a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood, I attend a high school that has only three Chinese students in the entire school. My identity is hyphenated- I am not really Chinese because I am a American Born Chinese. I am not truly American, I am a Chinese American. I have always embraced my culture without really knowing why it's so valuable to me, or how valuable it truly is. Reading Lin Yutang's Moment in Peking gave me a glimpse of how rich my culture and its history is, and helped me understand what it truly means being Chinese. Now I have a deeper love and appreciation for my culture than I ever had before, thanks to Lin Yutang and Moment in Peking.

I found Moment in Peking a fascinating read. At times, though, it did feel a little long. Nevertheless, I heartily recommend Moment in Peking to any avid readers of Chinese literature- or anyone at all, for that matter.

I have read and re-read this book over the years, along with the following book "A Leaf in the Storm" that continues the story. You really get to know and appreciate all the charactors in this story. It is a wonderful book to curl up in a nice chair and read for a few hours a week. It is so easy to read and gives a clear visual of the story, I really can't recommend it enough! Wonderful book!