Yes, please! I would love to hear detailed pushback! I had several Chinese people read the book before publication, and they seemed to feel that it was broadly authentic. For instance, Alexis Wu (historical linguist and translator) wrote “The scene-setting portions of every chapter taking place in China reveals an intimate familiarity with the cultures, habits, and tastes of the country in which I was raised, all displayed without the common pitfall that is the tendency to exoticize.”
Another of my early Chinese readers accused me of having a secret Chinese co-author, and described the book as “A strikingly authentic portrayal of AI in modern China — both visionary and grounded in cultural truth.”
That’s not to say I got everything right! You’re probably tracking things that I’m not. I just want to flag that I’m not just blindly guessing—I’m also checking with people who were born, raised, and live in China. Please help me understand what I and the other readers missed.
Well, for one thing, your portrayal of China is inside a book. But the real China is much larger, perhaps several times physically larger than your book.
Yes, please! I would love to hear detailed pushback! I had several Chinese people read the book before publication, and they seemed to feel that it was broadly authentic. For instance, Alexis Wu (historical linguist and translator) wrote “The scene-setting portions of every chapter taking place in China reveals an intimate familiarity with the cultures, habits, and tastes of the country in which I was raised, all displayed without the common pitfall that is the tendency to exoticize.” Another of my early Chinese readers accused me of having a secret Chinese co-author, and described the book as “A strikingly authentic portrayal of AI in modern China — both visionary and grounded in cultural truth.”
That’s not to say I got everything right! You’re probably tracking things that I’m not. I just want to flag that I’m not just blindly guessing—I’m also checking with people who were born, raised, and live in China. Please help me understand what I and the other readers missed.
Well, for one thing, your portrayal of China is inside a book. But the real China is much larger, perhaps several times physically larger than your book.