内容简介
AjournalisttravelsthroughoutmainlandChinaandTaiwaninsearchofhisfamily’shiddentreasureandcomestounderstandhisancestryasheneverhasbefore.In1938,whentheJapanesearrivedinHuanHsu’sgreat-great-grandfatherLiu’sYangtzeRiverhometownofXingang,Liuwasforcedtoburyhisvaluables,includingavastcollectionofprizedantiqueporcelain,andundertakeadecades-longtrekthatwouldsplinterthefamilyoverthousandsofmiles.Manyyearsandupheavalslater,Hsu,raisedinSaltLakeCityandarmedonlywithcuriosity,movestoChinatoworkinhisuncle’ssemiconductorchipbusiness.Oncethere,aconversationwithhisgrandmother,hislastlivinglinktodynasticChina,ignitesadesiretolearnmoreaboutnotonlyhislostancestralheirloomsbutalsoporcelainitself.Masteringthelanguageenoughtoventureintothecountryside,HsusetsouttoseparatethelayersoffactandfictionthathaveobscuredbothChinaandhisheritageandfinallycompletehisfamily’slongmarchbackhome.Meldingmemoir,travelogue,andsocialandpoliticalhistory,ThePorcelainThiefoffersanintimateandunforgettablewaytounderstandthecomplicatedeventsthathavedefinedChinaoverthepasttwohundredyearsandprovidesarevealing,livelyperspectiveoncontemporaryChinesesocietyfromthepointofviewofaChineseAmericancomingtotermswithhishyphenatedidentity.