Could you put the full text here? I can't go to NYTimes.

[v0031]

China of My Mind - The New York Times - Opinionator
opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/.../china-of-my-mind
Dec 28, 2013 · When I tell people that I have recently published a novel set in China, one of the first questions they ask is whether I’ve been there. My response seems ...

[Gallatine]

One cannot copy more than 200 words or 20% or an article, whichever is less, under the rules of this site to avoid copyright infringement. Consequently I have deleted all but the first two paragraphs. Torie

Here you go.

[quote]China of My Mind

When I tell people that I have recently published a novel set in China, one of the first questions they ask is whether I’ve been there. My response seems to be a letdown. The expectant look on their faces shifts as they wonder why I chose to write about a place I’ve never visited. Sometimes I sense incredulity. What makes me think I can write about China?

My grandfather, Watts O. Pye, was one of the early missionaries to return to China after the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. In Shanxi Province, he oversaw the building of a hospital, schools, a library and roads that brought famine relief. The Reverend Pye died young, but my father, Lucian W. Pye, remained in Shanxi with my grandmother, living in the mission compound under Japanese occupation. He finally left China for college, returned with the Marines at the end of World War II, and went on to become a renowned Sinologist and the author of over 20 books on Asia, and China in particular.

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