My Country and My People by Yutang, Lin; Introduction by Pearl S. Buck - 1937

(a John Day book) Reynal & Hitchcock, NY, 1937. Special edition. Hardcover. Fine/No Jacket. A book about China, worthy to be about China… must be frank and unashamed, because the real Chinese have always been a proud people, proud enough to be frank and unashamed of themselves and their ways. It must be wise and penetrative in its understanding, for the Chinese have been above all peoples wise and penetrative in their understanding of the human heart. It must be humorous, because humor is an essential part of Chinese nature, deep, mellow, kindly humor, founded upon the tragic knowledge and acceptance of life. It must be expressed in flowing, exact, beautiful words, because the Chinese have always valued the beauty of the exact and the exquisite. None but a Chinese could write it..." [Pearl Buck, Introduction] 382 pages with a detailed index. An appendix with a chart of Chinese dynasties and "A Note on the Spelling and Pronunciation of Chinese Names" A beautifully decorated spine and an embossed mark on the front cover. REVISED ILLUSTRATED EDITION.