general

• quick summary - a brief collection of chinese and japanese folk tales + de morais' impressions on the people, nature, practices and life in china and japan in late 19th century.
• key themes - the east vs the west, folklore, appreciation of nature, cultural exploration.

interests

• what i found interesting - as an asian studies graduate and very much into historical encounters of asian and european people, I enjoyed the reflections included in this book. I was expecting it to be more racist - and it very much was in regards to chinese people - but it was also appreciative of japanese people and japan—their humor, clothing, habits, their (considered superior) lighthearted outlook on life, and appreciation for everything beautiful was kind of sweet to read. I also enjoyed the reflection on the struggles of europeans living in east asia as someone who did the same thing as the author over a hundred years later.
• what i learned - I learned a lot of traditional folk tales that I was just familiar with by name + a lot of vocabulary of the time that is not common nowadays.
• fav quote - "na primavera, elevai-vos; nas cerejeiras em flor, no verão, folgai nas ribeiras, quando se abrasa em calor. no outono, vede a folhagem, toda escarlate, voando, no inverno, espreite-se a neve, bebendo vinho e cantando."

books it reminded me of

• babel - it didn't remind of babel so much as it worked as an interesting companion to the first; reading about a fictionalized version of the (more or less) same time frame was an interesting exercise on european stereotypes and opinions of asian people.

further reading

• follow-up context research - I would not mind learning more about the author and perhaps some of his other books on asia!

rating

• 3.5/5 - despite enjoying this book, I cannot rate it hire because at some points the purple prose and the heavy descriptions became too much (even though the descriptions of japanese nature were very vivid and pretty). the underlying misgonystic tone (especially when comparing japanese and european women) was to be expected and weirdly similar to what men say nowadays, but it still bothered me; along, of course, with the racist remarks on chinese people. it is interesting to read that many things that the 'west' think about japan today still apply, like the constant infantilization of its people by de morais. if you are an asian studies nerd like me it is worth-reading.