'The China Dream'

The China Dream: It’s complicated. With China dominating the news, we took a look back at Dr. Michael Pillsbury’s expertise. The below article was first printed on June 3, 2015. It’s a fascinating conversation on the China-USA relationship.

If you think that all house parties are the same, you obviously weren’t at the book party for Col. Liu Mingfu’s The China Dream at the Georgetown home of Susan and Dr. Michael Pillsbury. “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s program is structured psychologically. We have a Peking Duck, lamb, salmon, and various other delicious things to eat that are going to be on the table in the dining room right after we finish asking questions of our guest of honor,” said Pillsbury.

*/

“So we need to be brief, but also ask a lot of good questions,” he added suggesting that those who aspire to speak Mandarin should watch their tones because every word has a tone. “If you get the tone wrong, it’s very embarrassing. Some private personal parts of your body may be one tone off from like, your favorite sandwich. So you think you’re saying, ‘you know, I really love tuna sandwiches,’ when actually you’ve said something quite different, and this causes enormous laughter on the part of the Chinese.” Hollywood on the Potomac didn’t ask any questions.