Yesterday after a four-hour study session for the Lieberthal mid-term, I grabbed a couple of books off my shelf to blow off some steam. What books? Two elementary school textbooks that I picked up in Beijing in 2001, the first called ±­½±§ (I Love The Chinese Communist Party), and the second called ­½±§ (China Has A Communist Party). The first book includes patriotic songs about events in Chinese modern history, and it's easy to read because the characters carry pinyin superscripts. The second book is meant for older readers: it is longer and has no pinyin. But the story is accompanied by a couple of cartoon characters who make insightful comments like the following:

ª"§¡"±¯¬!	This "big-bearded guy" is Karl Marx!
¬¦½¹´ª,¬ª§!	One small book changed the whole world; Marx was so great!
··¯²¯!	Father Deng is the best at "seeking truth from facts" !
º¾,¸±¬ºº¾½ª._	The spirit of steelworker Wang Jinxi will always encourage us to work diligently in order to build up the motherland.

There are just too many good ones to write here... more later!