Barely a contemporary subject is spared in this collection of commentaries written by Raymond Zhou over the past three years. From the weighty to the frothy, Zhou charts the dramatic changes taking place in China by striving to be a voice of reason. With each topic - China's youth, culture and the arts, the Intemet,morality and spirituality, the economy, and East-West relations - Zhou projects the same message: keep an open mind and exercise moderation.

X-Ray: Examining the China Enigma is a collection of 99 columns Raymond Zhou wrote for China Daily in the past few years. It is one man's adventure into the murky world of mostly mundane changes - progress and frustration that make up the tableau of a country in breakneck growth.

Zhou shies away from the big issues that everyone is familiar with; instead, he focuses on controversies that cannot be explained away with broad black-and-white strokes. His keen insight, sometimes infused with biting humor,adds a multi-dimensional hue to what would otherwise be regular issues of the week.

What makes Zhou stand out is his unique perspective and his acute rationality. He refuses to join in crowd-pleasing choruses, and he does not take any preconceived stands. He appreciates complexity and encourages the reader to do the same.

Vast and sweeping changes are made up of many smaller ones - some expected, others more difficult to digest. By dissecting some of the befuddling happenings of the past few years,Zhou has put a personal mark on cracking the codes - cultural and otherwise - that run the emerging power that is China.

Foreword by Zhu Ling

Chapter One: It's the Economy 1

1. Don't get carried away with GDP 1

2. Thou shalt not collude on pricing 3

3. Can you monopolize song selection？ 5

4. Pork price swing can be minimized 7

5. Food safety officials must be on alert 9

6. Small things make up the big picture 11

7. Reverse brain drain a sign of the times 13

8. 'Urban village' an eyesore in growth 15

Chapter Two: It Takes All Kinds  17

9. Names in stone mark much-deserved appreciation 17

10. Elevator ladies, checkout clerks and the human touch 19

11. Don't treat street vendors as the enemy 21

12. Schlepping for a little respect 23

13. Birth place no yardstick for place of death 25

14. News on the move 27

Chapter Three: Inside the Red Compound 29

15. Oath taken with a pinch of salt 29

16. Sadly, there is an Ah Q in all of us 31

17. Slap on the wrist not enough for lying officials 33

18. 'Shameful' exhibition backfires 35

19. Unconscious reflections of official mind 37

20. The 'rats' just keep nibbling 39

Chapter Four: Rebel without a Cause 41

21. Rebelliousness needs outlets 41

22. Youth facing dilemma of role models 43

23. Don't let gaokao seal your fate 45

24. If it's honest work, what else matters？ 47

25. In a hugging league of one's own 49

26. Better teen body image with privacy 51

Chapter Five: In the Wild World of the Web 53

27. Bloggers' revolution is largely overrated 53

28. Let's stop lynching by public opinion 55

29. Cat killers could be given alternatives 57

30. Starbucks in the Forbidden City 59

31. Mr. Mayor, a netizen is calling 61

32. Netizen's arguments do not sit well with real life people 63

Chapter Six: Moral Vortex 65

33. When a pop star went gay bashing 65

34. Suicide as a spectacle 67

35. Advocating coi~lom use does not equal legalizing prostitution 69

36. Soothed feet, clean conscience 71

37. History textbook in soft focus 73

38. Where are our older workers？ 75

39. Tiger, tiger！ Faking bright 77

Chapter Seven: Sex, Lies and Marriage 79

40. Metrosexuals on the rise 79

41. Don't judge December-May romances 81

42. Forget date rental for new year 83

43. Maid in China 85

44. Sex sells, but tastefulness still vital 87

45. Adult humor has its place among mature 89

46. Hong Kong sex scandal 91

Chapter Eight: Highbrow and Lowbrow 93

47. Arts events for national holidays 93

48. Grand National Theater. Can you afford it？ 95

49. Best comedy knows how to tickle audience 97

50. Festival gala as tasteless as chicken ribs 99

51. Too much TV not a good thing 101

52. Don't parade entertainers as role models 103

53. Dabbling in real politics 105

54. Rocker's sad show a lesson to media hounds 107

Chapter Nine: Cherish Our Tradition, Sensibly 109

55. Appreciate Guoxue as it is 109

56. Kneeling is a thing of the past 111

57. Kowtowing not best show of gratitude 113

58. Is the dragon too fearsome a symbol for China？  115

59. Be sincere in preservation of cultural artifacts 117

60. No need to standardize a saint's look 119

61. A memorial service, outsourced 121

62. Yes, Spring Festival is truly golden 123

63. Chunyun provides a glimpse of China's reality 125

Chapter Ten: Language Matters 127

64. Hyperbole in advertising  127

65. Hyperbole in advertising: redux 129

66. Platitude overload depreciates language 131

67. Cutting out the waffle in speeches 133

68. Taking pride in our accents 135

69. Variety in name not a bad thing 137

70. Those addresses, they keep changing  139

71. A learning fad that's truly crazy 141

72. Make English learning less agonizing 143

Chapter Eleven: When East and West interact 145

73. What is really behind a TV reality show？ 145

74. Messages behind Gates' dinner 147

75. Look into my eyes when you talk 149

76. Applaud or not, that is the question 151

77. Spotlight on real China is not offensive  153

78. From Kundera to Dostoyevsky 155

79. When aesthetic standards diverge 157

80. Skin-deep translation may mislead  159

Chapter Twelve: When East and West Collide 161

81. A Chinese has no right to sculpt Martin Luther King？  161

82. Men from China in a bull shop 163

83. Zhao Yan beating case 165

84. Kenneth Eng's racist lunacy 167

85. Virginia Tech killing 169

86. Exporters between rock and hard place 171

87. Gun-toting French executive 173

Chapter Thirteen: In the Mood for Humor 175

88. A sure-fire plan to lure pirates to my books 175

89. Year of the Pig 177

90. The Louisiana Purchase 179

91. Dance of the catkins 181

92. The age of flaunting 183

93. Arrested in Hong Kong - almost 185

94. My notebook died 187

95. Leaving a trail of dim sum like Hansel's trail of breadcrumbs 189

96. A tip for conversation etiquette 191

97. Bei-jingle bells ring in my kind of Christmas 193

98. Haven for has-beens 195

99. Curse of the white tile 197

Afterword  197

Acknowledgments 200