China and Japan are in the sound business--they just don't realize it. Not the kind of sound business usually associated with prosperous Asian economies, but the Chinese characters they use by the billions every day. For centuries Chinese characters have served as a powerful symbol of the cultural divide between east and west, but all that is about to change.

"Sound Business: The Reality of Chinese Characters," written by MA in Japanese Studies and Chinese Philip Philipsen, presents a whole new picture of Chinese characters seen in world perspective. And this is a world that sound makes go...