Thanks also go to my classmates， colleagues， and friends whose un-derstanding and support have been important sources of strength and spiri-tual comfort for me。 Professor Zou Huiling from Jiansu Normal University has turned from an MA classmate into a sisterly figure in my life；Tang Jiannan， Zhu Ronghua， Wen Sheng， Xie Dengpan， Li Danling， and Wang Hongxin are my“comrades in the same battle”at BFSU；Tao Ying， Zhou Chun， Long Yun， Li Wanyi， Zhang Juan， and many more of my colleagues and friends at BISU have shared with me joy and sorrow， tears and laugh-ter， support and understanding。There is also thank to Tom Hertweck， a Ph。D。candidate at UNR and a young Vonnegut scholar， and Josh Suspendor， an unknown American on-line librarian， for their generous help。
My graduate students deserve a word of thanks， too。 Ma Ning and Li Cheng， for example， have helped to borrow books and print materials in times of emergency。