A lot ppl traveled to China, but few of them actually lived. Staying only in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing gives a very biased view of China. The real China needs to explored out there in the countryside, in the factories, in the schools. I love the fast development that's happening in Chi...
断断续续的看完了彼得·海斯勒的這本書,才意识到对这快速发展,魔幻现实的国度失去了太多感觉, 要是早些看到就好了。很喜欢作者以外人的视角的写作手法，让熟视无睹的我很有新鲜感(可能本人太缺乏观察力了)。 举几个例子: 文中说农民伯伯们喜欢把壳类作物摆放在道路中间,"确保路过的车辆从上面辗压而过",这让作者驾车碾过时颇感为难,认为这既公然违背交通安全法规,又违背食品卫生法规:-)。 比如作者以租车的经历,发现了"在中国,生活中很多事物都要打制度的插边球;其中最基本的真理就是,事后原谅比事前许可要简单得多", 这一点是我在香港之后才有的体会(例如很多港人认为内地人不守规距)。 比如对中国驾驶员的...
In Hessler’s preface to this book, he describes how his father taught him to observe people and ask himself questions about them. These lessons have stood Peter Hessler in good stead, for his descriptions of people he has met and places he has been are fascinating. Although he spent many years ...
I ran into Hessler's narration on his teaching experience in Fuling two years ago. It was just an excerpt of his book in Chinese, translated by an unknown writer, published in a magazine named BOOK TOWN that cater to the taste of new intellectuals in China by imitating the style and design of NEW...
For those who think this book is incredibly dull, I must say, I don't think it was intended to be a work of entertainment. It often reads like a personal journal, which can be both charming and a chore. If you're patient, I think you'll find it reasonably pleasant to settle in and listen to Pet...
In the summer of 1936, Shih Chang-ju had overseen the excavation of the largest cache of oracle bones ever found. The following year, when the Japanese occupied Nanjing, and the Kuomintang fled west. In 1949, they were driven to Taiwan by the Communists. That was the story of Shih Chang-ju’s life...
A fine yellow dust covered the small city, and the crumbling hills above town were pockmarked by the oval mouths of caves. People still lived in caves in the suburbs of Yan’an, and many of the troglodytes were making a good show of it. There were caves with televisions, refrigerators, karaoke mac...