River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.)

"River Town," by Peter Hessler, relates the experiences of the author and his colleague, Adam Meier (two twenty-somethings), as Peace Corp volunteers teaching in the city of Fuling in Sichuan Province, China during 1996-1998. Hessler indicates that in addition to teaching, his personal goals were to immerse himself into Chinese culture so as to become a better writer, and also to learn to speak, understand, and write Chinese. It is within the context of these goals that Hessler shares his personal experiences. As he explores Fuling and other geographical sites(e.g., Raise the Flag Mountain, Wu River, Dadu River, Yangtze River, City of Yulin, City of Chongqing, et al), like a tour guide, he virtually `stops along the way' to reflect on the history associated with these sites.Hessler taught English to Chinese students, and he describes this overall experience as quite gratifying. He views his students as bright, motivated, and (inwardly) creative. At the same time (paradoxically), Hessler feels that, because of the political system, the Chinese people have very narrow ideas; e.g., they are accustomed to learning by rote, accepting facts without question (particularly from authority figures), and copying slogans verbatim (which borders on plagiarism). In an effort to bring out their creativity Hessler required his students to playact various Shakespearian plays (e.g., Hamlet), and to memorize (and sense the `musicality' of) the sonnet; Hessler laments that most American students wouldn't willingly study poetry. To further bring out their creativity and their individual thoughts, Hessler assigned his students various `thought-exercises'; e.g., he asked them to analyze how Robin Hood might view (and be viewed by) modern Chinese society. The sample responses are thought-provoking and highly creative.Hessler portrays his experience learning Chinese as extremely challenging, but gratifying. Initially, he tried learning on his own. He discovered that there is no such thing as the `Chinese language'; the particular `Chinese language' that is spoken depends on the person's background and education level. More specifically, Mandarin is spoken by educated people, especially the young. Then, there are numerous dialects which differ drastically from one another. Most of the people in Fuling were uneducated and spoke a dialect called Sichuanese. Eventually, Hessler found two teachers (whose service was funded by the Peace Corp). Because neither teacher spoke English, all lessons were (fortunately) conducted exclusively in Chinese. Hessler draws a contrast between the American `gentle correction' style of teaching (i.e., praising the student for what she/he got right) and the Chinese `harsh correction' style (i.e., based on the premise that perfection is expected). Initially, Hessler clearly favored the American `gentle correction' style; but ultimately, he seemed to become `sold on' the Chinese `harsh correction' style, particularly regarding teaching/learning a foreign language.Hessler describes Fuling as noisy and polluted, but quite fascinating. Fuling is located in the Yangtze River Valley, along the Yangtze and Wu Rivers. Overlooking Fuling is a mountain that has two names: Peach Bottom Mountain (not commonly used) and Raise the Flag Mountain (commonly used). The Dadu River runs into the Min River which runs into the Yangtze River which passes the slopes of Raise the Flag Mountain. As Hessler explores Fuling he `stops' to reflect on the history of Raise the Flag Mountain. Specifically, Hessler cites The Great Teiping Rebellion (started in the mid-1840s by Hong Xiaquan and his greatest general named Shi Dakai) against the Qing dynasty. Hessler describes how (72 years later) Mao's Communist forces arrived at the same Dadu River during the heart of the Long March. Interestingly, Hessler's assessment of Mao's effectiveness running China essentially agrees with that of Jung Chang (author of `Wild Swans') when he states, "Mao lacked the vision and experience necessary to run a country effectively, and power inspired him to build a cult of state-worship around his image." Hessler points out that both Hong Xiaquan and Mao Tse-tung were officially opposed to opium, foot binding, prostitution, and gambling; however, ultimately, both leaders began to acquire the very same trappings (and fall victim to the same corruptions) against which they had campaigned---e.g., vast mansions, hordes of sycophants, and innumerable concubines.Hessler describes the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution as disasters; and he criticizes both Mao Tse-tung (orchestrator) and Chou Enlai (facilitator) for their respective roles in these programs. By contrast, Hessler praises Deng Xiaoping for criticizing The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, for which he was purged twice. However, Hessler laments that, despite Mao's (and to a lesser degree Chou Enlai's) crimes, some Chinese (particularly, young people) still view them as heroes/gods. More specifically, Hessler expresses dismay that his Chinese students shared a positive view of Mao (which stems from an announcement made by Deng Xiaoping that "Mao was 70 percent right, and 30 percent wrong"), and that they made light of the disastrous Cultural Revolution. Ironically, Mao's wife (Chiang Ching) and the `Gang of Four' are not viewed by the Chinese as heroes --- e.g., there are no monuments built to them.Among the many other interesting topics presented by Hessler is the Yangze Three Gorges Project, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Work on the dam commenced in 1993. The Three Gorges Project was first conceived by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and later considered by Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-tung, Deng Xiaoping, and Premier Li Peng. Hessler summarizes the advantages of this project, and does an especially good job articulating the many disadvantages. Another fascinating topic presented by Hessler is the White Crane Ridge (along with its history), a famous hydraulic relic in the Yangtze River. This relic remains almost perennially submerged in the water except during the dry seasons (winter and spring), when its carvings (e.g., fish, calligraphy, etc.) dating back to the Tang dynasty (618-907) are exposed to view. Many other interesting topics are covered in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to 'share' Hessler's rich experience.

Peter Hessler is today a well known American correspondent and free lance journalist living in Beijing. He has written two books and many articles on modern China and can be defined ad an "Old China hand", an honorary title given to Chinese speaking foreigners who truly understand the country, which even in this era of globalization knows how to keep many of its secrets.River Town was published in 2001, after a two year experience (1996-1998) as a Peace Corps English teacher in Sichuanese Fuling, a city on the Yangtze River that has since been transformed by the Three Gorges Dam activated in 2003.The book is a Bildungsroman or better "Bildungsmemoir" centered on the relationship that builds up between a man and a country. Even though many other have lived through similar experiences, no one has attempted the same type of identification and empathic comprehension of the impacted culture or has shown the honesty of this Author. In some ways he reminds us of Hearn, the American who became Japanese in the Nineteenth Century.Young Peter in over 400 pages goes through cultural shock, frustration of being seen as a "waigouren" (foreigner), true episodes of physical and verbal aggression, great satisfaction in his teaching experience of mostly peasant born college students, a moment of glory during a 4 km race and basically all his life experiences in two years. But the main characteristics that make this book such a joy to read are the Authors curiosity, honesty, irony, all signs of his great intelligence and the precise rendition of the sense of place and of the Chinese mentality in all its hues. The impression is that of living with a friend. However the book is also a travelogue and a socialogue because it goes into the geography, landscapes, historical sites and history of Sichuan, the Yangtze River and a few other places visited in China during the two years, together with the analysis of the rapidly transforming Chinese society. These aspects are very interesting and make the book especially valuable, since the Yangtze River region and population have changed from the activation of the Three Gorges Dam. This longstanding important landscape modifying project is explained and described in depth, evaluating the pro's and con's considering also the Fuling's inhabitants surprisingly calm and passive reaction to this epochal transformation. At one point Hessler visits the Water Crane Ridge an important Tang Dynasty monument and a landscape mark that today is completely underwater and in a few years will be destroyed by the river sediments.Since other reviewers have inserted personal reasons for relating to the book. I want to communicate a very personal reason. Hessler tells of how his grandfather, then a Benedictine monk, went to Rome to study in the S. Anselm Abbey and he met a monk returning from China who inflamed his spirit with the wish of working there. Well I live right next to the Abbey and daily see monks from all over the world that carry stories of other countries.Another episode that remains in my memory is when Hessler's visiting father speaks Latin (the last Century's pass partout language) with the Chinese priest and he is excluded from the conversation. There is a similar beautiful episode in Primo Levi's "The Truce" were the Author liberated from concentration camp after WWII, not knowing the language of the country he is traveling through can only communicate with a priest in Latin asking for something to eat.Communication is a guideline of this beautiful book: English/Chinese, Chinese/English, Latin/Chinese, through the teaching of literature (do the Chinese identify or understand Hamlet? They don't. What if Robin Hood came to China? Redistribution of riches and justice is rather complicated.) and theatre (Shakespeare's plays re-enacted in China). The endless conversations, sitting in parks and in restaurants, striking up a discussion in trains and during trekking in the hills, relating life stories of the many people he met all build up the texture of the book. What comes through as we get to know Hessler is his determination, honesty and the satisfaction of his success in mastering the language.I really loved this book and I recommend reading Hessler's other book "Oracle Bones" and his many articles that can be found on line (one of them on China's perspective on Tibet is really mind opening).

I’m Chinese, but there are a lot of history and local issues even I don’t know before.

In the first few chapters, the author goes into depth about his teachings of American and English literature which I found a little slow going. But then he picks up the pace and this book just gets better and better. I admired that he really got under the surface and put himself into many uncomfortable situations to deepen his understanding of the people he lived amongst.This is an excellent book for those who want to learn what life is (was?) like in a small (by Chinese standards) city, in an out-of-the-way place. I also liked that the author had the self-awareness to realise that sometimes his initial reactions to negative incidents were not always the fault of the locals.We get to see how he changes over his two-year experience and gets to grips with the language and always standing out - something which brought him constant annoyance and often trouble.Recommended reading for 'expats abroad' fans - or anyone keen to deepen their knowledge of China.

Tutto perfetto

I will not go by the content of the book, which is simply awesome.(5 stars for it)But the quality of print and paper is so inferior that I severely doubt that the book is genuine. The print quality is so poor that it appears to have been smeared. Can a book of such publisher be so poorly printed?? It is apparently a duplicate copy. Amazon, thoroughly dissatisfied.

A truly unique pleasure for a new convert to what I would call " More challenging " reading, I am very sorry to have come to the end. I was lucky enough to visit China more than 25 years ago when a European face was fairly uncommon and ever since then have been fascinated by this so different country, Peters book has made me remember so much,I doubt if I shall ever be able to make a return trip but by reading this unique book I really do feel somewhat as the author must feel. Excellent time spent and so thought provoking.