Iron and Silk
Sometimes travel books can come across as "looking down" on the locals for their backwards and silly ways. This book shines in quite the opposite direction. Mark Salzman does an admirable job of telling about the challenges of his years in China in the 1980s, when China was still getting used to having Westerners within its borders. He encounters numerous bureaucratic hurdles, faces them with diligence. He meets many smart and wonderful locals and appreciates their talents. He realizes that many things he took for granted - electricity that always came on, a steady supply of food, mail service that delivered on schedule - were not to be assumed here.
The book is very well written. There were numerous parts that I laughed out loud at, and then read it to whoever was sitting near me at the time. There were other sections that were very sad. A woman commits suicide and everybody is worried that her children will suffer - her suicide is a crime against the Party, and her children will be punished as somehow not having properly prevented it.
There are many stories that illustrate a variety of differences between how Mark (and most Westerners) would interpret a situation, and how the Chinese do. It is fascinating to see him stymied by cultural misunderstandings, figuring his way around taboos and rules. A Westerner might say "Well why not just do XXXX and get it all done with?" But to the Chinese, it is far more proper to do things in a very different way.
One story that stuck with me involved a Chinese person trying to explain to Mark why the Chinese are so patient and accepting. The Chinese person said: once there was a farmer who had his horse run away. People said "how awful" but the farmer did not worry about it. Then the horse came home with a whole herd of friends. People said "how lucky!" but again the farmer did not react. Then the farmer's son broke a leg training one of the new horses, and people said "how awful" - but the farmer did not mind. Then the army came looking to drag away recruits for the war, and the son was safely ignored. This story was an example of why short term ups and downs should just be accepted as part of life's long term path.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Chinese culture.
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