Suggested Readings

I highly recommend that you read a few books on China before visiting China. You will find out as we did that China is changing so rapidly that books on contemporary China are outdated by the time they are published. Here are a few of my favorites.

Oracle Bones
by Peter Hessler

In order to understand and appreciate Chinese history and culture emotionally and intellectually it would be a big help if you can speak, read and write Chinese. Peter Hessler is one of the few western contemporary writers who can do so.

He taught in China for two years with the Peace Corps; and took the time and discipline to learn Chinese. He liked China so much that he stayed in China after his teaching days and reported on China for various magazines and papers. You may have read his articles in the New Yorker and National Geographic.

The author shares his impressions and reflections on China between 1999 and 2002. Through his ingenuity and hard work he manages to give his readers glimpses of the fascinating history of China from the beginning of the Chinese civilization to the present. This book reads almost like a novel with real characters, heroes, villains and just plain folks. Somehow he makes them all colorful and alive.

Like any contemporary writings on China, some of the information is outdated by the time the publication comes out. Oracle Bones is not an exception even it came out only in 2006. Fortunately, most of what you learn about China in this book is timeless.

I would take issues with the author over a few points. But I am a richer person after reading this book. I learned a lot about China I did not know before and was also touched emotionally by his writings. The author may be entirely different in real life but he most certainly comes through as a very thoughtful and sensitive person in this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to gain some insights into today’s China.

The Coldest Winter
by David Halberstam

In a library catalog you may find this book in the history section under Korea. However, the scope of this book is a lot more than the Korean War. I consider it to be a history book for the first half of the twentieth century on Asia and the United States with the Korean War as the theme. I learned a lot about the interplay between the politicians and the military in the United States and the minds of the likes of MacArthur, Truman, and Mao.

The scholarship and work the author put into this book is impeccable. He was a gifted writer and supreme story teller as you would expect. What astonished me were his astute observations and insights in the political and social conditions in the United States, China and Korea.

His few pages on contemporary Korea were the best I had ever read anywhere on any country; it was short, to the point and with profound implications. I have learned from reading this book a lot about the Korean War which would be sufficient enough a reason to read this book. It was a lot more than that; I came to a much better understanding of the United States, China, Korea and Vietnam.

Surprised? Read the book and see if you agree with me.

China, a New History
by John King Fairbank and Merle Goodman

Fairbank was probably the most prominent China scholar in the United States of the 20th century. Many present China experts were students of his at Harvard. Prof. Fairbank delivered the finished manuscripts of this book to the publisher in the morning of Sept. 12, 1991. He suffered a heart attack that afternoon and died two days later.

If you have not read a history book since your college days you will be surprised. This is not a chronology of events or facts but rather a synthesis of the interpretations by the authors to try to understand China as a country and a culture. Prof. Fairbank's political views were more liberal than mine but his scholarship was impeccable. Goodman was a student of Fairbank's; he completed the history of China through the last decade of the last century in this book. So, if you are going to read this book make sure you get this edition.

River at the Center of the World
by Simon Winchester

The author journeyed from the mouth of the Yangtze River in the Yellow Sea all the way to the river's source in Tibet. I learned not just about the river but also the author's social and political observations along the way. This is very easy read compared to Fairbank's.

River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze
by Peter Hessler

Hessler taught for two years in China as a Peace Corpsman. Easy and good read. You will gain lots of insights from reading this book.

Ultimate Journey
by Richard Bernstein

Bernstein was a student of Fairbank's and Time magazine's Beijing bureau chief in the early 1980's. He is now a book critic for the New York Times. He retraced the journey of an ancient Chinese monk from Xian to India searching for Buddhist scriptures and enlightenment.

I found this book fascinating not just for what I learned about China but also for the emotions and empathies evoked by the writings. Incidentally, one of the goals of Buddhism is to free one's self from physical desires and worldly "realities" (please don't ask me what that means :). Well, Mr. Bernstein married his girl friend promptly upon his return from China. To be fair, Mr. Bernstein was not searching for Buddhist enlightenment and he is not a Buddhist. Bernstein is a traveler.

When China Ruled the Seas
by Louise Levathes

Levathes detailed the maritime adventures and accomplishments by the Chinese during the early 15th century. China was then the richest and most technologically advanced country in the world. China was on the verge of colonizing Africa and the Pacific islands had it chosen to do so. Abruptly China turned inward and closed the doors and windows to the rest of the world just at about the same time as Europe emerged from the Dark Ages.

The period chronicled in this book marked the critical point as the Europeans started their ascend on their way to dominate the world for the next five centuries and the Chinese plunged deeper and deeper into isolation and were left further and further behind.