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Two Years on the Yangtze“[M]y views had changed quite a bit from the spring of my first year, when I had been so pessimistic about the education system’s constant propaganda. In some ways, it helped to get outside of the classroom – when I walked through the hills and saw the children doing their schoolwork, it reminded me of my own students, and the places where they had come from and the places where they would someday return to teach. I came to realize that, although much of the propaganda still disgusted me, it wasn’t necessarily the most important issue. The slogans wouldn’t last forever – nothing in China did – but the children who were educated would stay that way, regardless of the country’s changes.” - Peter Hessler, in River Town
Travel is one of the best ways to explore another country or culture, yet it is difficult to grasp the nuances (or even the essence) of a place in a short period of time. Tourists can march through a country like China, catch many of the major sites, and still fail to comprehend what life is like for the local people. For this reason, I often rely upon books to augment my travel experiences. Since my own experiences are never enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of a place, I use books to fill the gaps. There’s something powerful about reading a book set in a place I know. With mental pictures of landmarks and geography in mind – and awareness of a culture and people at hand – my attention span lengthens, my ability to retain information improves. So it was that I was only pages into River Town last month when I scolded myself for not beginning a book about China until halfway into my month- long visit. Some of what I’d already grasped about the country was reinforced, several gaps in my comprehension filled. I was reminded that my brief exploration would result in shallow observations; that I saw few obvious signs of Communist Party influence was a product of cursory exposure and an inability to read or communicate in Chinese (and not because Communist Party influence is actually weak). What I found in Peter Hessler, author of River Town, was a person with observations deeper and better-founded than my own. He had, after all, lived in China for two years and mastered the local language. River Town describes Hessler’s experiences teaching English literature in Fuling, China, a smallish city on the confluence of the Yangtze and Wu Rivers. Among the third wave of Peace Corps volunteers to serve in China after the Corps fell out of favor with the Chinese government during the Cultural Revolution, Hessler and fellow volunteer Adam Meier – as pale-skinned waiguoren from the United States – were Fuling novelties in 1996. The two Americans were initially overwhelmed by the city’s suffocating pollution, unfamiliar language and customs, and curious citizens. Both make cultural gaffes in their classrooms and quickly discover the unique challenges involved in teaching in China. Political debate involving the motherland is impossible, open-ended discussion hard to evoke. Still, the Americans gradually settle into routines that are comfortable and productive. They tackle the language in earnest, a process that greatly changes their perceptions of China and her people. Their students, wary at first, embrace them. Hessler appreciates the honesty and spontaneity of their encounters with literature. In Western countries, students meet English and American literature with the weight of critical reviews and politicized symbolism shaping the experience; in late 1990s China, this wasn’t the case. Hessler and Meier adapt, learning to steer clear of political potholes while still engaging students with serious questions. While there is no way to feasibly tackle China’s one-child policy in class, for example, a hypothetical “Should the United States embrace social policies to encourage small family size?” opens the floodgates of student opinion. By the time the teachers complete their service in Fuling, their students have changed, some dramatically. Open-mindedness and willingness to address difficult questions have become more common. The students defend their American teachers when they are disparaged outside the classroom because of ethnicity or national origin. Their service complete, Hessler and Meier, too, are changed. Many of the biases that accompanied them to China are gone. They better appreciate the positive aspects of Chinese culture and recognize the complexity of the challenges the people face. River Town is well-written and insightful. Hessler spends considerable time addressing the controversial Three Gorges Dam project and other environmental dilemmas faced by China today. He explores the country’s checkered recent history, as well as the influence of the powerful Communist Party. How China manages to remain a communist state while enthusiastically embracing a capitalist economy begins to emerge. (For one thing, China doesn’t see its economic system as a form of capitalism but rather “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”) Hessler’s analysis of all this is honest yet respectful. He isn’t afraid to criticize Communist Party dogma or Chairman Mao himself but does so without belittling the Chinese people. He’s also equally willing to criticize his own homeland and Western modes of thought, which is perhaps the most important lesson he imparts. No matter how strong a country’s economy or how powerful its government, its people must be able and willing to think critically and acknowledge shortcomings. If we expect others to look at their own systems and ideologies with a critical eye, we must be willing to do the same of our own. << Find this Book on Amazon.com >>
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![[Book Cover Page: River Town]](images/books/river-town.jpg "River Town")