I’ve spent part of this morning listening to a podcast lecture organized by Folger on the subject of foreign impressions of China. The three panelists are Rachel DeWoskin, author of Foreign Babes in Beijing and a former actress in the Chinese soap opera of the same name, Orville Schell, the distinguished China scholar and author of many books, and our man James Fallows.
The lecture is informal and funny; all three authors recount humorous stories of their experiences in the country as well as observations they’ve made. In particular, their account of how the world looks from the Chinese perspective is well worth listening to.
The link to the podcast is here.
(via China Digital Times)
Comments 3
Wow! I learned a lot here by reading Fallows in the link the the Atlantic! Thanks Matt! But am I missing something? Fallows writes for the Atlantic, so doesnt that make him part of the US media? Regardless, it’s something interesting for me to keep an eye on. I agree that the US media has become increasingly frustrating to rely on as actual news. Chatter about Obama the politian wins over discussion of where the US stands in international relations.
Posted 29 Nov 2009 at 3:22 am ¶OK – just read up on Fallows through The Atlantic! I get it now
Thanks for making be better informed!
Posted 29 Nov 2009 at 3:29 am ¶The moderator asked them what their first impressions were, especially ones that immediately overturned any preconceived expectations…
As for my 2 fen: I really had no clue what I was getting into. I only knew I was going into a part of China known only for its honorable mention on Chinese takeout menus across America. It was my second day incountry when my employer drove us from Gaungzhou to a “small” city in Hunan. Traffic came to a dead halt three hours into our drive north along Jingzhu Expressway. There had been an accident, and we were expected to wait at least an hour. I will never forget the festival that sprung out of the tarmact. People got out of their cars. Truckers dumped out greasy bags of KFC chicken bones. Children played tag. Boys passed out cigarettes and hawked up loogies. You heard pop and traditional Chinese competing from various sound systems. Girls shielding themselves from the midday sun with parasols strolled by our car in high heels, as elegant as if they born on a Milan catwalk. And peasants from a dilapidated village capitalized on it all: They came out of the rice fields in their pajamas and cone hats bearing goodies by the bucket loads. This was the first of many puzzles pieces in a larger jigsaw that seems to indicate China is more capitalistic than America.
Posted 29 Nov 2009 at 8:04 am ¶Post a Comment