‘China is the most unresolved nation of consequence in the world’
March 20th, 2008 . by Julian Hewitt
(Photo: Julian Hewitt. Getting to Grips with China is not always this straight forward)
There is a popular quote doing its rounds in China at the moment that goes something like this: ‘Visit China for a week and you can write a book, stay for a month and you can put together a sizable article. If you are here for a year, you can probably write a short newspaper story. Live in China any longer and the experience is so overwhelming that you would be lucky to write more than a paragraph.’
As a friend told me the other day, live in China for any length of time and the old Chinese saying of ‘knowing what you do not know’ becomes a truism rather than ‘knowing what you know.’ However, there seems to be no end to people on week-long stints to China if the proliferation of Sino-centric titles at the local bookstore on offer is anything to go by!
On the other hand, there are some smart and super perceptive China old hands (中国通) whose commentary finds ways of slicing through all the noise and getting to the essence of it all. If you are interested in demisting some of the mystery that surrounds the Middle Kingdom, here are two great places to start:
Orville Schell is a long time Far Eastern expert who has written 9 books on China. The Long Now Foundation recently recently hosted a talk by Orville titled ‘China Thinks Long Term, but can it Relearn to act Long Term.’ Orville starts his conversation off with this powerful insight: ‘China is the most unresolved nation of consequence in the world.’ His talk is 1.5 hours in length, so the best option is to download it here or alternatively listen to it online here.
Peter Hessler wrote one of my favourite China books called ‘Rivertown.’ It is a fascinating insight to the life of a foreigner in a far flung Chinese town on the verge of huge change. His subsequent Mandarin skills, inquisitive mind and connection to everyday Chinese people pursuing personal goals in a rapidly transforming society has provided a unique and grounded perspective to Peter’s further writings. You can listen to a wide-ranging National Geographic interview with Peter here.
