My First Trip To China

Thirty leading China experts—ranging from Perry Link, Andrew Nathan and Jonathan Mirsky to W. J. F. Jenner, Lois Wheeler Snow and Morton Abramowitz—recount their first visits to China, recalling their initial observations and impressions. Most first traveled to China when it was still closed to the world, or was just beginning to open. Their subsequent opinions, writings and policies have shaped the Western relationship with China for more than a generation. This is essential reading for those who want to understand the evolution of Western attitudes toward modern China. At the same time, this collection provides a vivid, personal window onto a fascinating period in Chinese history. “To collect the stories of first encounters with China was a brilliant idea. Not only do we get the benefit of many fascinating insights (and hindsights) from a range of foreigners and overseas Chinese, but these deftly edited views from the outside make up one great story: the history of Communist China. More than a history of one damned thing happening after another, however, this is a history of perceptions, lies, myths and revelations, as much about China as her rulers wish it to be seen, as about those who chose to see China, more and sometimes less clearly, over the last half century.” —Ian Buruma, author of Bad Elements “The opening of China to the world, and then of the world to China, is one of modern history’s most consequential stories. That story is told in a fresh, innovative fashion in this insightful collection of personal experiences related by a distinguished collection of historians, diplomats, journalists, political writers and others who ventured behind the Bamboo Curtain early on. Leading the way are disillusioned leftists stunned by the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and Mao’s Great Leap Forward that they discover. They gradually give way to knowing observers of a tumultuous society determined to become once again a world power. Their accounts form an impressionistic vision of epochal change taking place on the gallop.” —Jim Hoagland, contributing editor, The Washington Post “This is a wistful and absorbing volume, and a fitting remembrance for all of us who once thought that China was going to be easy to study.” —Jonathan Spence, author of The Search for Modern China

A Trip to China is an intermediate Chinese language textbook designed for students who have studied one year of college Chinese. Offering a strong foundation in grammar and vocabulary, it is written from the perspective of a foreign exchange student who has just arrived in China for the first time. This thoroughly revised edition not only provides students essential lessons for advancing their Chinese language skills, but also introduces important aspects of contemporary Chinese society and culture. The textbook incorporates suggestions from years of student and teacher feedback, and includes new lessons as well as updated vocabulary glosses, grammar explanations, and exercises. An improved format juxtaposes text and vocabulary on adjacent pages and combines grammar notes and exercises into one easy-to-use volume. Intermediate-level Chinese language textbook Revised edition Single-volume, user-friendly format New lessons and updated vocabulary, grammar explanations, and exercises Introduces students to important aspects of contemporary Chinese society and culture

Praise for My First Impression of China Today, the sense of distance between China and the U.S. has greatly diminished. We remain different societies with at least partially different values and expectations, with each countrys citizens feeling pride in their national accomplishments and each government looks on the other with what appears to be growing concern and perhaps fear. But these accounts by Washingtonians highlight that that is not all there is to the relationship between the United States and China. And perhaps these recollections tell us that governmental concerns are the least important aspect of the ties between our two countries. David Bachman, Professor, University of Washington The year 2014 marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the normalization of the diplomatic relations between the United States and China. Author Wendy Liu chose to honor that relationship by compiling thirty-five essays that detail some Americans first impressions of their trip to China. My First Impression of China presents reflections from a group of prominent Washingtonians, including those who established the Washington-Sichuan friendship-state relationship and the Seattle-Chongqing sister-city relationship. Their first trips to China took place from 1973 to 2008, covering the time the two countries cautiously opened liaison offices in each others capitals to the time of the Beijing Olympics. My First Impression of China provides insight into the changes in American attitudes toward China as well as changes in Chinas political, cultural, and technological landscape.

This Is China contains, in brief, everything we need to know about 5,000 years of history, 30 years of "opening," and a future that promises to shape the 21st century for all of us. Drawn from the vast resources of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, this concise 120-page book is recommended for classroom use, curriculum development, and student review.

_______________ 'Splendid and fascinating ... Teltscher has made remarkable use of her source material, aided by the constantly perceptive and witty tone of Bogle's own writings' - Patrick French, Sunday Times 'It is hard to imagine this fascinating story being told with greater sensitivity or skill' - Sunday Telegraph 'Teltscher is a remarkable new historian ... wholly original' - William Dalrymple 'Thrilling and fascinating ... Letters, journals and documents are woven into the flowing narrative, which is wonderfully vivid and evocative' - Jenny Uglow _______________ An unlikely meeting between a young Scotsman and the Panchen Lama gives birth to a remarkable friendship In 1774 British traders longed to open relations with China so they sent a young Scotsman, George Bogle, as an envoy to Tibet. Bogle became smitten by what he saw there, and struck up a remarkable friendship with the Panchen Lama. This gripping book tells the story of their two extraordinary journeys across some of the harshest and highest terrain in the world: Bogle's mission, and the Panchen Lama's state visit to China, on which British hopes were hung. Piecing together extracts from Bogle's private papers, Tibetan biographies of the Panchen Lama, the account of a wandering Hindu monk and the writings of the Emperor himself, Kate Teltscher deftly reconstructs the momentous meeting of these very different worlds.

Two leading experts on China evaluate its rise throughout the past one hundred fifty years, sharing portraits of key intellectual and political leaders to explain how China transformed from a country under foreign assault to a world giant.

This textbook, prepared for American students who have already completed two semesters of Chinese, does not "talk down" to the student, and its contemporary subject matter will provoke classroom discussion. Successfully encouraging speaking as well as reading practice, the work progresses from correspondence and dialogue to short essays. Lessons 1 through 10 focus on college life in the United States, 11 through 15 concern political and social issues in contemporary China, and 16 through 20 present biographies of three well-known figures in Chinese intellectual history and analyses of the Chinese Democracy Movement and the Tiananmen Square incident. Lessons 21 and 22 deal with Chinese translations of foreign place names and the Gulf War and are designed to accustom students to reading Chinese newspapers. The lessons in this text offer sufficient material for a two-semester course with five contact hours per week. For the text and vocabulary traditional and simplified characters are juxtaposed. The exercises of each lesson are included in the vocabulary volume. An index to the glossary is included. Audio and video materials are available for use with this text. For further information, contact the Chinese Linguistics Project, 231 Palmer Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 08544. (609-258-4269). This textbook, prepared for American students who have already completed two semesters of Chinese, does not "talk down" to the student, and its contemporary subject matter will provoke classroom discussion. Successfully encouraging speaking as well as reading practice, the work progresses from correspondence and dialogue to short essays. Lessons 1 through 10 focus on college life in the United States, 11 through 15 concern political and social issues in contemporary China, and 16 through 20 present biographies of three well-known figures in Chinese intellectual history and analyses of the Chinese Democracy Movement and the Tiananmen Square incident. Lessons 21 and 22 deal with Chinese translations of foreign place names and the Gulf War and are designed to accustom students to reading Chinese newspapers. The lessons in this text offer sufficient material for a two-semester course with five contact hours per week. For the text and vocabulary traditional and simplified characters are juxtaposed. The exercises of each lesson are included in the vocabulary volume. An index to the glossary is included. Audio and video materials are available for use with this text. For further information, contact the Chinese Linguistics Project, 231 Palmer Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 08544. (609-258-4269). This textbook, prepared for American students who have already completed two semesters of Chinese, does not "talk down" to the student, and its contemporary subject matter will provoke classroom discussion. Successfully encouraging speaking as well as reading practice, the work progresses from correspondence and dialogue to short essays. Lessons 1 through 10 focus on college life in the United States, 11 through 15 concern political and social issues in contemporary China, and 16 through 20 present biographies of three well-known figures in Chinese intellectual history and analyses of the Chinese Democracy Movement and the Tiananmen Square incident. Lessons 21 and 22 deal with Chinese translations of foreign place names and the Gulf War and are designed to accustom students to reading Chinese newspapers. The lessons in this text offer sufficient material for a two-semester course with five contact hours per week. For the text and vocabulary traditional and simplified characters are juxtaposed. The exercises of each lesson are included in the vocabulary volume. An index to the glossary is included. Audio and video materials are available for use with this text. For further information, contact the Chinese Linguistics Project, 231 Palmer Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 08544. (609-258-4269).