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| Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (P.S.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter Hessler
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $6.00
You Save: $9.95 (62%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.65
Avg. Customer Rating:  (21 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3477
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060826592
Dewey Decimal Number: 951
EAN: 9780060826598
ASIN: 0060826592
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Release Date: May 8, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Multifaceted perspective on the China that we face today April 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hessler uses his own experiences, combined with detailed experiences gathered from native friends throughout the important regions of China to describe their lifestyle and situations in regards to growing up and making their own lives in "The New China." As Hessler describes the current status of economic regions and interpersonal relationships, he also weaves in ancient and recent history creating a resource for understanding why the Chinese react and function as they do.
A compelling read. I speak Chinese, my wife doesn't, and we have both found Hessler's books intriguing and understandable. "River Town" is also excellent. Hessler allows you to remember how it feels to be in that situation--even if you never have been.
The Warp & Weft of Chinese and Uighur Lives April 7, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
It's refreshing to find a book on China by a journalist with some knowledge of and, even better, an interest in really learning about sinological matters. Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, Western journalists have written their books on China: at first largely from the perspective of being the rare Westerner in a newly opened up China, and then over time with increasing emphasis on his or her observations of China's political and economic situation--invariably in the context of the reporter's personal experiences in China.
ORACLE BONES, too, is personal, not that we get to know Peter Hessler very well (though a "Postscript" titled "Meet Peter Hessler" presents a short autobiographical sketch), but in the sense that we experience China through his "I"s. Unlike many earlier books by journalists, though, there isn't much focus on leadership politics here; instead the warp of the fabric of this book is perspectives on Chinese (and Uighur) culture and history.
If that is the warp, the weft principally follows the story of Chen Mengjia, a renowned scholar of "oracle bones" (scapulae and tortoise shells inscribed with writing and used in divination practices a few thousand years ago). Chen Mengjia was branded a rightist in the late 1950s, and he subsequently committed suicide at the onset of the Cultural Revolution. In the course of Hessler's journeys--not all related to Chen--the writer learns pieces of Chen's story (only a little of which is consistent) and a whole lot more about 20th century Chinese and Western sinological history. It's refreshing to find Hessler's views so well informed; you'll find nothing here, for instance, about the so-called Chinese "ideograph" that sullies so many books that refer to the Chinese writing system.
Hessler, now a Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker magazine, was once a Peace Corps volunteer English teacher in China, an experience that he describes in his earlier book, RIVER TOWN. He devotes a good part of this book weaving in descriptions of his encounters with his former students and of their post-education lives. Hessler also discusses the life of a Uighur that he befriends in China, and who subsequently travels to the U.S. and successfully seeks asylum. In these stories, Hessler doesn't flinch from the terrible realities of Communist China, and they are often brutal; at the same time, though, the U.S. (specifically, Washington, D.C.) doesn't get off easily in the depiction of the everyday difficulties that confront Hessler's Uighur friend, including racism and robbery.
Hessler's style gives the appearance of effortlessness when you just know how much work must have gone into the book. His keen observations often express subtle truths, such as when he comments, "There is always something sad about furniture in a museum" (p. 384) and his empathy conveys genuineness, e.g., when he confronts a scholar with a personal criticism of Chen Mengjia that the now old man felt forced to write when he was a youth (p. 390). You want to continue hanging out with Hessler and see what more he learns. It's a disappointment then when, even at some 450-plus pages, the book quietly ends.
China Today March 28, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Throughout the 90s I traveled to China a lot, as part of several research projects through my university. Though I have been hampered by not speaking the language (I started Chinese lessons three different times), I had wonderful hosts who introduced me to a wide range of things going on. I spent 6 weeks in 1993 teaching at Peking University, and was there when the disappointing news about the Olympics were announced. I was there in 1999 when we bombed the Chinese embassy.
Reading Hessler's book took me back to all these times, but gave me also so much more. He has done a fabulous job of exploring many different scenes and characters in the China of the 90s. I did not get the chance to spend time in the countryside, so I really enjoyed those parts of the book. Also, his ongoing stories of former students or of the Uighur Polat give great insight into the flow of events in this period. Going back to the 50s and 60s, with the stories of people's experiences in the cataclysmic events of the Mao era of China's recent history remind me of the similar stories I heard from my friends who had also lived through these periods.
I love the continuous story of the Oracle Bones themselves, and all the people, past and present, who were tied up in the stories of their discovery, interpretation, and preservation. And the late section of the book on the written language, and the attempts at change, was particularly interesting.
I am now motivated to go read Hessler's earlier book, River Town. He is clearly an author with a sensitive eye to what's been going on. I hope he as more books in mind.
 Keen Observations of Modern China February 2, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Honestly, good for people with experience in China or not, but I think it resonated with me in particular because I have experienced much of what he describes. It also provides interesting background and history on the language and politics. His mastery is the ability to observe and conceptualize his environment without passing judgment. This is one of the major difference between Oracle Bones and China Road by Rob Gifford (China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power). Oracle Bones is also much deeper.
Pieces of Brocade January 15, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a remarkable book which takes one on a journey into history and brings a sense of connection to present events....like becoming aware of something resonating deep within and gaining a flash of recognition as it surfaces to conscious recognition.
I thoroughly loved reading this and the sense of change happening in China is very clear and well described. And as a side effect, I learned much regarding the Oracle Bones. Hopefully we will be having further books by the Author. If you enjoy this book and have China in your soul, also read his: "River Town."
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