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The Chinese
In The Chinese , Jasper Becker, China's premier western correspondent, strips the country of its myths and captures the Chinese as they really live. For nearly two decades Becker has lived in China, and reported from areas where most visitors do not reach. Here he is at his most candid,
reporting from all over the from tiny, crowded homes in the swollen cities of the southeast rim to a vast, secret network of thousands of defense bunkers in the northwest. He exposes Chinese society in all of its from remote, illiterate peasants; to the rising classes of
businessmen; to local despots; the twenty grades of Party apparatchicks; to the dominant, comparatively small caste of Party leaders who are often ignorant of the people they rule.
Becker lets the Chinese speak for themselves, in voices that are rich and moving. He teaches a great deal about the magnitude--and the false face--of China's vaunted economic boom, and further shows the pervasive institutionalized crime that has risen out of economic poverty. In all, Becker reveals
a China very different than our long-held assumptions depict. The Chinese is the hidden story of people of the world's largest nation--a nation so poorly understood and so vital to the future.
reporting from all over the from tiny, crowded homes in the swollen cities of the southeast rim to a vast, secret network of thousands of defense bunkers in the northwest. He exposes Chinese society in all of its from remote, illiterate peasants; to the rising classes of
businessmen; to local despots; the twenty grades of Party apparatchicks; to the dominant, comparatively small caste of Party leaders who are often ignorant of the people they rule.
Becker lets the Chinese speak for themselves, in voices that are rich and moving. He teaches a great deal about the magnitude--and the false face--of China's vaunted economic boom, and further shows the pervasive institutionalized crime that has risen out of economic poverty. In all, Becker reveals
a China very different than our long-held assumptions depict. The Chinese is the hidden story of people of the world's largest nation--a nation so poorly understood and so vital to the future.
496 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 1991
About the author
Jasper Becker
20 books25 followers Jasper Becker is a British journalist who spent 30 years covering Asia including 18 years living in Beijing. His reporting on uprisings, refugees and famine in China, Tibet and North Korea garnered him many awards and he is a popular speaker and commentator on current events in Asia. He now lives in England and has just finished his tenth book, tentatively called The Fatal Flaw. Earlier books such as Travels in an Untamed Land, Hungry Ghosts or Rogue Regime had described the devastating impact of Communism on the peoples of Mongolia, China and North Korea. In City of Heavenly Tranquility, he laments the destruction of old Peking and the building of the new Beijing while The Chinese and Dragon Rising set out to portray the different sides of contemporary China. In Hungry Ghosts, the author had exposed for the first time the true madness and horrors of Mao’s secret famine during the Great Leap Forward. The new work digs into the flawed economic theories which lay behind Communism’s collapse and describes the economic theorists who got it right and the Western economists who believed the bogus statistics put out by Moscow and Beijing. He has also researched family histories of the early Shanghai capitalists who became textile magnates in Hong Kong. Under the pen name Jack MacLean, he has published an engrossing thriller set amid the drone wars in Pakistan and Afghanistan called Global Predator. Four of his earlier books on Asia have just been updated and re-released as kindle books.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 28, 2020
This book prepared me for my visit to China. Having previously known only about the Tiananmen Square massacre and the handover of Hong Kong, it revealed that the population consists of many layers. Furthermore, many officials are out of touch with the people they are governing.
Even before I arrived in China to live and work, The Chinese was crucial in enabling me to know what to look for and what to observe. As his book involved widespread travel throughout China, I was able to do so without being overwhelmed.
My ability to observe and analyze, then write The Trouble With China is due to The Chinese, along with Zhou Youguang (1906-2017) - the creator on the alphabetized spelling system, Pinyin.
Even before I arrived in China to live and work, The Chinese was crucial in enabling me to know what to look for and what to observe. As his book involved widespread travel throughout China, I was able to do so without being overwhelmed.
My ability to observe and analyze, then write The Trouble With China is due to The Chinese, along with Zhou Youguang (1906-2017) - the creator on the alphabetized spelling system, Pinyin.
March 25, 2013
This is an interesting "intro" book that should not be read before visiting China. Apparently, China makes Orwell look warm and fuzzy. It's so bleak an outlook, that it made me wonder why the author chose to be a China expert.
There is only one part in the book where he gives a glimpse as to why. He (very) briefly talks about feeling for the people who raise their petitions for justice, which he knows are never going to be heard. What was missing from this book for me, was a feel for what the author liked so much about China that he has devoting his life to understanding it.
There is only one part in the book where he gives a glimpse as to why. He (very) briefly talks about feeling for the people who raise their petitions for justice, which he knows are never going to be heard. What was missing from this book for me, was a feel for what the author liked so much about China that he has devoting his life to understanding it.
April 2, 2009
There's a ton of interesting information in this book, but it's presented in a rather boring way. I was hoping for more interviews, but instead it relies heavily on statistics.
January 24, 2020
Great overview of contemporary China in case someone is interested to understand where all the weirdness is coming from.
November 26, 2022
Very interesting book
This book looks at the hierarchy of classes in Chinese starting with the very poorest people in the uplands of China, mostly the ethnic minorities who got pushed there. Then it goes up the social scale taking in groups like the teachers, the lawyers, the doctors, the security forces, the military, the merchants, the private sector, the state sector, the people in the special economic zones, the migrant workers, and above all the peasant farmers. It ends with the ruling echelon. Although China has become richer since this book was written, nothing about this structure has changed. So it’s a very valuable read, and I recommend it to everyone.
This book looks at the hierarchy of classes in Chinese starting with the very poorest people in the uplands of China, mostly the ethnic minorities who got pushed there. Then it goes up the social scale taking in groups like the teachers, the lawyers, the doctors, the security forces, the military, the merchants, the private sector, the state sector, the people in the special economic zones, the migrant workers, and above all the peasant farmers. It ends with the ruling echelon. Although China has become richer since this book was written, nothing about this structure has changed. So it’s a very valuable read, and I recommend it to everyone.
November 28, 2022
Exceeded expectations!
When I bought it, I first thought this was out of date but after I started reading it, I found it to be a revealing portrait of Chinese society under the Chinese Communist Party. The bones of that society hasn't changed much over time even though the leaders have changed and China has grown. Everything from the semi-divine status of the ruler to the poverty of those living in the poorer uplands has stayed the same. The peasants are still second class citizens and the intellectuals still adore a strong state bureaucracy. I recommend this book to anyone studying China or interested in history.
When I bought it, I first thought this was out of date but after I started reading it, I found it to be a revealing portrait of Chinese society under the Chinese Communist Party. The bones of that society hasn't changed much over time even though the leaders have changed and China has grown. Everything from the semi-divine status of the ruler to the poverty of those living in the poorer uplands has stayed the same. The peasants are still second class citizens and the intellectuals still adore a strong state bureaucracy. I recommend this book to anyone studying China or interested in history.
September 9, 2018
A journalist’s account of the different layers of Chinese society and the problems each layer has faced since Deng’s reforms in 1979. Barefoot doctors, new entrepreneurs, academics, military, minorities, politicians, etc each have a chapter. Each chapter is broken down by a historical overview, then examination of how the economic reform period affected that group, and finally a discussion of the problems and challenges facing each group in the future.
November 27, 2022
Interesting Insights
Of all the interesting insights in this great book, I enjoyed the chapter on intellectuals best. Scholars always played a role in Chinese history. The chapter becomes clear that while some have always been ready to make sacrifices for democracy, and really wanted to change China, far too many worshipped the state and love a strong leader. That hasn’t changed at all since this book was written.
Of all the interesting insights in this great book, I enjoyed the chapter on intellectuals best. Scholars always played a role in Chinese history. The chapter becomes clear that while some have always been ready to make sacrifices for democracy, and really wanted to change China, far too many worshipped the state and love a strong leader. That hasn’t changed at all since this book was written.
July 20, 2019
Jestli je to, co je tam napsané pravda, tak je to šílené, co se děje v Číně. Smekám klobouk před znalostmi autora.
March 15, 2023
Fairly decent account of the Chinese culture and modern history.
It is a little dated, being published in 2000, but for information on pre-Xi Jingping China it is very informative.
It is a little dated, being published in 2000, but for information on pre-Xi Jingping China it is very informative.
June 24, 2008
Truthfully, what is advertised on the back cover as "Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2001" seems to me to a relatively average account of the egregious social injustices of Maoist and post-Maoist China. The book seems to follow one dull formula for presenting its thesis: Item + obscure economic statistic + resulting death toll of poor Chinese peasants + brief recap, repeat ad nauseum.
I got about two-thirds of the way through the book before realizing that this basic formula never changes and quit reading. What the author describes in his preface as his desire not to judge Chinese political and economic history seems to be a lame-duck euphemism for regurgitating collected figures and opting out of any critical anaylsis.
If you're thinking of reading this book, let me save you some time and sum up the central themes: Maoist Chinese Communist Party makes astronomically poor economic/commercial decision, millions of staggerngly poor Chinese peasants are killed by the military or starve to death, Chinese peasants generally pacify and accept the governments decision due to characteristics of Chinese culture borne out of Dynastic-era mindset, Chinese Communist Party leaders reconstruct massive policy errors as huge successes via propaganda and ignore criticism from international community, party leaders stubbornly resist growing capitalist influence. Done.
Also, so much has happened in China in the last decade that it practically makes the information in this book totally out-dated and of extremely limited use if you are trying to understand the progress and development of modern-day China.
I got about two-thirds of the way through the book before realizing that this basic formula never changes and quit reading. What the author describes in his preface as his desire not to judge Chinese political and economic history seems to be a lame-duck euphemism for regurgitating collected figures and opting out of any critical anaylsis.
If you're thinking of reading this book, let me save you some time and sum up the central themes: Maoist Chinese Communist Party makes astronomically poor economic/commercial decision, millions of staggerngly poor Chinese peasants are killed by the military or starve to death, Chinese peasants generally pacify and accept the governments decision due to characteristics of Chinese culture borne out of Dynastic-era mindset, Chinese Communist Party leaders reconstruct massive policy errors as huge successes via propaganda and ignore criticism from international community, party leaders stubbornly resist growing capitalist influence. Done.
Also, so much has happened in China in the last decade that it practically makes the information in this book totally out-dated and of extremely limited use if you are trying to understand the progress and development of modern-day China.
January 12, 2009
This was a good general overview of contemporary China, although it was published in 2001 and alot has happened since then. At times I skimmed through some detailed data, but generally the narrative was quite readable. The author was a journalist in Beijing for years, and his take on China is pretty negative.
July 17, 2010
For anyone really interested in understanding China's modern culture, this book is pretty thorough in addressing many important factors that have shaped China and is really informative.
If you're not, then it will probably be a drag to read.
For me, it was a bit of both, but more the former than the latter. I'm glad I read it.
If you're not, then it will probably be a drag to read.
For me, it was a bit of both, but more the former than the latter. I'm glad I read it.
January 6, 2009
A good book to get an understanding of many of the big issues facing China other than those simple ones reported in the media. May be slightly dated now, as things change so fast in China. But a good primer to the country for beginners.
May 20, 2008
This was very informative. I read it years ago when I first became obsessed with chinese culture. Jasper Becker writes with text book prose, meaning you can read it and enjoy it without realizing there is a history lesson inside.
July 24, 2008
I didn't make it all the way through this. The approach of the book is to examine different groups/classes of Chinese people across history to see the continuities over time.
July 14, 2010
There is much detailed history, statistics, and story telling with thorough journalistic powers brought to bear on thick, thorny, contentious issues of modernity done the Chinese way.
October 23, 2012
First introduction to Chinese history...great way to start.
May 29, 2007
Excellent insight into the problems facing contemporary China, even if it's dated by a few years.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews