———. “In Memory of Mengjia.” Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society Summer (1991): 70-72.
“The Lost Alphabets”
For background on the Chinese spoken languages, the writing system, and the reform movement:
Boltz, William G. “Language and Writing.” The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C. Edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
———. The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System. New Haven, Connecticut: American Oriental Society, 1994.
DeFrancis, John. “China’s Literary Renaissance: A Reassessment.” Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars 17.4 (Oct.-Dec. 1985): 52-63.
———. The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
———. “Language and Script Reform.” Current Trends in Linguistics: Linguistics in East Asia and South East Asia. Edited by Thomas A. Sebeok. The Hague: Mouton, 1967.
———. “Mao Tse-tung and Writing Reform.” Perspectives on a Changing China. Edited by Joshua A. Fogel and William T. Rowe. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1979.
———. Nationalism and Language Reform in China. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950.
Mair, Victor H. “Review of The Representations of Cantonese with Chinese Characters by Cheung Kwan-hin and Robert S. Bauer.” Journal of Chinese Linguistics 32.1 (2002): 157-67.
Rawski, Evelyn Sakakida. Education and Popular Literacy in Ch’ing China. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1979.
Rohsenow, John S. “The Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme.” International Journal of the Sociology of Language 59 (1986): 73-85.
———. “Diagraphia in China.” The International Journal of the Sociology of Language 150 (September 2001).
Su Peicheng. “Diagraphia: A Strategy for Chinese Characters in the 21st Century.” Translated by John S. Rohsenow. The International Journal of the Sociology of Language 150 (September 2001).
Zhou Youguang. The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts. Translated by Zhang Liqing. Columbus, Ohio: National East Asian Languages Resource Center, The Ohio State University, 2003.
For background on the life of Zhou Youguang:
Zhang Lijia and Calum MacLeod. China Remembers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
For Chen Mengjia’s involvement in the Hundred Flowers Movement and the debates on writing reform:
Chen Mengjia. “Chai Qiang He Liu Xian: Kaogu Xuejia Chen Mengjia Xiansheng Fangwen Ji.” Renmin Ribao. 17 May 1957.
———. “Guanyu Hanzi de Qiantu.” Wenzi Gaige Di 82 Qi (19 May 1957).
———. “Liang Dian Xiwang.” Wen Hui Bao. 6 May 1957.
———. “Lüe Lun Wenzixue.” Guangming Ribao. 4 February 1957.
———. “Women Dang Bianji de.” Wen Hui Bao. 19 April 1957.
Hong Duren. “Jianhua Hanzi Bu Shi ‘Zheng Zi’ ma?” Meishu Luntan 1 (1958).
Huang Cuibo. “Bochi Youpai Fenzi Chen Mengjia ‘Hanyu Jueding Hanzi’ de Miulun’.” Jiang Hai Xue Kan 5 (July 1958).
Qin Hua. “Jixu Zhuiji Youpai: Bochi Chen Mengjia, Guan Xi.” Zhongguo Yuwen. 10 Hao 1957.
Seybolt, Peter J. and Gregory Kuei-ke Chiang, eds. Language Reform in China: Documents and Commentary. White Plains, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1979.
Shi Zhenye. “Ye Tan Guanyu Jie Ci Jiegou Zuo Wei Yu.” Zhongguo Yuwen 60 (June 1957).
“Encapsulate Prime”
Chen Lei. “Wenzhou Zhongkao ‘Xiemi Shijian’ Diaocha.” Nanjing Zhoumo. 25 June 2003.
“The Misprinted Character”
For information about the history of the Three Gorges Dam:
Chetham, Deirdre. Before the Deluge: The Vanishing World of the Yangtze’s Three Gorges. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
“Patton’s Tomb”
“Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda.” Radio Free Asia Uyghur Service. 28 January 2002.
“Tea”
Price, Kenneth M. “An Interview with Zhao Luorui.” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 13 (Summer/Fall 1995): 59-63.
Walt Whitman. Cao Ye Ji (Leaves of Grass). Translated by Zhao Luorui. Shanghai: Yiwen Chubanshe, 1991.
Wu Ningkun. A Single Tear: A Family’s Persecution, Love, and Endurance in Communist China. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1993.
Acknowledgments
AS A RESEARCHER, I HAVE MANY LIMITATIONS: I DO NOT SPEAK UIGHUR; I do not read oracle bones; and I did not grow up in Number Ten Village. I have approached such subjects as an outsider, discovering how those with more immediate knowledge present their scholarship, memories, and opinions. It’s through such exchanges—from the expert to the writer, from the writer to the reader—that we create meaning. It’s also how we make mistakes. I have tried to be as accurate as possible, and I have benefited from the advice of many reviewers, but I want to emphasize that any errors are my own.
Victor H. Mair was kind enough to read the manuscript and provide many corrections and recommendations. David N. Keightley patiently answered countless phone calls and e-mails, and I appreciate his helpful comments on my chapters about the oracle bones. John DeFrancis gave excellent guidance with regard to my research on Chinese writing reform (I’ve never known another ninety-four-year-old who responds so quickly to e-mails about morphemes). I also appreciate the assistance of John Rohsenow, who helped me track down the Beijing-based reformers and mailed me useful research materials. Imre Galambos kindly reviewed a draft of the manuscript.
I owe an enormous debt to everybody at the Anyang Archaeological Work Station, especially Tang Jigen, who was generous with both his time and access to the excavations. Jing Zhichun was an excellent guide to the Huanbei site, and I appreciate his review of the chapters about the mapping of the underground city. In Anyang and in Beijing, I benefited from conversations and interviews with Rip Rapp, Jim Stotlman, Yang Xizhang, He Yuling, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, and Ken-ichi Takashima.
I am grateful to all of my former students who have stayed in touch over the years. Emily was a wonderful host during my visits to Shenzhen, as was Shirley in Wenzhou. It was a pleasure to visit Nancy Drew and William Jefferson Foster in Yueqing. Willy’s parents, Dai Xinghui and Liu Guiqing, were generous hosts during my trip to Number Ten Village.
I was fortunate to arrive in Beijing under the unofficial auspices of the Wall Street Journal, whose well-run and knowledgeable bureau made for an ideal base. Over the years, many Journal and Far Eastern Economic Review reporters were generous with their expertise and advice: David Murphy, Karby Leggett, Charles Hutzler, and Peter Wonacott. Sophie Sun and Lily Song helped me in many ways, and Kersten Zhang fact-checked countless details from interviews and reporting trips. Jason Dean, who is familiar with both Taiwan and Hollywood, was kind enough to review the manuscript.
I worked as a clipper in the 1999 Journal bureau of Ian Johnson, Matt Forney, Dou Changlu, and Xu Jiang—a wonderful crew, all filed under “J.” Matt’s experience and kindness helped me make the transition to Beijing during that eventful first spring, and I have valued his friendship ever since. Ian’s expertise, judgment, and humor were invaluable to me as a young reporter, and I much appreciate his careful review of this book.
I was fortunate to work on various projects with Mark Leong, whose photographs can bring anything to life, even starch and oracle bones. Lou Mazzatenta did a marvelous job in recording Anyang artifacts (and archaeologists). Mimi Kuo documented the final moments of Old Mr. Zhao’s courtyard, and I greatly appreciated her friendship over the years (especially in Sancha). Shawn McDonald kindly showed me around Nanjing. Jen Lin-Liu hosted me in Shanghai and was generous to Willy during his stay in Beijing. I was grateful to share some of my time in Ju’er Hutong with Mary and Adam Weiss, and then with Travis Klingberg. Other former Peace Corps colleagues who made it back to China—Adam Meier, Craig Simons, Rob Schmitz, and Tamy Chapman—helped me stay in tou
I am greatly indebted to Mike Meyer and Frances Feng for friendship, encouragement, and the most sensitive attention to the way that words move between China and America. I am particularly grateful for Meyer’s editing comments, and for Frances’s research assistance and translations of the poems of Chen Mengjia.
As a freelancer, I have benefited from the generous support of editors and publishers. I am grateful to Tim Duggan, my editor at HarperCollins, as well as Gordon Wise at John Murray. I am thankful to William Clark, my agent, for his early faith in this project. I appreciated the opportunity to write about Old Mr. Zhao’s courtyard for the Boston Globe Magazine, and David Arnold of Worldview commissioned an early profile of William Jefferson Foster. At National Geographic, I was fortunate to work with Oliver Payne, and Bernard Ohanian had the foresight to allow an expansion of our research on the Shang (all the way to Taiwan). I am especially grateful to David Remnick for the opportunity to write for the New Yorker, whose scope and range allowed me to pursue many of the subjects in this book.
Nobody understands the struggles and rewards of writing better than John McPhee, New Jersey Person, and I am thankful for all the good advice over the years. My best and most faithful editor has always been Doug Hunt of Columbia, Missouri. Since I began writing from China, he has been generous with his time and comments, and this book was improved immeasurably by his thoughtful readings.
My parents have been patient with my long absences, and their own work—the sociologist and the historian—has influenced me from afar. Amy helped me stay organized; Angela drew a beautiful map; and Birgitta kept copies of early drafts. I much enjoyed the Beijing visits of Gary and Matt and Andrea, and it was always a pleasure to return to Missouri and see Connor and Heidi. My grandmother Doria Hessler hosted me on many jet-lagged journeys between the Motherland and the Homeland.
And for Leslie T. Chang—no words are enough for somebody who knows what it’s like to track the past and the present in a country of floating lives.
ALEX GRAF OF Columbia Pictures was helpful during my research on Chinese film, and I was saddened by the news of his tragic death in Qinghai province. I wish that I could have thanked him in person. The same is true for others who were interviewed for this book: Ma Chengyuan of the Shanghai Museum, Yin Binyong of the writing reform committees, and Shih Chang-ju of the Academia Sinica. In a perfect world, Shih would have lived long enough to meet Tang Jigen, the excavator of the underground city. But even one hundred and one years couldn’t outlast the complexities of politics and history. Tang’s first application to visit Taiwan was rejected, and by the time he finally received permission, it was too late to meet his predecessor. And so the young man went to the cemetery in Taipei, burned offerings of incense, and kowtowed before the grave.
Searchable Terms
Afghanistan and Afghans
aircraft-collision incident, China-U.S. (2001)
author’s response to
Chinese official response to
Chinese public opinion on
lost pilot Wang Wei
media reports of
U.S. official response to
Albanians in Yugoslavia
alphabet
attempts to develop Chinese-language
Mao Zedong’s call for Chinese
reformed English-language
Westerner’s Internet demands for Chinese
ancestor veneration, Chinese
Anry (Emily’s boyfriend)
Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957)
Anyang, Henan province, Shang civilization archaeological site
artifacts from, taken to Taiwan
as first Chinese-organized dig
oracle bones found at
Shih Chang-ju’s work at
travel to
underground city and wall at Huan- bei
Anyang Archaeological Work Station
archaeological sites in China
Sanxingdui civilization, Sichuan province
Shang civilization, Anyang, Henan province
architecture, Chinese
Beijing hutong neighborhoods and siheyuan courtyard houses
destruction of Zhao Jingxin’s courtyard house
dismantling of Beijing
Armitage, Richard L. (U.S. State Department), statement on Uighurs from
athletics, Chinese
At Night You’re Not Lonely (radio program)
Azerbaijan trader
Bagley, Robert (scholar), on Sanxingdui civilization
Barry, Marion (mayor of Washington, D.C.)
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
Becker, Jasper (journalist)
Beijing
anti-American/anti-NATO protests in
architectural history of
author’s legal status while living in
black market
commemoration of People’s Republic founding in
commemoration of 1989 Tiananmen protests in
as deliberate capital
destruction of traditional architecture of
Falun Gong demonstrations
free-market economy of
Hollywood restaurant/club
hutong neighborhoods of
19th- and early-20th-century foreign occupation of
Olympic Games in (see Olympic Games)
Yabaolu district
Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Bergen, Paul
Bin Laden, Osama
black market, Beijing
Black Robe (film)
Blair, Dennis (U.S. Admiral)
blood type, beliefs about
bombing of Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1999)
Chinese government response to
Chinese public’s protests against
Observer reports about U.S. role in
press headlines about
U.S. account of
Boodberg, Peter A.
Boston Globe (newspaper)
author’s work for
Brashear, Bob (can manufacturer)
Bredon, Juliet (writer)
bronze figures
Chen Mengjia’s study and book on Shang and Zhou civilizations
horses
Sanxingdui civilization
Boxer Uprising (Boxers United in Righteousness movement)
Buddhism
Bulaotun Township police
bureaucracy, Chinese
Bush, George W. (U.S. president)
China-U.S. aircraft collision incident and
state visit to China (2002)
Bush, Laura
calligraphy, Chinese
Cantonese language
Cao Jie (physician)
censorship
of Chinese films
of Chinese media
Chalfant, Frank H.
Changchun, Jilin province, cornstarch industry in
Chang, K. C. (scholar)
Chang, Michael (American athlete)
Chao, Lucy (scholar)
husband (see Chen Mengjia)
Ming dynasty furniture collection belonging to
persecution of, in Cultural Revolution
translation of W. Whitman works by
treatment of, by brother Zhao Jingxin
visit of, to Chicago Art Institute
Wu Ningkun on
chariots, Shang civilization
Chen, Sisy (Taiwan politician)
Chengdu, Sichuan province, anti-American protests in
Chen Luyu (TV commentator)
Chen Mengjia (scholar)
advocacy for retention of traditional writing system by
book on oracle bones and Shang civilization by
book on Shang and Zhou bronzes by
brother Chen Mengxiong on
contradictory accounts of
Cultural Revolution and persecution of
death of
family, early life, and education of
labeled as Rightist and sent to labor camp
Li Xueqin on
Li Xueqin’s 1957 criticism of
Ming dynasty furniture collection belonging to Lucy Chao and
reported illicit affair of
K. Takashima on
Shih Chang-ju on
Wang Jun on
wife [see Chao, Lucy (scholar)]
Wu Ningkun on
Zhou Youguang on
Chen Mengxiong (hydrogeologist)
on brother Chen Mengjia
career of