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The River At The Centre Of The World
Simon Winchester undertakes a journey from the mouth of the Yangste River to its source. This is the story of the river, it's cities and their people, built around the author's own journey to discover something of the essence of China and her people, the Yangtse being her soul and center.
407 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 1996
About the author
Simon Winchester
95 books2,099 followersSimon Winchester, OBE, is a British writer, journalist and broadcaster who resides in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. As an author, Simon Winchester has written or contributed to over a dozen nonfiction books and authored one novel, and his articles appear in several travel publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic.
In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.
After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.
Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first-hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.
Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a film version, likely to be directed by John Boorman.
Though Winchester still writes travel books, he has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World, focused on geologist William Smith and was Whichester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earthquake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham, who helped to expose China to the western world. Winchester's latest book, The Alice Behind Wonderland, was released March 11, 2011.
- source Wikipedia
In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.
After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.
Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first-hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.
Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a film version, likely to be directed by John Boorman.
Though Winchester still writes travel books, he has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World, focused on geologist William Smith and was Whichester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earthquake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham, who helped to expose China to the western world. Winchester's latest book, The Alice Behind Wonderland, was released March 11, 2011.
- source Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
January 21, 2021
Inspired by Ten Thousand Li up the Yangzi River by Wang Hui, a 53 foot long scroll painting, Winchester decides to travel from mouth to source of the Yangtze River, a journey of some 3900 miles.
The trip was undertaken mid 90's which is relevant for the water levels and accessibility of the river, as the Three gorges Dam was partly constructed, but at this point only quite low.
Well written, and kept at an enjoyable pace, the intent was the further up the river he travelled, the further back in history the story would delve. It sort of worked out that was, but of course the story was influenced by the geography.
He does a fine job of briefly telling some of the history of the region and of China in general, and does a good job of explaining the often complex situations in a readable and understandable way.
This, like most of his other travel works is a success for me. From those books of his that I have read so far, this is probably his best along with Krakatoa.
The trip was undertaken mid 90's which is relevant for the water levels and accessibility of the river, as the Three gorges Dam was partly constructed, but at this point only quite low.
Well written, and kept at an enjoyable pace, the intent was the further up the river he travelled, the further back in history the story would delve. It sort of worked out that was, but of course the story was influenced by the geography.
He does a fine job of briefly telling some of the history of the region and of China in general, and does a good job of explaining the often complex situations in a readable and understandable way.
This, like most of his other travel works is a success for me. From those books of his that I have read so far, this is probably his best along with Krakatoa.
December 30, 2014
At over 3900 miles long the Yangtze is the river that divides China. South of the river is the rice growing part of China, and north of it wheat is grown. But this divide also brings together the nation, as it supports millions of people livelihoods, and hold the keys to some of China's earliest archaeology and history.
Starting at the mouth of the river in the city of Shanghai, Winchester, and his companion Lily, travel through a series of landscapes that are stark, polluted, varied and at times utterly beautiful. Traveling by boat on the river for a lots of the journey, he describes the people that he meets, the landscapes he sees, and writes about the changes that this river will suffer at the hand of man.
He is not scared to write critically of the Chinese government, in particular about the horrendous treatment of the Tibetan people when he reaches the headwaters of the river. But throughout the book he tells of the people that make this country unique and such a rich assault on the senses.
Starting at the mouth of the river in the city of Shanghai, Winchester, and his companion Lily, travel through a series of landscapes that are stark, polluted, varied and at times utterly beautiful. Traveling by boat on the river for a lots of the journey, he describes the people that he meets, the landscapes he sees, and writes about the changes that this river will suffer at the hand of man.
He is not scared to write critically of the Chinese government, in particular about the horrendous treatment of the Tibetan people when he reaches the headwaters of the river. But throughout the book he tells of the people that make this country unique and such a rich assault on the senses.
June 19, 2019
I read a previous book by this author which I enjoyed so I decided to try another and I'm glad I did. He travels up the Yangtze in this from the ocean to close to its source - a bit short of 4000 miles. He uses various forms of transport and the travels are interesting. However this is not really a travel book per se. This is far more a journey through China's history really. I'd confess to being less than knowledgeable on this subject. However this is written in a very accessible way and I enjoyed most of it. Much of it relates to Imperialism generally - that of China but also that of nations that sought to exploit China. It also looks at some issues where China is the one who exploits. This would include subjects such as Tibet and the Three Gorges dam so there is balance there.
If I were being picky I'd say I'd have liked some photographs (though it might have been difficult to get them - he is often "out of bounds"). Equally the very small maps at the start of each chapter were too small to see never mind make sense of. Happily recommended to anyone who this interests though.
If I were being picky I'd say I'd have liked some photographs (though it might have been difficult to get them - he is often "out of bounds"). Equally the very small maps at the start of each chapter were too small to see never mind make sense of. Happily recommended to anyone who this interests though.
April 11, 2016
This was a disappointing book. Like the tributaries of the Yangtze, multiple disciplines feed into the narrative: geography, geology, sociology, politics, commerce and history. Winchester admits at the outset that he had difficulty finding a unifying theme for his ungainly collection of material. Like the irregular rapids and currents, my interest was engaged only intermittently.
Winchester's journey begins in Shanghai where the Yangtze empties into the East China Sea. His goal is to sail upstream to the river's source in the plateau of Tibet. The river is perhaps the most significant geographic feature in all of China. It divides the country into north/south regions even more clearly than the Mason Dixon line divides the United States. To the north the staple is wheat; to the south it is rice. The distinction permits Winchester the opportunity to display the vibrant writing style that draws readers to his books: “Some geographers and writers like to think of the river as a sort of waistline, a silk ribbon that cinches China quite decidedly into two. Above the waist are the brain and the heart and the soul of China, a land that is home to the tall, pale-skinned wheat-eating, Mandarin-speaking, reclusive and conservative peoples who are the true heirs to their Middle Kingdom's five thousand years of uninterrupted history. Below the river-waist, on the other hand, are the country's muscles and sinews: the stocky, darker, more flamboyant, rice-eating peoples who speak in the furiously complicated coastal dialects, the men and women whose energies and acumen and cunning — and cooking — have spread the goods and words of China to the world beyond.” At the same time, the river was the unifier of the vast territory populated by disparate ethnic groups and climate zones. To all, it was the object of great symbolic significance. The melt waters of the Himalayas in far off Tibet affected the livelihood of everyone downstream.
The second observation Winchester makes is that the Yangtze initially flows in a north-south direction, much like the Mekong River to the west. It is the tectonic ridge forming the Yun Ling Mountains that twists the course of the river in a hairpin turn, flowing back north and then from west to east. Winchester describes this portion of his trip in a chapter titled “The River Wild.” The northward flow is marked by such picturesque sites as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan) and Tiger Leaping Gorge. The names capture some of the drama of the river's course and its effect on the lives of those living along its banks.
Winchester's narrative is most interesting when he lapses into travelogue mode, describing encounters with the ordinary workers he meets along the way. Their voices reflect a surprising diversity of opinion expressed with colorful candor. Navigating the harbor at the mouth of the Yangtze, their ferry captain points out the site of an unmarked wreck. “Only a few people know about it. But the fact is there's a great big ship lying down there, in just three fathoms of water. So easy to hit. It'd rip the bottom from a tanker, just like a sushi knife! Very dangerous.” Winchester hears from a fisherman, lamenting the extermination of the freshwater dolphin, once revered as the “Goddess of the Yangtze”. He describes the painful alternative of letting his family starve. Not all of China's ills were caused by greed and indifference. Winchester encounters soldiers obeying illogical orders, peasants about to be displaced by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, hotel workers who provide a meal they cooked in their kitchen at home because he arrived after the hotel kitchen had closed, and people so old they still remember the days when teams of naked men (trackers) hauled freight barges through the rapids. There are people who are dismayed by the government's actions in Tibet (much to the consternation of his guide Lily), and bureaucrats who are cowed by the devoted Lily into allowing the pair passage westward — for a modest fee, thanks to Lily's shrewd negotiating skills.
Local history, as well, was interesting. Lushan, for example was once a prosperous center for exporting tea (Lushan Misty Clouds Green Tea). That trade was ruined when the British started tea plantations in India with its cheap labor and mosaic of local governors. Wuhan's outlook is still colored by Mao tse-Tung's swim actross the Yangtze. With a fervor stoked by home-time pride, they still stand out as a town unwilling to hear any criticism of the leader. I found these local stories of far greater interest than the broader but fragmented histories of gunboat diplomacy and the Great Leap Forward.
Like the Qing dynasty painting, “The Ten Thousand li Yangtze” by Wang Hui, Winchester prefaces each section of his journey with a sectional map detailing the locations of his passage. Readers will also want to keep a full sized map of China at their side as a further aid in orientation, for this book is most engaging as a geographical primer. The floods, the valleys, the navigability of the river, the fertility of the valleys, and even the permanence of the land on which Shanghai sits are all functions of the geography of the Yangtze watershed.
This is a long book, and is best approached by readers planning to visit China or who have previous detailed knowledge of the country's history.
Winchester's journey begins in Shanghai where the Yangtze empties into the East China Sea. His goal is to sail upstream to the river's source in the plateau of Tibet. The river is perhaps the most significant geographic feature in all of China. It divides the country into north/south regions even more clearly than the Mason Dixon line divides the United States. To the north the staple is wheat; to the south it is rice. The distinction permits Winchester the opportunity to display the vibrant writing style that draws readers to his books: “Some geographers and writers like to think of the river as a sort of waistline, a silk ribbon that cinches China quite decidedly into two. Above the waist are the brain and the heart and the soul of China, a land that is home to the tall, pale-skinned wheat-eating, Mandarin-speaking, reclusive and conservative peoples who are the true heirs to their Middle Kingdom's five thousand years of uninterrupted history. Below the river-waist, on the other hand, are the country's muscles and sinews: the stocky, darker, more flamboyant, rice-eating peoples who speak in the furiously complicated coastal dialects, the men and women whose energies and acumen and cunning — and cooking — have spread the goods and words of China to the world beyond.” At the same time, the river was the unifier of the vast territory populated by disparate ethnic groups and climate zones. To all, it was the object of great symbolic significance. The melt waters of the Himalayas in far off Tibet affected the livelihood of everyone downstream.
The second observation Winchester makes is that the Yangtze initially flows in a north-south direction, much like the Mekong River to the west. It is the tectonic ridge forming the Yun Ling Mountains that twists the course of the river in a hairpin turn, flowing back north and then from west to east. Winchester describes this portion of his trip in a chapter titled “The River Wild.” The northward flow is marked by such picturesque sites as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan) and Tiger Leaping Gorge. The names capture some of the drama of the river's course and its effect on the lives of those living along its banks.
Winchester's narrative is most interesting when he lapses into travelogue mode, describing encounters with the ordinary workers he meets along the way. Their voices reflect a surprising diversity of opinion expressed with colorful candor. Navigating the harbor at the mouth of the Yangtze, their ferry captain points out the site of an unmarked wreck. “Only a few people know about it. But the fact is there's a great big ship lying down there, in just three fathoms of water. So easy to hit. It'd rip the bottom from a tanker, just like a sushi knife! Very dangerous.” Winchester hears from a fisherman, lamenting the extermination of the freshwater dolphin, once revered as the “Goddess of the Yangtze”. He describes the painful alternative of letting his family starve. Not all of China's ills were caused by greed and indifference. Winchester encounters soldiers obeying illogical orders, peasants about to be displaced by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, hotel workers who provide a meal they cooked in their kitchen at home because he arrived after the hotel kitchen had closed, and people so old they still remember the days when teams of naked men (trackers) hauled freight barges through the rapids. There are people who are dismayed by the government's actions in Tibet (much to the consternation of his guide Lily), and bureaucrats who are cowed by the devoted Lily into allowing the pair passage westward — for a modest fee, thanks to Lily's shrewd negotiating skills.
Local history, as well, was interesting. Lushan, for example was once a prosperous center for exporting tea (Lushan Misty Clouds Green Tea). That trade was ruined when the British started tea plantations in India with its cheap labor and mosaic of local governors. Wuhan's outlook is still colored by Mao tse-Tung's swim actross the Yangtze. With a fervor stoked by home-time pride, they still stand out as a town unwilling to hear any criticism of the leader. I found these local stories of far greater interest than the broader but fragmented histories of gunboat diplomacy and the Great Leap Forward.
Like the Qing dynasty painting, “The Ten Thousand li Yangtze” by Wang Hui, Winchester prefaces each section of his journey with a sectional map detailing the locations of his passage. Readers will also want to keep a full sized map of China at their side as a further aid in orientation, for this book is most engaging as a geographical primer. The floods, the valleys, the navigability of the river, the fertility of the valleys, and even the permanence of the land on which Shanghai sits are all functions of the geography of the Yangtze watershed.
This is a long book, and is best approached by readers planning to visit China or who have previous detailed knowledge of the country's history.
December 16, 2020
Winchester is almost thunderstruck by the river's majesty. He loves the wild grandeur of Tibet, and fully appreciates the Yangtze's importance in world history. It's just that he finds China's cities of the 1990s ugly, dull, and distasteful. Partly for diversion he's repeatedly drawn to every available relic of British colonial days, till his Chinese assistant Lilly cries "Oh God, your bloody British Empire again!"
About half the book concerns tales of times past. It's half travel adventure and half history. Clearly Winchester wrote this for a non-Chinese audience, highlighting what seemed relevant or appealing to foreigners, in the years just before the economic boom.
About half the book concerns tales of times past. It's half travel adventure and half history. Clearly Winchester wrote this for a non-Chinese audience, highlighting what seemed relevant or appealing to foreigners, in the years just before the economic boom.
December 5, 2023
For someone who lived in Hong Kong for years, speaks Mandarin and wrote this 400 page tome about his voyage up the length of the Yangtze, author Simon Winchester doesn't like China very much.
He sees Shanghai as a crassly commercial "whorehouse", Wuhan as too polluted, Chongqing as ugly and most of the villages he encounters, squalid. Yet he excoriates an Italian expatriate living in central China who, like him, seems to hate the place.
Only the pastoral town of Lijiang, near the end of the book, earns his approval. He may be right that China's government has sacrificed the Chinese countryside for the sake of its economy, but he is not a sympathetic person and I felt sorry for his long suffering travel companion, Lily, who is Chinese.
While Winchester is a learned man with a vast vocabulary, I found the book long and his sneering tone, tiresome.
He sees Shanghai as a crassly commercial "whorehouse", Wuhan as too polluted, Chongqing as ugly and most of the villages he encounters, squalid. Yet he excoriates an Italian expatriate living in central China who, like him, seems to hate the place.
Only the pastoral town of Lijiang, near the end of the book, earns his approval. He may be right that China's government has sacrificed the Chinese countryside for the sake of its economy, but he is not a sympathetic person and I felt sorry for his long suffering travel companion, Lily, who is Chinese.
While Winchester is a learned man with a vast vocabulary, I found the book long and his sneering tone, tiresome.
October 15, 2012
I’m not always a fan of Winchester’s style, but this book remains my favorite in his extensive bibliography. Drawn to the beauty of Ten thousand li, a stunning 53 foot scroll by Wang Hui, Winchester decides to delve deeper into the massive Yangtze for his next book. He works his way along the length of the river in reverse, from its mouth at the South China Sea to the looming plateaus of Tibet where the river begins. The history and geography of the Yangtze unfolds beautifully, punctuated with Winchester’s personal anecdotes about what he calls “the delicious strangeness of China.” The book was written in 1996, and the ruminations about the Three Gorges Dam (now complete) are interesting to digest in retrospect. While the book does not paint a thorough narrative of modern China, it is a well-researched, fascinating way to discover the tangled mass of culture, people and geography along the Yangtze’s edge.
July 19, 2018
I wanted to punch this author repeatedly over the course of the book. Two stars only because it had a lot of good information, but I’ll never be reading another Simon Winchester book again. Freaking jerk.
October 7, 2014
viaggio nella storia
il racconto è interessante
ogni tappa indica un passo indietro nel tempo, lungo la risalita del fiume che, simbolicamente rappresenta la macchina del tempo della Cina
i villaggi e le città sono i segnalibri del racconto, la storia è l'unica protagonista, mentre chi la racconta non può fare a meno di spiccare per la pochezza delle sue riflessioni e per la rigidità, tipicamente inglese, di chi si sentirà sempre al centro del mondo e non riesce a vedere al di là del suo naso...la Cina ha una storia millenaria, ma non si fa altro che parlare dal punto di vista di chi l'ha colonizzata, sfruttata, distrutta e adesso la giudica, il punto di vista cinese è affidato a una donna il cui nazionalismo viene compreso poco, e la cui modalità di distinguere le cose tra quello che dicono gli inglesi e come le stesse cose sono state vissute dai cinesi, viene bollata come rigidità...
ps. non sfuggono nemmeno gli italiani: un poveretto, solo perchè euforico e di carattere espansivo, che commette l'errore di ospitare questo pedante inglese, viene definito un po' pazzo...certo se la sanità mentale viene misurata con la freddezza...
prendiamo ad esempio la faccenda della diga delle Tre Gole
il nostro (poco) simpatico anfitrione ci porta nei pressi della località, ci fa sapere che lui, anche se stanno navigando con uno straripamento del fiume in corso, non vede tutto sto dramma e insinua che il governo stia gonfiando l'impatto dell'esondazione per ricevere l'approvazione internazionale al progetto, osteggiato dai più della costruzione della famosa diga
ora
1) può anche essere che le cose stiano così, ma andrebbe dimostrato e argomentato un po' meglio che con un semplice "a me non pare tutto sto dramma" altrimenti sei alle insinuazioni e le tue valgono quanto quelle di chiunque altro
2) non so se il fatto che Stati Uniti e altri paesi europei abbiano espresso dubbi sull'opportunità di costruire questa diga abbia un vero senso, cioè perchè mai questi paesi dovrebbero avere voce in capitolo sulla deviazione del corso di un fiume dall'altra parte del mondo?
3) intanto lui imperterrito non ci fa sapere niente della feroce opposizione interna dei cinesi allo stesso progetto, cosa che posso aver appreso da Jia Zhang-ke nel film Still Life, che ha vinto il Leone d'oro a Venezia nel 2006, quindi tipo dieci anni dopo i fatti narrati da questo presunto cronista che era là e che non si è accorto che i cinesi osteggiavano la costruzione della diga, però ci dice tutto di quello che ne pensano gli Stati Uniti, notizia questa che, oltre a essere per me di scarsa rilevanza, potrei reperire in ogni momento, magari tu che sei in Cina ti degneresti di raccontarmi quello che ne pensano i cinesi?
poi passiamo a parlare del Tè
scopriamo così che quello indiano, quello nero che bevono gli inglesi, è migliore di quello verde cinese, che ci dice questo fine intenditore è un tè morto, e in Cina manco lo fanno più perchè le guerre dell'oppio, che sono state iniziate dagli inglesi proprio perchè non potevano pagare il tè alla Cina, hanno totalmente distrutto il mercato cinese del tè, e siccome gli inglesi si sono accorti, dopo aver rovinato una nazione, che il the che piace a loro lo potevano coltivare in India che era già in loro completo possesso, allora hanno spostato la produzione là e fine dei giochi!
capito? adesso sono gli inglesi che decidono dove si deve produrre il tè
meno male che io lo compro lo stesso quello verde, cinese, che casulamente è più vivo del nero perchè non è fermentato, e nella mia beata ignoranza lo preferisco anche...
aggiornamento
dopo un siparietto sul tè si torna a parlare della diga, stavolta con un monte di dettagli tecnici, alcuni chiarimenti sulla posizione degli investitori esteri, manco nominati nel capitolo dedicato in precedenza, e sui cinesi che si sono opposti alla costruzione
inutile dire che gli oppositori sono spariti nelle prigioni del regime e che evidentemente Jia Zhang-ke deve aver lavorato di nascosto...la diga si è fatta, come sappiamo tutti e i villaggi minacciati di estinzione sono stati cancellati dalla faccia della terra, piante e animali compresi...
il racconto è interessante
ogni tappa indica un passo indietro nel tempo, lungo la risalita del fiume che, simbolicamente rappresenta la macchina del tempo della Cina
i villaggi e le città sono i segnalibri del racconto, la storia è l'unica protagonista, mentre chi la racconta non può fare a meno di spiccare per la pochezza delle sue riflessioni e per la rigidità, tipicamente inglese, di chi si sentirà sempre al centro del mondo e non riesce a vedere al di là del suo naso...la Cina ha una storia millenaria, ma non si fa altro che parlare dal punto di vista di chi l'ha colonizzata, sfruttata, distrutta e adesso la giudica, il punto di vista cinese è affidato a una donna il cui nazionalismo viene compreso poco, e la cui modalità di distinguere le cose tra quello che dicono gli inglesi e come le stesse cose sono state vissute dai cinesi, viene bollata come rigidità...
ps. non sfuggono nemmeno gli italiani: un poveretto, solo perchè euforico e di carattere espansivo, che commette l'errore di ospitare questo pedante inglese, viene definito un po' pazzo...certo se la sanità mentale viene misurata con la freddezza...
prendiamo ad esempio la faccenda della diga delle Tre Gole
il nostro (poco) simpatico anfitrione ci porta nei pressi della località, ci fa sapere che lui, anche se stanno navigando con uno straripamento del fiume in corso, non vede tutto sto dramma e insinua che il governo stia gonfiando l'impatto dell'esondazione per ricevere l'approvazione internazionale al progetto, osteggiato dai più della costruzione della famosa diga
ora
1) può anche essere che le cose stiano così, ma andrebbe dimostrato e argomentato un po' meglio che con un semplice "a me non pare tutto sto dramma" altrimenti sei alle insinuazioni e le tue valgono quanto quelle di chiunque altro
2) non so se il fatto che Stati Uniti e altri paesi europei abbiano espresso dubbi sull'opportunità di costruire questa diga abbia un vero senso, cioè perchè mai questi paesi dovrebbero avere voce in capitolo sulla deviazione del corso di un fiume dall'altra parte del mondo?
3) intanto lui imperterrito non ci fa sapere niente della feroce opposizione interna dei cinesi allo stesso progetto, cosa che posso aver appreso da Jia Zhang-ke nel film Still Life, che ha vinto il Leone d'oro a Venezia nel 2006, quindi tipo dieci anni dopo i fatti narrati da questo presunto cronista che era là e che non si è accorto che i cinesi osteggiavano la costruzione della diga, però ci dice tutto di quello che ne pensano gli Stati Uniti, notizia questa che, oltre a essere per me di scarsa rilevanza, potrei reperire in ogni momento, magari tu che sei in Cina ti degneresti di raccontarmi quello che ne pensano i cinesi?
poi passiamo a parlare del Tè
scopriamo così che quello indiano, quello nero che bevono gli inglesi, è migliore di quello verde cinese, che ci dice questo fine intenditore è un tè morto, e in Cina manco lo fanno più perchè le guerre dell'oppio, che sono state iniziate dagli inglesi proprio perchè non potevano pagare il tè alla Cina, hanno totalmente distrutto il mercato cinese del tè, e siccome gli inglesi si sono accorti, dopo aver rovinato una nazione, che il the che piace a loro lo potevano coltivare in India che era già in loro completo possesso, allora hanno spostato la produzione là e fine dei giochi!
capito? adesso sono gli inglesi che decidono dove si deve produrre il tè
meno male che io lo compro lo stesso quello verde, cinese, che casulamente è più vivo del nero perchè non è fermentato, e nella mia beata ignoranza lo preferisco anche...
aggiornamento
dopo un siparietto sul tè si torna a parlare della diga, stavolta con un monte di dettagli tecnici, alcuni chiarimenti sulla posizione degli investitori esteri, manco nominati nel capitolo dedicato in precedenza, e sui cinesi che si sono opposti alla costruzione
inutile dire che gli oppositori sono spariti nelle prigioni del regime e che evidentemente Jia Zhang-ke deve aver lavorato di nascosto...la diga si è fatta, come sappiamo tutti e i villaggi minacciati di estinzione sono stati cancellati dalla faccia della terra, piante e animali compresi...
August 12, 2014
Simon Winchester is one of my favorite authors, especially his geological themed ones (Krakatoa, The Map that Changed the World, and Crack in the Edge of the World) since I'm a geologist myself. This travelogue up the entire Yangtze river is different from his other books that I've read as it is much more personal. It is not only about the Yangtze and the history but about the peoples and the cultures that he encounters along the river. The history that he covers is much more recent and something I'm not really knowledgable about such as WWII and General Mao and the Cultural Revolution. I was ashamed that I never heard about the Rape of Nanking. Nazi Germany had their share of atrocities, but Imperial Japan was just as bad it seems. His sense of humour is interspersed throughout making this a joy to read. His visit to the Wuliangye distillery made me chuckle. A highly recommended read if one wants to know more about the Yangtze River.
November 13, 2023
A bit tedious in parts, but overall a good read. Interesting view on China, and sadly, on the Chinese oppression of Tibet. It ended a bit abruptly and we never found out how he got home or what happened to Lily.
August 13, 2009
Terrific book - his travel writing is quite funny, in a dry British way, and the history is well-presented, with only a few patches to skim through.
November 29, 2023
“Back on my way to what they call the outside world. Back from having been at its very center, and along the river that runs right through it.”
October 30, 2015
Long a fan of Winchester's work, I enjoyed this book. A mix of history, geography and river lore, this trip up the Yangtze River fascinated me. Winchester has an wonderful sense of curiosity and this led him into all sorts of places along the river. Accompanied by a Chinese travel guide, Lily, who fiercely defended his rights to travel on and by the river, they journey its 3,900 mile length. The Yangtze has a profound impact on the geography of China and Winchester describes this brilliantly, along with the historical impact of British influence, for after all Winchester is British.
January 31, 2018
Like a diary, the book dragged on with unnecessary details and pointless sentiments. For example, the author seemed obsessed with the inconsequential idea of what if there was no Yun Ling, or Cloud Mountains, to induce a dramatic turn of Yangtze at Shigu. Not sure why this “what if” is even remotely interesting, geologically or culturally, as countless what ifs along the Yangtze could be entertained if one wanted.
July 16, 2009
Highly suggested reading before venturing to interior China and Shanghai. The book does a stellar description of the hydrology and forces of the Yangtze Basin, especially in light of recent earthquakes. In comparison to the "Map that Changed the World," Winchester does a poor job of defining the geological history of the Yangtze transect, but then again this is not a geology text.
September 15, 2008
A fascinating look at China. I enjoyed learning about the history of all the towns and cities along the Yangtze, and also about the three gorges dam. Should be read by anyone even remotely interested in China, as the author has great insight in to this amazing country.
September 13, 2013
Had trouble tracking down somewhere to leave a review for The Surgeon of Crawthorne. As a person curious of the roots of where words came from- I LOVED this novel.. recommended for avid follower of words, a dictionary thriller based on some facts- what gets better than this?
January 12, 2014
Very enjoyable. A brief fly-over history of China from modern day backwards in time. As the author travels up the Yangtze river from the South China Sea (hopefully to the source) he offers a history lesson based on the area he is visiting. The further up-river he goes, the further back in time.
June 6, 2008
Very helpful in thinking about trip on the Yangtze!
November 28, 2015
Really detailed history of China as related to the Yangtze River. Written just before the Three Gorges Dams were finished.
March 3, 2016
A lot of details, at times it's too much to take in but an interesting read.
January 11, 2018
3.5 Stars
Inspired by the seminal Ten thousand li scroll by Weng Hui, Winchester brings us the tale of the Yangzte through the ages - and how the river has shaped the fate of this great, ancient civilization. At the outset, you know this is an ambitious project covering a mind boggling amount of themes. For the most part, given his almost cinematic narrative style, Mr. Winchester acquits himself with flying colours.
Some geographers and writers like to think of the river as a sort of waistline, a silk ribbon that cinches China quite decidedly into two. Above the waist are the brain and the heart and soul of China, a land that is home to the tall, pale-skinned, wheat-eating, Mandarin-speaking, reclusive and conservative peoples who are the true heirs of their Middle Kingdom's five thousand years of uninterrupted history. Below the river-waist, on the other hand, are the country's muscles and sinews: the stocky, darker, more flamboyant, rice-eating peoples who speak in the furiously complicated coastal dialects, the men and women whose energies and acumen and cunning – and cooking – have spread the goods and words of China to the world beyond.
Some of the episodes - the haunting visit to Nanking, the hilarious encounters with the locals, to Captain Cornell's enduring legacy, would stay with me for a long time.
The most interesting parts are when the book is a travelogue of sorts. It is when the author switched modes into a geographical / political narrator (which sadly, he does for large swathes) did I stifle may a yawn.
Inspired by the seminal Ten thousand li scroll by Weng Hui, Winchester brings us the tale of the Yangzte through the ages - and how the river has shaped the fate of this great, ancient civilization. At the outset, you know this is an ambitious project covering a mind boggling amount of themes. For the most part, given his almost cinematic narrative style, Mr. Winchester acquits himself with flying colours.
Some geographers and writers like to think of the river as a sort of waistline, a silk ribbon that cinches China quite decidedly into two. Above the waist are the brain and the heart and soul of China, a land that is home to the tall, pale-skinned, wheat-eating, Mandarin-speaking, reclusive and conservative peoples who are the true heirs of their Middle Kingdom's five thousand years of uninterrupted history. Below the river-waist, on the other hand, are the country's muscles and sinews: the stocky, darker, more flamboyant, rice-eating peoples who speak in the furiously complicated coastal dialects, the men and women whose energies and acumen and cunning – and cooking – have spread the goods and words of China to the world beyond.
Some of the episodes - the haunting visit to Nanking, the hilarious encounters with the locals, to Captain Cornell's enduring legacy, would stay with me for a long time.
The most interesting parts are when the book is a travelogue of sorts. It is when the author switched modes into a geographical / political narrator (which sadly, he does for large swathes) did I stifle may a yawn.
March 1, 2018
This book is the 2004 update to the narrative of a monumental trip the author took in 1995. Traveling from the mouth of the Yangtze to its headwaters with a native guide (never giving her real name in order to protect her from govermental targeting), he weaves in history, culture, politics, geology, navigation, environmental science, and more. He tells a compelling tale of China's determined march to world dominance since their escape from repeated invasions and exploitation/colonization by foreign powers from Japan to Great Britain. There are vivid descriptions of the brutal Japanese invasion (rivaling Nazi atrocities) which is burned into the collective memory of the Chinese. Also of note is his description and analysis of the devastating Cultural Revolution and the legacy of Mao, whose crimes against his people have been airbrushed/spun shamelessly, turning him into a revered ancestral icon in modern Chinese folk mythology - ala Stalin in Russia. The story of the changes wroght in China's rivers, landscape, cultural heritage, indigenous regional populations, rare flora and fauna et al by relentless govenmental machinations and interventions in the name of progress are impressive in scale and heart-breaking at the same time. I learned a lot.
January 30, 2022
I have been a huge fan of Simon Winchester's work for years, but for some reason, I only got around to reading The River this week. Written in the mid 1990s, the topical observations are now dated. But Winchester is at his best as a naturalist and a stylist, and on those grounds, the book is well worth reading.
The premise is simple: Winchester travels up the Yangtze from the delta east of Shanghai to its headwaters in Tibet. Along the way we learn history, geology, plant biology and ethnology, together with a smattering of travel writing. The river is rightly the star: massive and ponderous by the sea, it grows faster, wilder and more dangerous as he proceeds up it. And the further west he travels, the more remote and rustic are the people and communities he encounters.
As Winchester shows, the Yangtze is thoroughly bound to Chinese history and culture. This is a grand adventure that summons memories of English explorer writings of long ago. The only discordant note is the persistent hostility to the Chinese government, which, although not cast in racial terms, nevertheless has a whiff of lingering latter-day colonialism.
The premise is simple: Winchester travels up the Yangtze from the delta east of Shanghai to its headwaters in Tibet. Along the way we learn history, geology, plant biology and ethnology, together with a smattering of travel writing. The river is rightly the star: massive and ponderous by the sea, it grows faster, wilder and more dangerous as he proceeds up it. And the further west he travels, the more remote and rustic are the people and communities he encounters.
As Winchester shows, the Yangtze is thoroughly bound to Chinese history and culture. This is a grand adventure that summons memories of English explorer writings of long ago. The only discordant note is the persistent hostility to the Chinese government, which, although not cast in racial terms, nevertheless has a whiff of lingering latter-day colonialism.
September 5, 2018
I'm glad I read Simon Winchester's adventure on the Yangtze River after a recent trip to China rather than before. There's been a lot of change in China in the 25 years since the book was written -- most particularly the completion of the Three Gorges Dam -- and this book provided an interesting historical context for what I saw. Winchester travels the river from the ocean to its source, combining a travelogue and geography with history and cultural reporting. His writing is excellent, and he certainly doesn't sugarcoat his experience. Part of my trip was a 3-day Yangtze cruise, and while I only saw a bit of what he reports, I was able to identify both things that had changed, and things that had not, and make sense of both. The book was recommended by the China expert who led our trip.
May 17, 2018
I think it might be impossible for me to rate any Simon Winchester book less than 5 stars. He might just be my favourite non-fiction writer currently writing in any genre. As with his other books, this book about his journey up the Yangtze is often categorized as "Travel" but could easily be shelved in history or current affairs. While never losing track of his main narrative, Winchester is an exquisite teller of tales (a reviewer on the back cover calls him a great "anectodeur"; I love that word and it fits him well.) Essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about modern China and its roots in 20th century politics and culture.
October 7, 2018
After about a year of trying, I made it to page 120. Some interesting, but disjointed, pieces of history from China which kept me going for a while. However, I found the author so irritating that I just couldn't go on. He doesn't seem to like China or Chinese people. He also seems to miss good opportunities for writing, for example when he seen the descendent of the family who "ran" shanghai(?) in the restaurant, surely at least trying to speak to him would have made for a good story?? At the start of the book he doesn't ask the gentleman with the map why he has yet to sign it. I don't remember the details of these and I can't face going back into the book to find out.
February 20, 2019
i thought about giving it a 4 star, but the last few pages about he stood at the waterhead of the river, smoking a cigar, is a real great picture. Also I am impressed with his insight on shanghai taking over HK back in 1997. Which turned out to be very true.
Overal a great researched book and the author is impressive in his knowledge on china and chinese histories. The book is very well organized into "modern china-rural china and today's china-old china". Good ideas and good book.
I took this book to my parents trip to Sri Lanka and Du Bai. A traveller's book for my family travel. Finally finished it in HK.
Overal a great researched book and the author is impressive in his knowledge on china and chinese histories. The book is very well organized into "modern china-rural china and today's china-old china". Good ideas and good book.
I took this book to my parents trip to Sri Lanka and Du Bai. A traveller's book for my family travel. Finally finished it in HK.
January 2, 2021
I liked the history parts, but they were less about China, but more about the river navigation. For instance, the Taiping Rebellion, which happened centered on one of the cities on the river, got only 1 paragraph mention.
River travel sections were kinda boring at beginning. Rapids, trackers, and rafting parts towards the end were more interesting.
Too much space given to Three Gorges Dam -- then a hot item, but now a footnote as China completes megaprojects like that so frequently.
Good to read China at the clasp of its thunderous growth, still poor, still dependent on western loans.
Last book read in 2020
River travel sections were kinda boring at beginning. Rapids, trackers, and rafting parts towards the end were more interesting.
Too much space given to Three Gorges Dam -- then a hot item, but now a footnote as China completes megaprojects like that so frequently.
Good to read China at the clasp of its thunderous growth, still poor, still dependent on western loans.
Last book read in 2020
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