Though outdated, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising
Power, by New York Times columnist, and fellow
Harvard Crimson alumnus,
Nicholas D. Kristof and his highly educated wife, Sheryl Wudunn, is an
excellent work on the rise of China. Both operated in Beijing as
reporters from 1988-1993, during the time of the infamous Tiananmen
massacre, for which their reporting won a Pulitzer Prize. The sense
that the authors create of an impending collapse is forgiven, as one of
the most important things they get across, is how little we know and
can hope to know about China. The reporters, from intimate experiences,
touch on the most important aspects of China, analyzing both policy,
and the experiences of the average peasant. Most intriguing, however,
is how they had to approach the situation as reporters. They were
constantly tailed, bugged, and interviews with Chinese were often
threats to their lives. Their analysis of the
government is superb,
their experiences with average Chinese are important, and their final
chapter on Taiwan is excellent.
Kristoff and Wudunn worked
intimately with the Chinese government, often having to wrestle with
them just to get a story. They cite fascinating examples of secret
internal documents in which they get across both the internal struggles
of the government, as well as their perceptions of the United States.
Perhaps the most
interesting sense that they provide of the government,
is of a sort of bumbling giant, as opposed to the calculated
totalitarianism that is often portrayed. China has wholeheartedly
embraced the concept of making money, cadres and peasants alike, and it
is this greed, these competing interests that make the central
government very ineffective at the strict control that they desire. If
the bribe is high enough, even the staunchest political dissident can
weasel their way out of harms way.
The other interesting thing
Kristoff and Wudunn portrayed about government officials is how far
removed they are from so many situations. For example, Deng Xiaoping,
the leader most responsible for China’s economic liberalization, was
rarely ever able to leave his compound. When he did toward the end of
his days, there was very little that he recognized about Beijing.
Another story tells of an official that acknowledged he could get very
little real news about China’s problems when he went to visit places,
as they are often masked with the desire to please. When the students
were protesting in Tiananmen square, it is said that Deng was very
surprised that there was so much hate for him. All of these things
paint a picture of the Chinese government that I had never been exposed
to before, and it made me think of interesting parallels with western
politicians.
Kristoff and Wudunn, in their roles as reporters,
also make a concerted effort at understanding the experiences of the
ordinary Chinese. They visited every province in their five year stay,
and try to relate interesting stories about peasants, at the same time
that they speak of their intimate experiences with the city. They
present a picture of a growing Chinese prosperity, in which peasants
are very happy with the new comforts they receive, and city folk are
intent on getting rich. My personal philosophy does not sympathize with
their analysis, but it is well done nonetheless.
What I enjoyed
most about the book, however, is the importance that the two authors
give to Taiwan as a possible model for greater China. Taiwan’s
importance seems to be diminishing on the west’s radar, smothered by
dollar signs, but its model remains just as important, just as salient
to the Chinese experience. There is also a chapter on military build-up
that is fairly outdated, but if China is to flex its muscles by taking
over Taiwan, I would see it as one of the greatest tragedies for the
future of humanity.
Kristoff and Wudunn approach China as
characteristic neoliberals, buttheir book is still one of the best
reads on China that I have gone through in a long time. Kristoff and
Wudunn display incredible knowledge regarding both Chinese culture and
history, though I am probably not one to talk. They open most of their
chapters with sayings from ancient Chinese intellectuals, and often
present concepts in the Chinese context, with Chinese words, while
doing a very good job of relating them to an English audience. The book
also hits on a variety of fundamental topics useful for beginning to
understand China. Although politically outdated, the book remains a
very useful introduction to a country that most can’t even hope to know
enough about.