Passport to Peking

choi

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(1) Jonathan Yardley, Yardley reviews "Passport to Peking." Washington Post,
Jan 21, 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/21/AR2011012102678.html
(book review on Patrick Wright, Passport to China; A Very British Mission to
Mao's China. Oxford Univ. Press, 2011)

Note:
(a) The critic, Jonathan Yardley, was with Beijing Bureau of New York Times.
(b) lathe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathe

車床 in Taiwan.
(c) There is a quote in teh review that in 1954 Peking was still very much "
an ancient city wrapped in high crenellated walls."

For crenellated, see battlement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlement
(A battlement (also called a crenellation) in defensive architecture, such
as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e. a short wall),
in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of
arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels)


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choi

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(1) One final note to the Post review.

Cathay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay
(Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" and an alternative name for China in English. It originates from the word Khitan 契丹; Originally, "Catai" was the name applied by Central and Western Asians and Europeans to northern China; it obtained wide currency in Europe after the publication of Marco Polo's book (he referred to southern China as Manji 蠻子).

(2) The last sentence of the Post review stated "not until page 269 (of 504 pages of text) does Wright actually get the first of his delegations to China. I am sorry to report that it is not worth the wait."  

I presume the first half of the book was about old Peking. So I was surprised by another review.

Richard B Woodward, They Never Got Over Yorktown; The long history of British disdain for America, from a sniffy Mrs Trollope to a pecular flirtation with China. Wall Street Journal, Jan 22, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576074342437747736.html?mod=ITP_review_2

Excerpt in the window of the print: The artist Stanley Spencer disliked the Chinese delicacies served to the British delegation. He asked his hosts for fish and chips.

My comment:
(a) The review talks lengthily about British bad feelings about America and Americans--and uneasiness of seeing British Empire in decline. But there are few words in it (review) about Peking or China.
(b) Siege of Yorktown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown
at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781 ended with surrender of British Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis and his army, which concluded the military campaigns of American Revolution.
(c) Alexis de Tocqueville
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville
(1805-1859)

His book, Democracy in America (1835), published after his travels in the United States, presented a glowing account about the new nation. To date, Americans frequently cite this work.
(d) fish and chips
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_and_chips

【 在 choi 的大作中提到: 】
: (1) Jonathan Yardley, Yardley reviews "Passport to Peking." Washington Post,
:  Jan 21, 2011.
: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/21/AR2011012102678.html
: (book review on Patrick Wright, Passport to China; A Very British Mission to
: (以下引言省略...)

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