Book Review: Far East: Behind the Great Wall
| Date | 01 September 1966 |
| Published date | 01 September 1966 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206602100337 |
| Author | Charles Taylor |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEWS
401
China
forms a commentary
to
the
account
by
the
Jesuits
mentioned
above.
Since
the
book
covers
such a
wide
area,
the
specialists
on
different
regions
will
probably
find
points
to
cavil
at
in
the
introductory notes.
For
example,
on
page
nine
it
is
stated
that
the
Burmese
adopted
Buddhism
after
conquering
the
Mons
in
the
eleventh century
whereas
in
fact
the
Burmese
had
long
been
Mahayana
Buddhists,
and
the
occupation
of
the
Mon
country
led
merely
to
the
Burmese
adopting
the
more
Hinayamst
form
of
the
religion
prevailing
in
the
South.
In
Asia
on
the
Eve
of
Europe's
Expansion,
however,
the
extracts
from
the
fifteenth-sixteenth
century
writings
are
the thing,
and
I
hope
that
I
have
indicated
how
interesting
these
are
and
how
useful
to
the
teacher
and
student
of
Asian
history
they
are
likely
to
be.
University
of
Hong
Kong
M.
BLACKMORE
BEHIND
THE
GREAT
WALL.
An
Appraisal
of
Mao's
China.
By
Lorenz
Stucki.
1965.
(New
York:
Frederick
A.
Praeger.
Toronto:
Burns
&
MacEachern.
154pp.
$6.00)
A
distinguished
Swiss
journalist,
Lorenz
Stucki
spent
two
months
in
China
in
1964
and
has
written
a
book
for
beginners.
After
a
whirl-
wind
summary
of
recent
Chinese
history
his
short
account-154
pages
-concentrates
on
standard
descriptions
of
industry agriculture,
educa-
tion,
art
and
the
ubiquitous
political
propaganda.
Mr. Stucki
clearly
toured the
country
with
great
scepticism.
This
is
salutary
for
there have
been
too
many
visitors,
taken
on
similar
tours,
who
have
been
too
ready
to
accept
the
assurances
of
their
hosts
that
all
was
for
the best
in
what
would soon
become
the
best
of
all
possible worlds.
Mr.
Stucki
is
on
solid
ground
when
he
writes:
Among
the
strong
and
definite
impressions I
gained,
this
one
stands
out: China
is
far
less
developed
than
is
generally
believed
in
the
West.
Accurately
he
describes
the
primitive
transport,
the
poor
housing and
the
hap-
hazard
operation
of
most
factories.
Mr. Stucki
is
equally
sound
when
he
discounts
Western
fears
of
a
Yellow
Peril.
He
is
undoubtedly
correct
in
asserting
that
China
would
risk
a
major
war
only
if pushed
to
the
wall, and
that
Peking's
real
challenge
is
the
appeal
of
its
revolutionary
doctrines
to
desperate
people
in
the
developing
world. While
there
is
little
that
is
new
or profound
in
his
analysis,
it
bears
restatement.
But
there
is
something
missing,
and
that
is
any
feeling
for
the
people
and
the
rhythm
of
their
daily
life.
To
read this
book
is
also
to
feel
that
Mr.
Stucki
went
his rounds
in
a
perpetual
bad
mood.
Some-
how
he
has
overlooked
the
humour
and
vitality
that
the
Chinese
still
manifest,
despite
the demands
of
an
increasingly
dogmatic
regime.
While
he
is
justly
scathing
about
the
political
and
cultural
orthodoxy,
it
is
a
gross
over-simplification
to
compare
China
to
Orwell's
Nineteen
Eighty-Four
and
to
state
bluntly-
"The
people
do
not
enjoy
life.
It
is
typical
of
Mr.
Stucki's
approach
that
he found
chopsticks
clumsy
Toronto
CHARLEs
TAYLOR
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