Savory expat tales of China from the pens of 'unsavory elements'
By Yao Minji |
00:00 UTC+8 May 10, 2013
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN Tom Carter started backpacking through 33 provinces on Chinese mainland in 2006, he filled a backpack with books by old China hands to read on the road that he would complete in 2008.
The books provided reference and a lot of fun from the same perspective of outsiders looking into the rapidly developing, constantly changing and oddly balanced modern China.
"On the road, I kept wanting to read more of such stories. And the idea first came around that time, to have an anthology of updated stories from these authors," Carter, an American photographer and editor, tells Shanghai Daily.
"Unsavory Elements, Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China," edited by Carter, collects ridiculous, illuminating, warm, brutal, fresh, depressing, appalling and dangerous experiences from 28 "unsavory foreign elements," including bestselling American author Peter Hessler ("Country Driving"), English American journalist Simon Winchester, OBE, and Canadian mountaineer Jeff Fuchs, among others.
"Unsavory elements" is a disparaging term used in the past to describe undesirable elements in China, at times including foreigners.
Carter wrote to 40 authors and 28 replied with an original story they have not told before. They had come to China as journalists, English teachers, businessmen, diplomats, students and others. Around half still live in China.
Shanghai tops the list for the largest foreign population in China - 173,000 by end of 2012, up by 6.7 percent from the year before and about a quarter of all foreigners in the country. The newcomers arrive in a place very different from that inhabited by earllier China hands. Shanghai and Beijing especially are much more convenient and livable for foreigners today, but there are plenty of odd and fun experiences rooted in cultural differences.
"China is so different that such stories will never expire. The country has changed, and foreigners have changed, but whether you came 10 years ago, or you just arrived today, you still run into similar experiences, like meeting amazing Chinese people, or getting hospitalized in a small city where nobody speaks English," says Carter.
The authors, mostly experienced writers who have traveled widely in China, offer tales beyond those of the usual laowai experience.
American writer Matthew Polly's "Paying Tuition" recalled his days at the Shaolin Temple, when he thought of investing all his money into Shaolin T-shirts, hoping to sell them in the States to support his martial arts tuition. He described his negotiations with a Chinese T-shirt maker over baijiu (distilled liquor) in detail and with humor.
As with Polly's story, the book reminds expatriates of their own intriguing moments worth sharing.It brings back memories of their first days after arriving in China, when they kept thinking, "This is amazing," or asking, How could this happen?"
It recalls the days when new arrivals began to feel like experts as they learned about mianzi (face), guanxi (relationships), hongbao (red envelopes of cash) and laowai (old foreigners).
Proud unsavory elements will share their experiences tonight at Garden Books. They include the book's publisher Graham Earnshaw, editor Carter and authors Susie Gordon and Michael Meyer.
Date: Today, 6pm
Address: Garden Books, 325, Changle Rd
Tel: 5404-8729
The books provided reference and a lot of fun from the same perspective of outsiders looking into the rapidly developing, constantly changing and oddly balanced modern China.
"On the road, I kept wanting to read more of such stories. And the idea first came around that time, to have an anthology of updated stories from these authors," Carter, an American photographer and editor, tells Shanghai Daily.
"Unsavory Elements, Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China," edited by Carter, collects ridiculous, illuminating, warm, brutal, fresh, depressing, appalling and dangerous experiences from 28 "unsavory foreign elements," including bestselling American author Peter Hessler ("Country Driving"), English American journalist Simon Winchester, OBE, and Canadian mountaineer Jeff Fuchs, among others.
"Unsavory elements" is a disparaging term used in the past to describe undesirable elements in China, at times including foreigners.
Carter wrote to 40 authors and 28 replied with an original story they have not told before. They had come to China as journalists, English teachers, businessmen, diplomats, students and others. Around half still live in China.
Shanghai tops the list for the largest foreign population in China - 173,000 by end of 2012, up by 6.7 percent from the year before and about a quarter of all foreigners in the country. The newcomers arrive in a place very different from that inhabited by earllier China hands. Shanghai and Beijing especially are much more convenient and livable for foreigners today, but there are plenty of odd and fun experiences rooted in cultural differences.
"China is so different that such stories will never expire. The country has changed, and foreigners have changed, but whether you came 10 years ago, or you just arrived today, you still run into similar experiences, like meeting amazing Chinese people, or getting hospitalized in a small city where nobody speaks English," says Carter.
The authors, mostly experienced writers who have traveled widely in China, offer tales beyond those of the usual laowai experience.
American writer Matthew Polly's "Paying Tuition" recalled his days at the Shaolin Temple, when he thought of investing all his money into Shaolin T-shirts, hoping to sell them in the States to support his martial arts tuition. He described his negotiations with a Chinese T-shirt maker over baijiu (distilled liquor) in detail and with humor.
As with Polly's story, the book reminds expatriates of their own intriguing moments worth sharing.It brings back memories of their first days after arriving in China, when they kept thinking, "This is amazing," or asking, How could this happen?"
It recalls the days when new arrivals began to feel like experts as they learned about mianzi (face), guanxi (relationships), hongbao (red envelopes of cash) and laowai (old foreigners).
Proud unsavory elements will share their experiences tonight at Garden Books. They include the book's publisher Graham Earnshaw, editor Carter and authors Susie Gordon and Michael Meyer.
Date: Today, 6pm
Address: Garden Books, 325, Changle Rd
Tel: 5404-8729
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