William Langewiesche in China: ‘No Pushing! No Swearing! No Irony!’
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 03.13.08 | 3:14 PM ET
Yet another high-profile U.S. writer has journeyed to China to take the country’s pulse in advance of the Beijing Olympics, this time in a 2,900-word piece in Vanity Fair. Langewiesche’s take:
Yes, China is booming. And, yes, China’s cities are big and modern. But also, yes, China has serious problems—pollution, rural poverty, water shortages, the suppression of civil liberties, corruption, and the abysmal condition of its universities and schools. The problems are understandable, and hardly a state secret. I suppose people tidy up their houses before parties, too. But the Chinese would appear in a better light if they were not quite so nervous in advance.
The story begins with a nice riff on flying China Air, with Langewiesche lamenting that “there is no longer any need to applaud just because the airplane has safely arrived.”
Also in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, though unfortunately not available online: Charlie LeDuff joins legendary photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank for a trip to China. Frank directed the 1959 film Pull My Daisy, which was written and narrated by Jack Kerouac.
Related on World Hum:
* China on the Rise: Stories by Jeffrey Tayler and Peter Hessler
* China’s Wulingyuan National Park: A Gasp at Every Twist and Turn
* Colby Buzzell in Shenzhen: ‘The Id of the Chinese Economy’
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Shelly Winters 03.14.08 | 6:25 AM ET
I guess Langewiesche is now going to follow his new girlfriend around, i.e., his penis, to decide on what to report. To bad. How sad to see a good writer become a cliche. Another 50+ man dating a 35 year old woman. Great. Oh well, he was good while he still had a spine.
Tim Patterson 03.14.08 | 10:00 AM ET
Yikes, Shelly. Let’s tone down the bitterness a bit, no? 50 plus and 35 isn’t a big deal, is it?
I really liked the article. Thanks for that, Michael.
-Tim
Michael Yessis 03.14.08 | 11:38 AM ET
Whatever your beef is, Shelly, I don’t see how it can be with this piece. It’s a legitimate story, and Langewiesche, as usual, nails it.
Frank 03.14.08 | 2:50 PM ET
Sounds like that story wasn’t the only thing! Just kidding. Also not sure what that has to do with anything. He’s a great writer, no matter how old his girlfriend is.
Jim Benning 03.14.08 | 3:48 PM ET
If you want to take a writer to task, Shelly, I practically handed over Joseph Conrad on a silver platter. Have at him:
http://www.worldhum.com/weblog/item/joseph_conrad_adventurer_writer_post_colonial_lightning_rod_20080313/
M 03.16.08 | 7:17 AM ET
He is a great writer but this article annoys me. It is really that no one finds this article prejudiced? I love guys like him who are ready to ridicule any potential outcome. Rude citizens? Ridicule. Citizens trying to improve? Ridicule. Well-behaved citizens? Ridicule. He also has to invoke Nazi/German factoids at every turn in order to tie them with China. His use of irony and dry humor will seem funny to those with the same POV as him. Some people will feel so educated and in-the-know after reading his insights, I’m sure. He admits readily that he knows little about China and is no historian or economist, then readily hands down a dismissal of China’s future as one of the world’s leaders. As citizens of a great country that should strive to be looked up to, maybe we can try to be less paranoid and disdainful of other countries.