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Title: Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman ISBN: 0-394-75511-1 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 October, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.52 (73 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Salzman kicks Pennycook's butt in wushu and writing!
Comment: For academic types who haven't yet overdosed on Foucault or Pennycook, this book is well worth a read. Salzman shows his love for China and Chinese culture despite all its warts. If you've shied away from this book because some misinformed postcolonialist told you it was neocolonial, read the book and judge for yourself. I think you will find it charming, for its vivid description, its unconcealed enthusiasm, its honesty (e.g. Salzman admits to having little interest in going to China despite majoring in Chinese studies at Yale), its self-deprecating humor, and above all its lack of cynicism. It's an autobiographical narrative, not a critical (re: neo-Marxist) treatise and should be taken as such. The author is aware of how much his own misunderstanding and discomfort may be the result of cultural difference and he is quick to see the essence of good intentions in most of the Chinese he encounters. So, again, read with an open mind and don't allow yourself to be dissuaded by those in critical applied linguistics who couldn't match this artistic effort themselves but feel free to leap to unfair conclusions about the author's intent.
Rating: 5
Summary: Magnificent
Comment: Iron and Silk is a very fitting title...the movie is about contrasts, between the East and the West, between reality and perception.
Mark, an American who has had a passion for China and Chinese culture since he was young, lands a job as an English teacher in China. He learns a lot about life from his students.
Having watched many kung-fu movies, Mark asks Teacher Pan, a famous wushu master in the area, to teach him martial arts. At first, Teacher Pan refuses, claiming that Americans don't know how to "eat bitter", but eventually gives in. Neither Mark nor Teacher Pan know what to expect from each other----Mark is a fun-loving American in a foreign land, Teacher Pan is a tough guy with the nickname "Iron Fist".
Mark also falls in love with a woman named Ming, but he comes to understand that their love can never be a reality.
In the movie, Mark encounters all kinds of discrimination; despite his ability to speak Mandarin, he is still perceived as a foreigner. He also experiences closeness and friendship.
Mark gains an understanding of the nuances of Chinese culture, how China is a combination of politics, ancient history, and the individual lives of people. The movie has great images of serpentine rivers curving through canyons, as well as everyday scenes like busy markets and streets. This movie really appealed to me because I often feel caught between two cultures(my parents are rather traditional Chinese-Americans), though in a different way than Mark does.
Rating: 5
Summary: excellent and entertaining!
Comment: i was assigned this novel for a course and thought it would be another dry novel such as the ones typically assigned for university history courses. i was pleasantly surprised! salzman's sense of humor and good natured relating of the events surrounding his two years in china is only surpassed by his knowledge and understanding of the culture he lived in for those years. it is an excellent story for anyone who is learning about china or simply wants to know more about the culture. salzman's view as an american looking in is especially helpful for western readers.
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Title: Lost In Place : Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia by Mark Salzman ISBN: 0679767789 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 28 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Laughing Sutra by Mark Salzman ISBN: 0679735461 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 15 January, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: True Notebooks by MARK SALZMAN ISBN: 0375413081 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Lying Awake by Mark Salzman, Mark Salzman ISBN: 0375706062 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Soloist by Mark Salzman ISBN: 0679759263 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 07 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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