Dreaming in Chinese
It was in the book of Exodus, in the King James Version of the Bible, that Moses first called himself a 鈥渟tranger in a strange land.鈥� From then on up through Robert A. Heinlein鈥檚 1961 novel of the same phrase, the 鈥渟tranger in a strange land鈥� genre has been (and remains) a staple of song, film, and literature. It seems that a sense of cultural disconnect has long plagued 鈥� and fascinated 鈥� humankind.
And if you are a Westerner, where better to explore that disconnect than in China? Ever since the fin de si猫cle socialist capitalism that opened China, Westerners have flocked there and done their best to make sense of the ex-pat experience. Linguist Deborah Fallows becomes one of the latest with Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language, an oddly hybrid mix of memoir, history, and cultural study.
Fallows and her husband, The Atlantic鈥檚 national correspondent James Fallows, are seasoned ex-pats; Fallows鈥檚 introduction describes the 鈥減attern of [their] life鈥� as 鈥渁lternating several years at home in Washington D.C., with several years out exploring the world.鈥� Their first visit to China 鈥� recalled merely as 鈥渟napshots鈥� 鈥� occurred briefly in 1986 while the family (with two then-small children) spent four years living in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Almost a quarter-century later, the couple returned to China when James accepted a three-year Atlantic gig. In spite of Deborah Fallows鈥檚 linguistic training and predeparture language classes, 鈥淥ur entry to China was rough,鈥� she confesses. 鈥淚 could not recognize or utter a single word of the Chinese ... and I even wondered if my teacher had been teaching us Cantonese instead of Mandarin.鈥� (Fallows is careful to explain that 鈥淐hinese鈥� is 鈥渢echnically a broader term that covers the family of many different languages and dialects of China.鈥� As Mandarin is China鈥檚 official language, she uses the terms 鈥淢andarin鈥� and 鈥淐hinese鈥� interchangeably.)
Fallows, of course, tenaciously progresses. In 14 chapters 鈥� each titled with a Chinese phrase, its English translation, and a summary remark about said phrase 鈥� Fallows charts how the Chinese language 鈥渂ecame [her] way of making some sense of China.鈥� In 鈥�1. Wo 脿i ni! I love you! The grammar of romance,鈥� Fallows muses that 鈥淸m]aybe love is a metaphor for much that is now unfolding and changing in China.鈥� She offers disparate glimpses of the street vendor attracting foreign customers by yelling 鈥淚 love you!,鈥� the friend who confesses she loves her husband 鈥渇or now,鈥� and contrasts the commonplace public displays of affection in Beijing鈥檚 Yuyuantan Park to the parents who wander Shanghai People鈥檚 Park advertising their grown children鈥檚 virtues on homemade signs in hopes of arranging marriage.
In 鈥�2. When rude is polite,鈥� Fallows observes how bluntness is actually a sign of closeness and intimacy; her overuse of 鈥減leases鈥� and 鈥渢hank-yous鈥� in China 鈥� expected in the West 鈥� actually emphasizes social distance.
In the humorously self-deprecating 鈥�3. Language play as a national sport,鈥� Fallows presents the complications of Chinese tones 鈥� the greatest challenge for non-Chinese speakers to master. With mischievous delight, she cites the legendary story 鈥淭he Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den,鈥� comprised of 鈥�92 repetitions of the syllable shi.鈥� Fallows gleefully notes, 鈥淒iscovering [writer Chao Yuen Ren鈥檚] story was vindication for me: I always had the impression that Chinese 鈥榓ll sounds the same,鈥� and here was proof!鈥�
Fallows finds that her best teachers are the laobaix矛ng 鈥� 鈥渃ommon folk, ordinary people, the average Chinese Joe.鈥� She learns that to be a 鈥渞eal person in China requires having a cellphone and a Chinese name鈥�; Fallows is baptized Fang Jie Bi, or 鈥渢o borrow a pen,鈥� a name she duly abandons.
Unquestionably, 鈥淒reaming In Chinese鈥� is a treasure-trove of clever party-ready tidbits. Did you know that... the Chinese pronoun for 鈥榮he鈥� is a relatively recent concept that began in the 1920s?... that Mao鈥檚 thick Hunan accent ironically made him incomprehensible to most of the Chinese masses?
And yet Fallows鈥檚 cleverness inadvertently does herself an injustice. While her writing is certainly not without insight, reading 鈥淒reaming in Chinese鈥� is somewhat akin to finishing a nutty candy bar 鈥� just enough protein to temporarily stanch hunger, but alas, not enough to be filling. Fallows leaves readers wanting to know more about her 鈥� at least enough to avoid jarring narrative jumps. For example, while 鈥渉ome鈥� is Shanghai in the introduction, the first chapter jumps to 鈥渉ome鈥� in Beijing without any explanation of when or why the move.
Beyond merely pithy observations more fitting for a Sunday newspaper column, Fallows鈥檚 three years in China prove a blur. Perhaps that was the intention, but presented without a more cohesive narrative arc to bind the pieces together, 鈥淒reaming in Chinese鈥� regrettably lacks the depth to be a lasting read.
Terry Hong writes a Smithsonian book blog at http://bookdragon.si.edu/.
