China Candid is not a general story but a collection of interviews with twenty-six different Chinese people conducted by famous journalist Sung Ye. The book tells the readers the alternative history of China and its nation from the middle of the 20th century till the first decade of the 21st. The book gives a precise and touching description and explanation of what life in China at the end of the previous century looked like.
The main point of the book concerns showing the real state of things in China through the stories of people who have different social statuses and lived through different experiences. Sang Ye’s book targets displaying the voices of ordinary Chinese citizens but not those of politicians or official media. The author wrote the book realizing that it would not be published in China, and some of the interviewers agreed to share their stories only after knowing that (Sung 4). After reading China Candid, the readers gain a precise understanding of what the author tried to demonstrate– the fact that real life in China in the 20th century did not match its image in the media.
The sources the author used to write the book concern, primarily, the practical experience, stories, and thoughts of those twenty-six people with whom he spoke. His methods are data gathering through personal conversations and the analysis that follows them. Moreover, he shows different people’s experiences from different points of view, which helps the reader have a broader look at Chinese history presented in the stories of the characters of the book. The author tries to convey the message of the book to the readers implicitly through the stories the characters tell.
The book is structured and well-organized, the position of the author, as well as his point of view, is given on the very first pages, and the reader can easily understand it. The stories presented in the book are located in a way that helps the reader critically evaluate everything they read about and form a solid picture of real life in China at the end of the previous century. Through the stories collected by Sung Ye, people who did not live in China may understand the feelings and experience of those who faced this regime or was somehow affected by it.
I liked the book as it helped me better understand the mentality of the Chinese people and look at their lives through the prism of their unique historical experiences. Apart from that, the book made me think about the great influence the media and politicians have on presenting society’s life to the international community, and they can quite easily manipulate people’s minds. The book is well-written and easy to read, and I appreciate those people who found courage in their hearts to tell their true stories revealing the reality they lived in. For instance, the story of a young athlete told in chapter thirteen could probably cost him his career because he told the story of the country’s engagement in systematic drug abuse (Sung 177). The drug-related problem remains a crucial one in sports, and a person must have a lot of courage to speak about it openly. Generally, I liked the book and can recommend it to anyone who wants to look at the Chinese history of the previous century from a point of view that differs from the history textbooks.
Work Cited
Sung, Ye. China Candid. University of California Press, 2006.