A weekend nonfiction reading review…because even pastors need a break from heavy theological reading!
John Pomfret. The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, November 29th 2016. 704 pp.
5 out of 5
Purchase: Amazon
This is an incredible work on the relationship between the United States and China. It is a very fascinating read from the first chapter to the last. When one thinks about the United States and China even at the surface one realizes that the two countries are very different: on the one hand one is a new country and on the other hand the other is an ancient kingdom that have existed for thousands of years. On the other hand one country represents the modern West while the other represents Asia. Nevertheless the amount of intersection and interaction between the countries is incredible and have shaped the two country in crucial ways more than most people realize. Despite the differences the people from both countries have historically been fascinated with each other while also being fearful and misunderstanding each other.
I am amazed at the amount of interesting facts that the author John Pomfert gives us in the book; I imagine a lot of research went into this work. The contents of the book could have easily been made into several books focusing on different aspects of the relationship between the United States but I appreciated that all the details are gathered in one volume. The book explores the relationship between the two countries historically not just only politically but also economically, culturally and socially. The book also explores angles such as education, entertainment, food, religion, immigration and military assistance and antagonism. The author explores these topics in a way that left readers interested to find out more.
My favorite part of the book was the author’s discussion of China as a new republic before the Communist’s take over in 1949. This was a period that I know very little about although watching films reenacting this era fascinates me. Pomfert devotes a big portion of the book to this time period. I wasn’t aware just how much Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of China was shaped by America which he not only visited but also was educated at in Hawaii. American values and ideals shaped Sun although the author was also careful to point out that Sun Yat-sen did not always live up to those ideals. I also thought the book’s discussion of missionary activities and business during the early half of the 1900s was also fascinating; readers will be pleasantly surprised to learn just how much Christian missionaries shaped China towards the direction of modernity with things such as women education, modern medicine, etc. Yet at the same time the author didn’t just explore the impact to China during this era but also how America was impacted by China and the Chinese as well. Pomfert talks about the introduction of Chinese food to American taste, America’s financial benefit of selling tobacco to China in which China was the largest importer of American tobacco than all the other exports to other countries combined and TV shows such as Charlie Chan. I enjoyed the chapter discussing Chinese American in Hollywood and even the irony of Charlie Chan being played by a non-Chinese with American stereotypes of Chinese while at the same time Chinese American actors who are very Americanized is trying to play a white man pretending to be Chinese; I thought that is a window of the complexity of being a Chinese American living in the United States! The discussion of Chinese immigrants in America was also insightful of how far America has come with the past racism directed towards Chinese yet the book also note that there is a long history of Chinese American using the law and litigation to protect themselves in court.
The book’s coverage of China and US relationship during the rule of Chiang Kai-shek was also very good. Using information from recent historical findings the book presents a different picture of Chiang Kai-shek than what some in academia use to believe. I love the critical approach Pomfert took that is refreshing contrary to past American writers and historians that historically have been slanted against Chiang Kai-shek. For instance contrary to president Franklin Roosevelt and American politicians and military leaders who thought Chiang was not doing enough to fight the Japanese the author argued it was simply incorrect. Some Americans during that time and also later historians thought Mao was doing a better job fighting the Japanese. But the truth was that 90 percent of battle casualties against the Japanese were the Chinese nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek. More scandalously the book recorded how American secret operators working for the OSS was arrested by the Communists because they would have found out and at times did find out of Communist collusion with the Japanese. As a result of recent historical research through Chinese archives by Chinese historians we also know that the Communists had a disinformation campaign and they were surprised at how easy Americans were willing to believe them. Pomfert also note the double standard of how the United States treated the French will the fall of Paris versus the Chinese loss of Shanghai and Nanking. Tragically some Americans leftists favored Mao and the communists without the critical eye they have towards Chiang and proved to be “useful idiots” for the communists. Unfortunately the US gave many empty promises and disrespect to their ally Chiang Kai-shek during World War Two. I was especially grieved to learn of poor US generals who were racists and bad in their own strategy using American and Chinese soldiers that ended in strategic defeats only to falsely blame Chiang and the nationalists. This was probably one of the lowest point in how US treated China and reading this makes me wonder if this explain why the Communists thought badly of Americans that if this is how we treat our ally and consider how nice we treated the “enemy” Communists why it is better to not be friend with America. I think that history would play out again with the wrong message American presidents and policy makers gave in regards to how readily the US was willing to throw Taiwan and Japan under the bus if the US could just get China to be friendly towards them even when it is also at American expense and loss. Yet as tragic as the US relationship with Chiang was during World War Two and afterwards I was encouraged to read about the American “Flying Tigers” aviators who fought against the Japanese in support of China and also the covert operators under SACO. These were bright lights in the midst of so much wrongs that FDR and his leadership pursued with China.
Yet the book is nuanced, it is not a “blame America” propaganda. The book also noted just how bad Communist China can be at breaking their words and keeping their end of the bargain. This is true in business where China demand American business to give their Chinese national partners business secrets which the Chinese then go ahead set up competing Chinese companies using those information. I learned from this work of how China gave nuclear blueprints to Pakistan which unfortunately fell into the hands of Iran and North Korea. We can multiply example of the broken words and bad relationships on the part of China.
I really love the many intersection between China and US in the book from American Chinese contribution towards American industry and prosperity to the social phenomon of the John Birch Society being named based upon events in China. Again there were too many things that I learned for the first time as a result of reading this book. While I discussed much more events from several decades in my review I was also surprised at the book covering more recent contemporary current affairs. Read the book and see why the author notes caution but also gives measured praise for China also as well. Nuanced, informative and fascinating.
I enjoyed this review and would undoubtedly enjoy the book. Thanks! Your description of the U.S. diplomatic machinations involving Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong parallels how Roosevelt and his cabinet also greatly blundered with regards to Russia and Eastern Europe and served as Stalin’s polezni durak “useful idiots.”
Interesting parallel with Eastern Europe…any good book you recommend? Something to read for me during the summer 🙂
[…] via Review: The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom — The Domain for Truth […]
Here’s an inexpensive Kindle ebook on the topic written by the American ambassador to Poland at the time who witnessed the events firsthand and wrote this book to distance himself from the betrayal:
Just purchased it! But when I would read it I don’t know exactly lol
Great! Yeah, my problem is I keep adding to the pile! 😟
Thanks for sharing the review SlimJim, looks like a good book. I think you would enjoy reading Jung Chang’s memoir “Wild Swans”.
Interesting! Definitely sounds like an interesting book. Is the author a Chinese historian? How did you hear about this book?
[…] This is an incredible work on the relationship between the United States and China. Very thorough and interesting from first page to the last. Here’s my review. […]
Sounds like it was a fascinating read Slim
[…] that of China. Besides the books below readers might want to also check out my reviews of The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom, Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China by XI Lian, Midnight in […]