Book Review: Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road
by Peter Hopkirk
Review by Josh Summers

The Silk Road has become to Xinjiang as the Great Wall is to China. The first foreigners to cross this important set of trade routes were kindly referred to as merchants but around the turn of the century another group of foreigners would step foot here and be labeled devils. The individual accounts of these daring explorers have long since been out of print but the tales of their adventures have been preserved in a book that makes Xinjiang’s buried history as intriguing as a stroll along the Great Wall.

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road is not a new book and its cover isn’t flashy, but it still retains a prominent position on my bookshelf. At last I found a book based in Xinjiang that has nothing to do with ethnic tension or government policies, primarily because the People’s Republic of China had not yet been founded.

Peter Hopkirk, a Chief Reporter for the London Times for five years, leads his readers through the exploits of six primary explorers and archeologists who were drawn to the lost cities of the Taklamakan Desert. These cities, once thriving merchant towns along the Silk Road, had been gradually swallowed by the shifting waves of sand and weren’t rediscovered until the early 19th century.

Stein and his convoy of treasures on camel-back

Following an official Indian Government report in 1875 describing the treasures of these lost ruins, a race to excavate began from all corners of the world. England, Russia, Germany, Japan, France and the U.S. – among many others - rushed to secure their claim on priceless artifacts that would help further the understanding of Silk Road history.

Each ran into their own set of problems and interesting circumstances. Hopkirk describes in amusing detail the nearly-fatal desert crossing by Sven Hedin, the manuscript forgeries bought in bulk by England and Russia, and the stubborn little monk who hid a fortune of authentic manuscripts in a cave. Despite these setbacks, though, each country was able to take away cartloads of valuable items, a fact which still has China bitter.

The world's oldest printed book from Dunhuang

Although published back in 1980, the information Hopkirk shares is still relevant for modern travelers. The locations he describes have changed little, with the exception of Dunhuang’s Buddhist Caves, and the history is still visible. The cuts from cave paintings taken by Germany’s Albert von le Coq can be seen in Turpan along with a plaque blaming him for “looting” the area.

The only problem with referencing a three decade-old book about Xinjiang is its confusing use of place names. Due to the variety of ethnic groups in the region and the changes over the years in the way we use the Latin alphabet to write Chinese, every city – past and present – has multiple names and spellings. Hopkirk acknowledges this problem and tries to use the name by which each location is best known, but even those names have slightly changed (ex: ‘Dunhuang’ is referred to as ‘Tun-huang’). These differences may be trivial to anyone familiar with the region but could pose problems for the casual tourist who wants to do research before they travel.

For those who plan to make a trip out to any part of southern Xinjiang, this entertaining book provides an adequate background on history that can help tourist better appreciate the mounds of dirt called “ruins”. If nothing else it is a humorous look at the evolution of foreigners in Xinjiang. Thousands of years ago those who passed through were merchants; over a hundred years ago they were explorers who became ‘devils’. Now, we’re all just tourist.
 

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Find Foreign Devils on the Silk Road on Amazon.com

Wang Gang Interview on Danwei

Yesterday I was fortunate to run across a very interesting video interview posted on Danwei.  In the interview Jeremy Goldkorn talks with Wang Gang, author of the book English: A Novel, a book that I have reviewed both on this site and on Danwei.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Wang Gang grew up in Xinjiang during the darker times in China's history and his novel reflects both his experience and his hindsight concerning that period.

I find his words particularly interesting in light of recent events in Xinjiang.  Blame is always easier to push onto others, especially when we feel a tinge of guilt ourselves.  Anyway, the Wang Gang interview is well done and worth a quick view.

A Troubled History: Tyler's "Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang"

When it comes to information about Xinjiang's history, it's been a struggle for me to learn much while living here.  Sure, I could comb through the internet to gather bits and pieces written in a boring essay-format, but I'm not sure I would even trust what I read on this sensitive subject.  Considering some of the big anniversaries that are coming up this year I asked family back at home to send anything they could find that would help shed some light on this place I'm living.  What I received in the mail, Christian Tyler's Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang, was absolutely perfect.

I think I liked the book the moment I laid eyes on the cover.  A young minority girl stares ahead from within the shadows and I can't quite tell if she's sad or merely stoic.  This simple image seems to capture the beauty of China's "wild west" as well as its mystery in a way that no Wikipedia article ever could. For some reason the cover on the copy I received misspelled Xinjiang as 疆疆 instead of 新疆, but judging from the picture on Amazon mine might be a rare mistake.

If you're even the slightest bit interested in Xinjiang's history or the plight of the Uyghurs, this book is a must-read.  Although many readers might be scared off by its incredibly detailed research and lengthy annotation section, Tyler's work reads more like a novel than a history book.  Warlords, concubines, explorers and missionaries all play a role in the development of Xinjiang, a development which for the most part has been volatile and very bloody.

The book is broken into two parts: pre-1949 history and post (1949 being the year the People's Republic of China was established). China claims ownership of this land as early as the first century A.D., but Tyler argues that Chinese control was never really established until the "peaceful" liberation in October of 1949.  Before that time Xinjiang's borders were constantly shifting and its rulers ever changing.  Ruins and mummies hidden in the desert sands are the little that remain to testify to a long and difficult history.

After China took control in 1949, Xinjiang began to face a different set of difficulties.  While the neighbors to the south generally receive more international attention, it's hard to deny there aren't similar issues at play among minority groups here.  Tyler does a great job of highlighting these issues and discussing the present situation faced by those minorities living both within and outside the provincial borders. In what could have easily become an opinionated piece of western propaganda, Tyler sticks to the facts while revealing the insecurities and weaknesses of the occupier as well as the occupied.
 

My favorite part of this book is its comprehensive index, a resource that has been invaluable to me as I continue to study Xinjiang.  Although I plan to plow through Wild West China again later in hopes of retaining a bit more information,  right now I am happy to know that any information I might want to find is only a few page flips away.  Considering that this kind of information is not readily available on the open internet, this index is a wonderful tool.

Xinjiang is increasingly becoming one of the most important provinces within China's borders and Wild West China is the first of hopefully many books that will begin to open the curtains to a mysterious land about which very little is known.  Even though it was first published back in 2003, it is still relevant today.  For most people Tyler's work provides as fascinating glimpse of this part of China and a detailed account of its troubled history in a concise, readable format.  For some of you, like me, who either live or travel in Xinjiang, this book will provide the background to help you admire and appreciate the area and its people all the more.

Further Reading:
  Cornucopia's Book Review

English by Wang Gang: A Book Review

About a month ago I received a copy of Wang Gang's English in the mail, the tale of a boy living in my neck of the woods around the time of the Cultural Revolution.  It turned out to be a fun read although not exactly what I expected.  If you're interested in hearing what I thought, I've posted a partial review here along with a link to Danwei.org where the full review has been placed.  Please take a moment over there to read and comment if you like.

As a side note that didn't seem appropriate to add in the actual review, I did a little "location" research on this book and came across some interesting findings.  As you'll see in the review, this book is a best seller here in China and has won numerous awards - one of the reasons it was chosen for translation from its original Chinese.  In an attempt to get my hands on a copy of this book in Chinese I found out that not only had a single one of my friends not read this book, they had never even heard of it.  I went to the city bookstore  (the largest) and they gave me the same run around, asking if I was sure that was the name of the author and book.  "Sorry, we've never carried that book".  Keep in mind that I live only a few hours from where this book is set.  I still don't have a copy of the Chinese version in my hands and although I'm sure there are plenty of people here in Xinjiang aware of this book, I personally know none of them. Of course, it is a book about Xinjiang during a VERY dark time in it's history, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.
 

So if you're curious as to what kind of book might be censored from the eyes of Xinjiang citizens, please read on.  I'm just copying the first half, but I personally think the second half - the half that is on Danwei.org - is the most interesting.  Enjoy.

 

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Insatiable Longings: A Review of Wang Gang's English

First published in 2004, Wang Gang's English has become an unexpected bestseller in China and has won numerous awards including the 2005 "Best Novel of the Year" from the prestigious People's Literature Publishing House.  Almost five years later, with rights to the novel sold around the world, it is finally being published by Viking Penguin into the language from which its title is derived.  Translated from the Chinese by Martin Merz and Jane Weizhen Pan, it remains yet to be seen whether English will prove as popular on the international market as it has been back in its home country.

The novel depicts life during the darkest part of the Cultural Revolution as seen through the eyes of Love Liu, a twelve year old boy living in Urumqi, the capital of China's far western province of Xinjiang.  While his mother is busy designing an air raid shelter and his dad is away testing the hydrogen bomb in the Lop Nor region, Love Liu is left to navigate his way through life as best as he can on his own.  The arrival of a new English teacher named Second Prize Wang, a polished Shanghai man in his twenties, inspires Love Liu to direct all his energy and effort toward learning English.

In addition to the novelty of his strong cologne, tailored suits, and western mannerisms, Second Prize Wang also owns a rare copy of a Chinese-English dictionary, reputedly the only copy in all of Urumqi.  The moment Love Liu lays eyes on its navy blue cover, he develops a desire to have the dictionary all for himself and covets the new world it represents.  It becomes an insatiable longing played out in often times humorous behavior, eventually resulting in his leg broken during an attempted theft.

"I cannot think of another book that was as irresistible to me as that dictionary.  It brought me more knowledge, or I should say joy, than any other book.  If I rearranged the words in the dictionary, the entire world would open up before me."

Outside the safety and comfort of the classroom, and to some extent beyond the understanding of adolescent eyes, the Cultural Revolution waged war on society.  As the horrors of the revolution, including public executions and suicides, became a common occurrence in Urumqi, even young children like Love Liu and his friends cannot escape the suspicion of counter-revolutionary activity or the pressure to denounce those who were once considered friends and neighbors.

Love Liu can only watch as his father is humiliated, his teacher is falsely accused, and his friend is shot.  Little by little, he finds himself disillusioned by the hostile world around him.  Searching for things in his life that feel beautiful and foreign - things such as English or the lure of an attractive woman - Love Liu throws himself whole-heartedly into the pursuit of these obsessions as a way to escape the harsh reality of his present circumstances.  This pursuit will eventually lead him to an understanding that the true definition of words like "love", "compassion", and "mercy" can never be fully expressed on the pages of a dictionary.

"Second Prize Wang was like a missionary in those days, only his religion was English."

[Follow the link to Danwei.org for the rest of the review]