[Note on text: Italicized sections are capitalized. A few obviouserrors have been corrected. Some footnotes have been added, and areclearly marked.]
While this book is by no means famous, it is a remarkable chance tolook at America of 1914 through the eyes of an outsider. Wu Tingfangshows evidence of having thought through many issues of relevance tothe United States, and while some of his thoughts are rather odd—suchas his suggestion that the title of President be replaced by the titleof Emperor; and others are unfortunately wrong—such as his hopes forpeace, written on the eve of the First World War; they are allwell-considered and sometimes show remarkable insight into Americanculture.
Even so, it should be remarked that he makes some errors, includingsome misunderstandings of American and Western ideas and anidealization of Chinese culture, and humanity in general, in somepoints—while I do not wish to refute his claims about China, I wouldsimply point out that many of the things he praises have been seendifferently by many outside observers, just as Wu Tingfang sometimeslooks critically at things in America which he does not fullyunderstand (and, unfortunately, he is sometimes all too correct)—inall these cases (on both sides) some leeway must be given to accountfor mutual misunderstandings. Still, his observations allow us to seeourselves as others see us—and regardless of accuracy thoseobservations are useful, if only because they will allow us to bettercommunicate.
The range of topics covered is also of particular interest. WuTingfang wrote this book at an interesting juncture inhistory—airplanes and motion pictures had recently been invented, (andhis expectations for both these inventions have proven correct), andwhile he did not know it, a tremendous cultural shift was about to takeplace in the West due to the First World War and other factors. I willleave it to the reader to see which ideas have caught on and which havenot. The topics include:
Immigration; the Arms Race and changes in technology;one-time six year terms for the office of President;religion and/or ethics in the classroom; women's equality;fashion; violence in the theatre (violence on television);vegetarianism; and, cruelty to animals.
I will also note that a few passages seem satiric in nature, though Iam not certain that it isn't merely a clash of cultures.
Alan R. Light. Birmingham, Alabama. May, 1996.
Late Chinese Minister to the United States of America, Spain, Peru, Mexico and Cuba; recently Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice for the Provincial Government of the Republic of China, etc.
Of all nations in the world, America is the most interesting to theChinese. A handful of people left England to explore this country:gradually their number increased, and, in course of time, emigrantsfrom other lands swelled the population. They were governed byofficials from the home of the first settlers, but when it appeared tothem th