In this eloquent and eye-opening adventure narrative, Colin Legerton and Jacob Rawson, two Americans fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Uyghur, throw away the guidebook and bring a hitherto unexplored side of China to light. They journey over 14,000 miles by bus and train to the farthest reaches of the country to meet the minority peoples who dwell there, talking to farmers in their fields, monks in their monasteries, fishermen on their skiffs, and herders on the steppe.
In Invisible China, they engage in a heated discussion of human rights with Daur and Ewenki village cadres; celebrate Muhammad’s birthday with aging Dongxiang hajjis who recount the government’s razing of their mosque; attend mass with old Catholic Kinh fishermen at a church that has been forty years without a priest; hike around high-altitude Lugu Lake to farm with the matrilineal Mosuo women; and descend into a dry riverbed to hunt for jade with Muslim Uyghur merchants. As they uncover surprising facts about China’s hidden minorities and their complex position in Chinese society, they discover the social ramifications of inconsistent government policies–and some deep human truths as well.
Hailed by Publishers Weekly as “a spectacular achievement reminiscent of early 20th-century anthropological monographs by Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict,” Invisible China will be available to Langsdale Library patrons November 1-30. To access this title from the Langsdale Library homepage, click on NetLibrary (E-Books) and follow the links. Once in NetLibrary, click on the e-book of the month on the right side of the page. You will need your library barcode to access Invisible China.