Book Review - Oracle Bones (China)

I just finished the third in Peter Hessler's China trilogy of books last night.  Here is my Goodreads review of the second book, Oracle Bones:

Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present by Peter Hessler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hessler continues his thoughtful writing and narration style in this second book and I won't repeat my admiration and enjoyment of it again (earlier review of River Town).

This book comes after Hessler's "Two Years" as a Peace Corps teacher in Fuling, and finds him a freelance writer in Beijing, and nicely brings together the past and present (up to 2002) of China. If you have not read the "Two Rivers" book, I recommend you do so before reading this one. It is not a requirement, but it will enhance your enjoyment since many of Peter's more memorable students from that book return in this one as he follows up their lives post-graduation - they provide much of the 'now' insight into China.

The primary theme of the book is Chinese history centered around some fascinating old archaeology (themed around the enigmatic Oracle Bones that give the book its title) and new (the slow current-day mapping of a buried walled city). Through research and speaking to some of the last living survivors of the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward eras where Chinese history or the study of it was distorted, twisted and in some cases broken Hessler weaves a story of not only of a long and complex history, but the people who study it despite some great obstacles.

But the book is much more than this - there are 'side threads' and stories throughout, one of the most significant is Hessler's friendship with a Chinese ethnic minority Uighur who eventually emigrates to the US, giving Hessler the opportunity to think anew about the differences and similarities between China and the US. There is also a thread running through the book about one of the primary scholars of Oracle Bones inscriptions, who was a casualty of the social upheavals in China but left an interesting trail of work, friends, and knowledge.

Finally, the book is organized with chapters called 'Artifacts' that are short side journeys looking at specific items and people from the far past of China that do not fit in the main narrative of the book. I found these to be welcome respites from the main story and fascinating in their own right. There is also a very usable map (in the edition I read) so that you can keep track of the various places mentioned in the book which I much appreciated - it had a sticky note marking it the whole time I was reading.

One quotation from this book stuck with me because it is a simple idea but one that leads to some interesting possiblilities - from the Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu:

A fish-trap is for catching fish, once you've caught the fish, you can forget the trap. A rabbit-snare is for catching rabbits; once you've caught the rabbit, you can forget about the snare. Words are for catching ideas, once you've caught the idea, you can forget about the words. Where can I find a person who knows how to forget about words so that I can have a few words with him?"

The idea that words are of impermanent utility probably applies to this book, but it is a very memorable book nonetheless - the ideas are permanent and I know I will be reading and researching more about China because of it. It is a book to be read slowly and one of those I did not want to end since I know there is much more to tell and Hessler is a very talented writer - I look forward to the next.



Here is a video from 2006 at a Google Authors event in Which Hessler talks about the content of this book.