RAS Shanghai – Tiger Head, Snake Tails: China Today, How it Got There and Where it is Heading – 5th June
Posted: June 2nd, 2012 | No Comments »JONATHAN FENBY
on
Tiger Head, Snake Tails: China Today, How it Got There and Where it is Heading
Tuesday 5th June 2012 at 6.30pm
LE SUN CHINE 绅公馆
No. 6, Lane 1220 Huashan Road
上海市长å®åŒºåŽå±±è·¯1220弄6å·
Although Jonathan Fenby does not define himself as a Sinologist, the depth and breadth of his knowledge place him among the best-informed and most interesting writers discussing China today. From his insightful Penguin History of Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850-2009, to his comprehensive biography of Chiang Kai-Shek and his latest book Tiger Head, Snake Tails, Fenby has consistently mined the fertile seam of Chinese history, culture and current affairs to craft an opus of perceptive and intelligent books.
With Tiger Head, Snake Tails, Fenby has created the book that every China-watcher dreams of writing. Coming at a time when the Middle Kingdom is at the forefront of world attention for its relentless development and economic clout, the book navigates the physical and metaphysical landscape of modern China, explaining how it got to where it is today in context of its unique and often difficult history. As Julia Lovell wrote in a recent review of the book in The Guardian, Tiger Head, Snake Tails is “a handbook on the confusing state of contemporary China – covering the economic, political, social and historical essentials of the story.â€
China is a nation of superlatives: the biggest, the most, the fastest, the best, the worst. As Fenby writes, “There is not one China but a hundred, a thousand or a million.” So how do we understand a nation of such astonishing breadth, scale and momentum? The book’s title holds clues to the main force behind Fenby’s view of the nation. The phrase 虎头蛇尾 (hÅ tóu shé wÄ•i) invokes the image of a strong, powerful tiger at the helm, and a wake of sly snakes bringing up the rear. With this metaphor, Fenby implies that while China is leading in terms of its economic thrust, it drags a complex and uncontrollable nest of vipers in its wake in the form of corruption, scandal, inequality and environmental degradation. While monetary success may overshadow corruption and incompetence at present, the future is uncertain if the “snake tails†remain unchecked.
Mixing hard facts with intriguing and irresistible vignettes about the state of the nation – such as the railway minister with 18 mistresses, the local government in which female civil servants had to have “symmetrical breasts†– Fenby has crafted an eminently readable work.
The body of the book covers the expansion of the transport network and infrastructure that has led to the logistical unification of China, and the growth of cities that has spurred vast economic growth. Fenby discusses poor working conditions, the conflict between the centre and the provinces, scandal and corruption, and unrest between the Han majority and the autonomous ethnic groups. He looks to Hong Kong and Taiwan to provide alternative paradigms as to how China might have been under different politics systems, and postulates how China will progress. His decision not to touch on the potentially intriguing issue of culture and soft power is regrettable, but understandable given the scope of possible subject matter at hand.
In a review of the book for the Financial Times, former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten writes that “both Sino-enthusiasts and Sino-doom-mongers will find much in this book to confirm their prejudicesâ€, a parallel that surely speaks of Fenby’s success in offering a balanced view. The book is, according to Julia Lovell, “…a one-stop guide to political and economic realities in China today, Tiger Head, Snake Tails is fast-moving, informed and illuminating.â€
In his biography of Chiang Kai-Shek, Fenby exercises similar restraint, choosing to focus on the Generalissimo’s thorny relationship with US general Joseph Stilwell (whom Roosevelt had assigned to support China’s Nationalist government, which had retreated from the Japanese to the far west of China), the unpalatable details of his dealings with the women in his life, and the thorny political landscape of China in the early 20th century. Covering the loss of Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan, Song Meiling’s triumphal tour of the US, the loss of the Civil War and the retreat to Taiwan, the book does little to resuscitate Chiang’s reputation among China’s leading political luminaries. However, it presents a graphic and honest picture of the man who
While Tiger Head, Snake Tails presents a wide view of modern China in context of its history, Generalissimo is a crystallization, charting a period when the nation was in flux. Read side by side, the two works present a simultaneous microcosm and macrocosm from which we can learn much. In the words of British commentator Will Hutton in a recent review in the Observer, it is “timely and brilliant [with] superb analysisâ€.
About the Author
Jonathan Fenby, CBE, is the author of many books including a biography of Chiang Kai-Shek and The Penguin History of Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850-2009. He speaks at conferences, universities and public forums on China, and has written widely about the nation’s history and politics.
As a journalist, Fenby was editor of The Observer newspaper from 1993 to 1995, then editor of the South China Morning Post between 1995 and 2000, spanning the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty. His previous positions included Deputy Editor of The Guardian, Home Editor of The Independent, and Editor of Reuters World Service. He was chief correspondent for The Economist in France and Germany from 1981 to 1986.
Fenby published ten books between 1998 and 2008 – five on China and rest on the Second World War and France. He contributes to a wide range of publications in the UK, US and Far East, and is currently Director of China Research at the research service Trusted Sources.
Entrance: RMB 80 (RAS members) and RMB 130 (non-members). Ticket price includes a drink (soft, tea, coffee or glass of wine). Those unable to make the donation but wishing to attend may contact us for part exemption prior to the RAS Lecture. Membership applications and membership renewals will be available at this event.
RSVP: to RAS Bookings at: bookings@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn
N.B. Reservations are essential for this event as places are limited. RAS members have priority until Friday 1st June, 2012.
BOOK AVAILABILITY
Copies of Fenby’s latest book, Tiger Head, Snake Tails: China Today, How it Got There and Where it is Heading will be available at the event. In order to ensure that everyone who wants to buy the book is covered in our pre-order numbers, please let us know in advance if you would like to purchase it at the price of RMB 190.
Leave a Reply