The Last Days of Old Beijing

Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Asia, China, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Urban
Cover of the book The Last Days of Old Beijing by Michael Meyer, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Meyer ISBN: 9780802779120
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: July 23, 2010
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA Language: English
Author: Michael Meyer
ISBN: 9780802779120
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: July 23, 2010
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
Language: English

Journalist Michael Meyer has spent his adult life in China, first in a small village as a Peace Corps volunteer, the last decade in Beijing--where he has witnessed the extraordinary transformation the country has experienced in that time. For the past two years he has been completely immersed in the ancient city, living on one of its famed hutong in a century-old courtyard home he shares with several families, teaching English at a local elementary school--while all around him "progress" closes in as the neighborhood is methodically destroyed to make way for high-rise buildings, shopping malls, and other symbols of modern, urban life. The city, he shows, has been demolished many times before; however, he writes, "the epitaph for Beijing will read: born 1280, died 2008...what emperors, warlords, Japanese invaders, and Communist planners couldn't eradicate, the market economy can." The Last Days of Old Beijing tells the story of this historic city from the inside out-through the eyes of those whose lives are in the balance: the Widow who takes care of Meyer; his students and fellow teachers, the first-ever description of what goes on in a Chinese public school; the local historian who rallies against the government. The tension of preservation vs. modernization--the question of what, in an ancient civilization, counts as heritage, and what happens when a billion people want to live the way Americans do--suffuse Meyer's story.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Journalist Michael Meyer has spent his adult life in China, first in a small village as a Peace Corps volunteer, the last decade in Beijing--where he has witnessed the extraordinary transformation the country has experienced in that time. For the past two years he has been completely immersed in the ancient city, living on one of its famed hutong in a century-old courtyard home he shares with several families, teaching English at a local elementary school--while all around him "progress" closes in as the neighborhood is methodically destroyed to make way for high-rise buildings, shopping malls, and other symbols of modern, urban life. The city, he shows, has been demolished many times before; however, he writes, "the epitaph for Beijing will read: born 1280, died 2008...what emperors, warlords, Japanese invaders, and Communist planners couldn't eradicate, the market economy can." The Last Days of Old Beijing tells the story of this historic city from the inside out-through the eyes of those whose lives are in the balance: the Widow who takes care of Meyer; his students and fellow teachers, the first-ever description of what goes on in a Chinese public school; the local historian who rallies against the government. The tension of preservation vs. modernization--the question of what, in an ancient civilization, counts as heritage, and what happens when a billion people want to live the way Americans do--suffuse Meyer's story.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book The Question of Painting by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Teacher Agency by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book A Practical Guide to Studying History by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book 100 Must-read Crime Novels by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book The Curse of Captain Cross-eyed by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book 23rd Fighter Group by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Newman and his Family by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Modernism's Print Cultures by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Conversations with Roger Scruton by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Spitfire Singh by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Values in Education by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book World War I Battlefield Artillery Tactics by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Projected Art History by Michael Meyer
Cover of the book Nelson's Navy by Michael Meyer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy