In Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China

While I sometimes labored through In Manchuria, it was more often due to a busy summer and a distracted mind. Make no mistake, writer Michael Meyer is gifted in making history engaging without being intellectually insulting – no easy task.Obviously, in a project as all-encompassing as telling the “transformation of rural China,” some chapters are more interesting than others. Meyer not only tells the history of the region, but also describes his sojourn. I found the chapters dealing with the Japanese occupation and the puppet state of Manchukuo to be the most fascinating and revealing. My wife, like Meyer’s, is from this area (his wife from the book’s titular village Wasteland, mine from Harbin), and her unflagging dislike for the Japanese is understandable given the history. While Nanjing might have garnered the majority of sympathetic global press, Harbin and the northeast were also the settings for tragically little-known Japanese atrocities. I particularly appreciated Meyer’s inclusive recollection. He tells the story as objectively as possible, referencing both Chinese and Japanese horrors from that terrible period, and there’s certainly plenty of tragedy to spread around. As anyone familiar with China’s last hundred years knows, China has inflicted plenty of pain and misery on her own people, and Meyer reminds us in various ways how there is still a paucity of complete information taught in China’s schools. This doesn’t help matters (my wife’s deep-seated feelings bear this out), and it makes me sad that ignorance still holds reign when it comes to public education. Needless to say, it’s a moving and riveting section of the book.There are local touchstones in two endearing Wasteland characters, Auntie Yi and Sang Jiu, to whom Meyer periodically returns and gains vital perspective and first-hand lessons in Chinese history. In telling the history of this particular region of China, he essentially reveals the chain of events for the entire nation. Afterall, Mao’s vision was all about returning the country to the farmers. The culture of rural, farm-centric China is the key player here, and Meyer reveals the shrinking position farming has in modern China and how that defines the transformation going on nationwide. Not only are the citizens eschewing farming for city jobs, but the farmers who do stay are constantly pressured to give in to big corporations and governmental bureaucrats with grandiose visions to alter the landscape of the entire country. The influence of Big Farming has done a number here at home, and clearly, its reach is global.In Manchuria is a well-written mash-up of history and journal, told by a man with a great deal of experience in the area, coupled with critical Mandarin chops, and a personal stake in the game. Instead of the run-of-the-mill cautionary tomes about the daunting growth of China and her increasing influence on the global stage (usually with the words “dragon” and/or “red” worked into the title for dramatic affect), Meyer offers this comfortable narrative filled with history, humor, and heart. It’s a great history and a great read. 4.5 stars.

"In Manchuria" tells the story of Meyer's in-law's village in the north of China; a village called "Wasteland" that, with only a couple thousand inhabitants far from the economic and culture center of the rapidly developing country, is nondescript, ordinary and unremarkable--yet also beautiful, fascinating, and poignant.Meyer has crafted a work that appeals to many interests. If you have been waiting 30 years for a sequel to Paul Theroux's 1988 "Riding the Iron Rooster" you will find satisfaction here as the author explores the extent of China's far north by rail and introduces the reader to the passengers, stations and history of the region. Students, pensioners, taxi drivers, and "dancing girls" share their stories and bring to life the region that has been shaped by Manchus, Chinese, Russians, Japanese, missionaries, pioneers, exiles, soldiers, and farmers.Microhistory fans of the works of Simon Winchester and Erik Larson will be gripped by Meyer's account of the history of the village and the region which, unlike central and southern regions of China, was comparatively newly settled with an historical timeline comparable in scope to that of the United States. The Trans-Siberian Railroad, The Russo-Japanese War, The Last Emperor of China, The Second World War, Korea, The Cultural Revolution and the ongoing economic transformation of China are all woven into a compelling narrative peopled with witnesses and participants interviewed by Meyer, or unearthed though years of research at libraries around the world.Finally, and most significantly, the book appeals to those who cherish a true love story. Meyer's wife was raised in Wasteland and it was on visits to her family that he glimpsed the unique and untold story of the region and its people. The story of their meeting, courtship, marriage, and work-imposed separations (she skyping from a high-rise Hong Kong apartment and he from a bare Manchurian farmhouse lacking indoor plumbing and heated by burning rice straw) root the story and are never far from the history of the village and region. The love her family and the village have for her (as a child they all called her "The Princess") is the first thing that Meyer has in common with the people of Wasteland. After establishing this common ground he finds similarities with his Minnesota hometown, his family, his teaching philosophy, and his hopes for the future. None of which would have happened without the love story.The one complaint is that the story ends and leaves the reader wanting more updates on the fate of the village. Have more farmers signed on with the large farming conglomerate? Has the name of the village been changed? Has a new school been built? Hopefully Meyer will return for a follow up in the future.

Michael Meyer has provided an approach to travel writing with which I was previously less acquainted. While my travel writer of choice, was, and is, Robert D Kaplan, Meyer provides a style and narrative in contrast, in the sense that a greater portion of the novel is personal recollection of interactions with people, but not just any people, people who form the human and personal accounts of China's transformation.Having previously lived in Jilin Province, and having personally explored the cities described in this book, namely Harbin, Changchun and Shenyang, Meyer brings the places to life in the form of a journey through history, worthy of any previous travel writing I have encountered.The transformation of rural China of the subtitle, is largely the corporatization of rural China. Meyer takes us through a journey, from the Qing Dynasty, to subordination in the Japanese puppet state of Manchuguo, to collectivization in the Mao era, to the abolition of the latter and the introduction of the household contract responsibility system in 1984, and eventually the abolition of all agricultural taxes in 2006.The people described in the book are faced with the dilemma of the conglomerate of East Fortune Rice who were effectively buying up the land, and redeveloping the town, a development with mixed views. As Meyer describes, this may offer the chance for the urbanisation of the village, the chance to live in 2 bedroom apartments with central heating, rather than the Kang, but perhaps some people are content with the life they have.Meyer provides an insight into Chinese culture one is unlikely to gain from scholarly history or current affairs books because he intimately interacts with the ordinary people themselves, therefore, the book is educational, and educational in a warm and personal way.Definitely recommended to those with an interest in China, and particularly those with an interest in China's much overlooked Northeast. The Northeast is a charming, unique place of beautiful forests, and lively people, and is well worth a visit, or even living for an extended period, as I have done. For those considering the Northeast, Meyer's book is a very good prelude.

Item arrived in time for Christmas as I wanted to buy it for my son, he was very happy to receive this item, really good book of the rural territories of China. Many thanks

I brought the book expecting it to be a well-written account of the Manchurian landscape and the political strife in China. However the author mainly speaks with his family relations as the core in hindsight. So I was a bit disappointed. Maybe I should have done my research well before buying the book. However for those who want to understand the agrarian society in Manchuria, this is good read.

What a magnificent accomplishment.I learnt a lot and really enjoyed Meyer's writing style - incisive and witty. At times, I laughed out loud.I have just ordered a copy of Last Days and I do look forward to more of Meyer's writings."In Manchuria" is the best book on China that I've read in a long while.

Very nice read. Cant wait to see more books by Michael Meyer.

Very informative read, good history review as well