Spring Break
Author shares snapshots of China
NPR correspondent Rob Gifford takes audience along country's Route 312
Betsy King
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Campus
After spending six years as the National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent in Beijing, Rob Gifford decided to conclude his time there with a 3,000-mile journey across the vast country to illustrate how China is undergoing a dramatic change.
Gifford spoke Monday about this journey and what he learned to a packed audience at Miami University's Hall Auditorium.
"Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66," starts the first paragraph in the synopsis of Gifford's book, China Road: A Journey Into the Future of a Rising Power. "It flows 3,000 miles from East to West, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down."
Gifford's interest in this eastern country is not newly founded. According to his NPR online biography, he holds a bachelor's degree in Chinese studies from Durham University (located in the UK) and he received his masters in Harvard's Regional Studies, East Asia. However, Jenny Callison, director of communication for the Farmer School of Business, said that he brings a unique perspective to the table.
"By living in China for six years, Rob was able to develop a perspective that most Westerners don't normally acquire," she said. "By speaking fluent Mandarin, he was able to communicate with many unique varieties of people, ranging from prostitutes to shopkeepers."
Callison went on to explain why China is so important for American students to learn about.
"There is a chance that China is going to become the world's next dominant power, and we need to adapt and learn to work with their culture to generate a greater understanding," she said. "Students should consider learning the Mandarin language because this would lead to broader comprehension of the culture along with the complexities of the nation."
The main focus of his speech was centered on how China is teetering on the brink of both greatness and implosion and the factors that impact both perspectives.
Gifford spoke Monday about this journey and what he learned to a packed audience at Miami University's Hall Auditorium.
"Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66," starts the first paragraph in the synopsis of Gifford's book, China Road: A Journey Into the Future of a Rising Power. "It flows 3,000 miles from East to West, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down."
Gifford's interest in this eastern country is not newly founded. According to his NPR online biography, he holds a bachelor's degree in Chinese studies from Durham University (located in the UK) and he received his masters in Harvard's Regional Studies, East Asia. However, Jenny Callison, director of communication for the Farmer School of Business, said that he brings a unique perspective to the table.
"By living in China for six years, Rob was able to develop a perspective that most Westerners don't normally acquire," she said. "By speaking fluent Mandarin, he was able to communicate with many unique varieties of people, ranging from prostitutes to shopkeepers."
Callison went on to explain why China is so important for American students to learn about.
"There is a chance that China is going to become the world's next dominant power, and we need to adapt and learn to work with their culture to generate a greater understanding," she said. "Students should consider learning the Mandarin language because this would lead to broader comprehension of the culture along with the complexities of the nation."
The main focus of his speech was centered on how China is teetering on the brink of both greatness and implosion and the factors that impact both perspectives.
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