A Journey to the East : Li Gui's A New Account of a Trip Around the Globe

Rating:
Summary: A Journey of Discovery
Review: Desnoyers' A Journey to the East is a fascinating time capsule of a book. Li Gui's account of his trip to the 1876 Phillie Exposition captures an outsiders view of a time and place that we are all now outsiders to. His attempts to make American and European ideas and experiences understandable to his stay-at-home Chinese readers gives us a refreshing look at our own technology and culture as it was becoming what is now the "modern world." I found his surprise at the widespread use of female workers mirroring my own surprise. And I was stunned by the amazing access he had on his trip to politicians and captains of industry. He was completely unphazed by meeting presidents and New York's Mayor, but I suppose if one has an Emperor, even NY's mayor is small potatoes. His concern and care for his countrymen in American is apparant and gives an interesting look at how foreign workers were assimilating into our melting pot. Even Li Gui's little jokes and homilies were endearing. All in all, a very intersting and surprisable readable look into another time.
Desnoyers' introduction is in many ways the meat and potaotes of the volume, especially if Chinese history isn't your field. He very ably distills out and encapsulates enough of the times and conditions of Li Gui's life to give you the picture of the man and the place in history he represents. This is invaluable in understanding how Li Gui was experiencing the wonders he saw and what he was trying to accomplish by writing his account as a travelogue for the large, xenophobic audiance back home. For all his discriptions of the wonders abroad he wanted his Chinese readers to see that people everywhere were not that different from the people back home.