Iron & Silk

Rating:
Summary: Iron and Silk
Review: A nice movie that shows some of the contrasts between the way we live and the things that we take for granted can be quite different in other cultures. This is the story of a young teacher, Mark Salzman, who goes to China to teach english. He finds that China is not at all what he had expected, in some ways it is so much more. It explores the relashonships that this young man establishes and how they evolve. There is also some stunning martial arts footage in this film, this an easy movie to watch and should be enjoyable for most.

Rating:
Summary: heart warming
Review: I discovered this book first in movie form, thanks to that wonderful socialist institution, the public library. For some reason, I was quite moved by this memoir of a young American's two years teaching English in China. The book and the movie share a straightforward, simple narrative style that works well with the collection of warm hearted episodes to deliver an almost magical sense of modern China. I'm a slow reader, so this is the first book in a years that I've read through in only two days. It goes down easy and has a clean aftertaste.

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Summary: excellent and entertaining!
Review: i was assigned this novel for a course and thought it would be another dry novel such as the ones typically assigned for university history courses. i was pleasantly surprised! salzman's sense of humor and good natured relating of the events surrounding his two years in china is only surpassed by his knowledge and understanding of the culture he lived in for those years. it is an excellent story for anyone who is learning about china or simply wants to know more about the culture. salzman's view as an american looking in is especially helpful for western readers.

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Summary: WuShu and ShuZhi
Review: If you traveled, or would like to travel to China and be immersed with its culture, then this book will enhance that travel experience.

If your interest for the martial arts is because you appreciate the performing arts, then this book will contribute to that appreciation.

And if you ever taught ESL or learned English as a second language, then you will easily relate to the students' struggles and the sometimes amusing irregularities of English grammar, pronunciation and idioms.

Iron and Silk is on my list of ten books I would take on a desert island. Salzman's writing style sparkles with enthusiasm and the energy of youth; a feeling of discovery for whatever is newly learned; and a view of everyday life experiences with a feel for adventure, a conversion of the mundane into the extraordinary. Salzman not only mastered wu-shu, but he also mastered the written language that emits sparks on every page. Even his daily meditations reverberate with intensity.

This is an ideal book for a young adult who lacks motivation or skills to move onward.



Rating:
Summary: Smooth & Solid Reading
Review: Iron & Silk is the initial work of Mark Salzman. I had become a fan of Salzman after reading Lying Awake, the haunting tale of a nun plagued by migrane induced visions. Iron & Silk is a travel memoir of Salzman's two years of teaching English in China. It gives American readers a great deal of perspective of China's way of life.

I have a great deal of admiriation for the way of life in China since reading about Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, and other aspects of life in Asia. What I found most interesting in this book is the Chinese view of Americans. As a teacher of English, Salzman gains knowledge of the Chinese view of World War II. This perspective is often forgotten in American textbooks. It was certainly enlightening for me. While the book is centered around his teaching at the medical college, Salzman discusses his other explorations of Chinese life. I found it amazing how many families would take him in just because he was a foreigner. Salzman is well adept in martial arts. He discusses his studies of the martial arts, I found this to be tedious to read as I often had difficulty picturing what he was explaining.

Iron & Silk's primary function is to give readers insight into life in China. Some of the experiences Salzman writes of are truly eye-opening. Other experiences cater to a specific portion of the population. I enjoyed Salzman's insight.


Rating:
Summary: simple, touching and funny!
Review: Iron and silk (vhs) is such a simple movie based on the book also written and then acted by Mark Salzman. with his good looks and winning personality, this movie has a big quality of sweetness in it between the people of china and mark. there were misunderstands and misgivings about the different culture, but mark made the best of his time there.

the book is more of a series of short stories, and the movie try to incoporate the different scenes. the romance in the movie is that evident in the book, but it makes it more commercial. everybody wants a love story in their movies.

this movie is great to watch now, and its funny! response to previous review, the short shorts are hilarious and mark salzman singing communist songs!
but i love everything that mark salzman does. he is so enthusiatic and 100% with whatever he is curious and passionate about.

Rating:
Summary: what a heartwarming eye-opener!
Review: Mark Salzman writes of his experiences while teaching in China. His book reminded me a little of the Tony Hillerman and "The No. 1 Detective Agency" series in that they all give us a look at an entirely different culture that many of us know little about. He is a martial arts student and continued learning from masters in China during his stay as a teacher.

In some ways we could learn a little from their polite culture and they could learn from ours. They are a much more family oriented than I realized, children remaining with their parents until married in many cases and they are more respectful of their parents and others around them than many of us are.

Their homes did not compare in any way to what we are used to, but, you know, when you've never had it, you don't know what you are missing and as most of them were in the same circumstances, they do with what they have. This is not to say that everything was great, because it wasn't, there were many things that could have been improved upon, but the book wasn't about that. It was an account by the author of his experiences and friendships that he developed during his stay in China. We get to know about a lovely group of individuals and how they lived and worked. The politeness, and their way of showing hospitality was endearing.

I would have to say that Mark must have had a special touch also for them to react so warmly to him. His sincere interest in their martial arts and learning their calligraphy, etc. drew their support also.

If you'd like to know more about how many of the people live and their customs this is a wonderful book that will give us a good unbiased view of them. Highly recommended! Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Well written travel story
Review: This book is an account of the two years Mark Salzman spent as an English teacher at the Hunan Medical College. Salzman arrived in Hunan Province in 1982, fresh from Yale, where he had graduated with a degree in Chinese literature. He took with him his cello and his experience studying Chinese martial arts. Salzman was an ideal American emissary- -he brought his youthful yet serious enthusiasm to the classroom, and forged ties with the local populace through sharing his skills and interests. Once he even consented to attempt to tune a piano for his supervisor, his only qualification for the task being that he was familiar with the sound of well-tuned pianos back home. He befriended local fishermen and shared his art and music with them, but he also got to know Chinese grad students and professors through his interest in calligraphy and Chinese language.

Foremost in his interests was martial arts. Before arriving in China, Salzman had studied Chinese martial arts for 9 years. He hoped to find a teacher of martial arts, or wushu, so that he could continue his practice while in Hunan. Because of his openness to meet others and because of his language skills, he eventually met and studied with some remarkably skilled wushu teachers in Hunan, including Pan Qingfu, perhaps the most renowned living practitioner of Chinese martial arts in the world. Much of Salzman's account is a record of how he met these teachers, and how they helped him develop his skill, each in his own particular way and style.

Salzman's interest in calligraphy and martial arts opened doors for him that otherwise may never have appeared. Practicing calligraphy and wushu gave him the excuse for meeting Chinese citizens with similar interests, and for them to seek him out. But Salzman points out the ethical dark side of pursuing these interests as a foreigner. Salzman is very aware of the fact that, while he has studied martial arts for 9 years, no matter how seriously he had applied himself, he had practiced only on a hobby basis, a background to his academic and professional pursuits. On a Chinese scale, his 9 years of part-time study would barely constitute dallying with the sport. Yet because he was a foreigner who seemed to demonstrate such a serious degree of interest in the topic, he had access to the very best teachers, famous superstars that few Chinese wushu students could every dream of meeting. This is not meant to criticize Salzman, as he himself pointed out several times how distressed he was when his teachers would ignore their Chinese students so as to focus on his personal needs. Situations where an interested Westerner is given attention by experts that far exceeds that merited by their skills are unfortunately, quite common. Indeed, many Western musicians of very average talent manage to be accepted as students by famous classical Indian musicians, who may be fascinated by a Westerner who seems seriously interested in Asian music, or who may simply think that having Western students will somehow add to their prestige. I, myself, have benefited from such circumstances while studying Indian music, finding that my teachers give me extra attention or praise that is merited only by the color of my passport. What is remarkable about this book is how much Salzman is aware of this conundrum as he sees it playing out, and how he shows maturity in trying to address the situation both with humility and devotion to his art.

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Summary: A "Non-Ugly American" in China.
Review: To be a well-rounded Sensei, I must continually grow in knowledge as well as technique. To that end, I've been reading a number of books about the martial arts. One part of that genre are the autobiographical accounts of Budo practitioners. I want to gain deeper insight through what others have experienced, learned, and how they changed as a result of martial arts training. "Iron and Silk" is one such tale, written by a man who studied Kung Fu in the USA during the 70s and Wushu in China during the 80s. At a young age, Mark Salzman developed a deep appreciation for Chinese culture, martial arts included (as documented in his other fine non-fiction book "Lost in Place"). "Iron and Silk" chronicles Mr. Salzman's adventures during a two-year stint as an English teacher in China. This book is an easy and fun read, a testament to Mr. Salzman's excellent, flowing writing style and storytelling ability.

Mark Salzman is probably one of the most unique and resourceful contemporary individuals I've had the pleasure to read about. He's always ready to try something new, or step out and build relationships with total strangers. Even during adolescence, his passion for learning, combined with a good work ethic, created many possibilities. His youthful fascination with Chinese culture led to acceptance at Yale, where he majored in Chinese literature. While there, he mastered Mandarin Chinese, which opened a unique door. Despite his obsession with all things Chinese, he had no desire to see China. But in his words, he "did need a job," so he applied for and got a position teaching English at Hunan Medical College in Changsha. Funny how great experiences can come from such pragmatic decisions.

I should state that Mr. Salzman has a somewhat different perspective on the martial arts compared to, say, C.W. Nicol or Robert Twigger. Yes, he shares their fascination with the Budo. But instead of being an all-consuming focus, the fighting arts are just one part of Mr. Salzman's multifaceted life. I wouldn't call him a dilettante, but he didn't seem to have the same level of passion towards the martial Way that the other two men possessed. For example, Mr. Salzman obtains Wushu tutelage from some talented (and even famous) Chinese instructors. However, he isn't on a quest to tame his inner rage (Sensei Nicol), prove himself as a man (Mr. Twigger), or even earn a black belt. Mr. Salzman appears to already possess a solid sense of self, so Wushu is merely another interest. Instead of being a high-stakes means to an urgently desired end, Wushu is one of many activities he enjoys and learns from, like playing the cello, learning Chinese calligraphy, and simply getting to know the Chinese themselves. If I had any issue with "Iron and Silk," it was the absence of any overt character flaws on the part of Mr. Salzman, along with his ability to do just about everything well. Indeed, the Chinese nicknamed him "Huoshenxian" - an immortal in human form - because he was so "different," and made people happy all of the time. I guess I wish I was more like him, or at least knew more people created in his mold.

At any rate, the implied benefit of being centered and having an eclectic approach to life is a running theme in "Iron and Silk." Along those lines, it's more Chinese travelogue than serious immersion into martial arts study. Travel gets me out of my normal introverted shell, and Mr. Salzman's adventures remind me how much I enjoy that practice. He built many interesting relationships just by being open to possibility and respectful towards the various Chinese he encountered. Of course, the Communist government during that period was somewhat of an obstacle, but in most cases he was able to get around them quite nicely, often in a humorous and good-natured manner.

I read "Iron and Silk" in conjunction with "Angry White Pyjamas" by Robert Twigger and "Moving Zen" by C.W. Nicol to get multiple perspectives on martial arts training. It's interesting to compare and contrast Mr. Salzman's 70s and 80s presuppositions and experiences with those of Sensei Nicol in the early 60s and Mr Twigger in the 90s. Each book is a fascinating snapshot of a particular era, culture, and martial art style (Wushu, Aikido, and Karate). But despite their different philosophies, motivations, and levels of immersion, all of these men achieved personal growth and maturation through persevering within the martial arts. I found that to be inspiring, and so I recommend all three books (along with "Lost in Place" for insight into Mr. Salzman's formative years).

Rating:
Summary: Exploring China
Review: When many Americans think of China, their immediate association is with the food for which it is famous. Few of us would think of an air of extreme, almost maniacal politeness and even fewer, a haven of martial artistry. But Mark Salzman, known for his earlier memoir Lost in Place as well as several novels, shows us these characteristics of the world he could only dream about in his previous memoir. Throughout Iron & Silk, he seems as fascinated by the world he has been exploring as he expects the reader to be. In an appropriate format of often-detached but thematically linked short stories, he presents the foreign society from as objective a perspective as he can.

In his writing, Salzman uncovers some important ideas in Chinese psychology. He does reveal the ridiculous qualities of the nation's bureaucracy as they affect him; he has immense difficulty travelling throughout the nation, not to mention ordering medicine for his Athlete's foot. Perhaps more important, though, is his discovery of what appears to be a societal paradigm: many aspects of Chinese life consistently show a preference of the rote completion of rituals over the actual meaning or intent of those rituals. This is reflected not only in the clearly unnecessary bureaucratic proceedings but also in the attitudes of the people Salzman meets; they are consistently ridiculously friendly to complete strangers but treat their own children like "furniture." "That," he is told, "is the Chinese way."

Salzman manages to paint a very rich, believable portrait of a foreign world which it is hard to believe exists to this day, across the ocean from us. In spite of the book's format which abruptly changes setting and characters, China comes across as a coherent whole and though-provoking ideas burst from the pages of this quaint and powerful memoir.