The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time

by Simon Winchester

Book Overview

A stunning tour of China, its people, and its history. Chosen as one of the best travel books of 1996 by the New York Times Book Review.

Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the Yangtze River, the symbolic heart of China pierces 3,900 miles of rugged country before debouching into the oily swells of the East China Sea. Connecting China's heartland cities with the volatile coastal giant, Shanghai, it has also historically...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312423373
• ISBN13: 9780312423377
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 414 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A jouney unto itself

I feel that this is Winchester's best. I have read some of his other works but "The River . . ." really kept me interested. Admittedly, I know almost nothing about Chinese history, geography or culture so Winchester's descriptions and imagery kept me quite enthralled. I found his use of anecdotes kept the book from getting bogged down in facts and figures while his easygoing conversational writing style made it seem as if you were walking along on the journey. This is probably not the best work for someone seeking a comprehensive scholarly tome on Chinese history but it really isn't meant to be. As a fun, entertaining look into one of the vast populations on the planet, I highly recommend it.

Cruising the Yangtze

This is an excellent book for anyone planning a cruise on the Yangtze. It reads like a novel. I loved it because it describes the cities and the river, but also the history and the people. Winchester must be incredibly brave (or stupid) because he traveled the Yangtze from China into Tibet with one female guide. He also has a very good chapter on the Three Gorges Dam and why it should not be built. This book is a good read for anyone interested in history, travel, adventure or China.

Easily the best travel book about China

The English must have a special talent for combining the personal with the universal, the anecdotal with the historical, and the entertaining with the learned.Following the Yangtze river upstream, Simon Winchester tells the story of modern China from the bustling, modern city of Shanghai near the mouth of the river to the highlands of the Himalayas where the Yangtze originates and where China has not changed much in 5,000 years. Embedded in the story of his journey is the history of China since the late 18th century: the arrival of the European powers, the Opium Wars, the Japanese invasion, the Civil War, and the years of Communist rule which culminated in the construction of a new Great Wall - the Three Gorges Dam that will irrevocably change the Yangtze river.Winchester observes, describes, and rarely comments. He has an eye for the right details and the odd anecdote, and he is so well-read that he never loses the big picture. He loves the subject of his narration, and his enthusiasm is palpable on every page - especially when he tells the stories of the English sailors who explored the Yangtze River. His non-judgmental, open-minded way of writing makes the book a pleasure to read.For people initiated to the ways of China there are many moments of recognition. Take the seemingly bizarre behavior of some village officials, for example, who claim they cannot show Winchester an ingenious invention on which they have spent their time because the key to the room where it is kept is lost. Of course, there is no invention at all, they have been idly wasting their time, drinking tea and smoking cigarettes in their offices but what a loss of face it would be to admit it!Among travel books about China, "The River at the Center of the World" has no equal. It is simply the best, and most entertaining, introduction to China at the beginning of the 21st century.

A fascinating tale of the Yangzi River

For the discerning Western reader with an interest in all things Chinese, Simon Winchester's "The River at the Center of the World" makes for an enthralling read.His arduous journey from the mouth of the Yangzi River to its source high in the Tibetan Plateau, is far more than merely a commentary of his travels. Entwined amongst his own colourful experiences, Mr Winchester captures a fascinating analysis of the river's history. Indeed the Yangzi has a history worthy of telling in a book of this type. Charting a course that initially wanders from the urban delights of Shanghai near the Pacific coast then along the meandering, lower reaches of the Yangzi, the reader is taken through hundreds of years of Chinese history. The author touches on elements as diverse as the Opium Wars, the turbulent history of the tea trade, the Yangzi High Dam and Emperor Da-Yu - who is attributed with rerouting the river and keeping its vast waters within China. There is space even for the origins of Asian-man to be pondered upon.Occasionally the author takes the reader on self-indulging investigative expeditions, such as seeking the anchor reportedly captured by communist forces in 1949 from the stricken warship HMS Amethyst at Zhenjiang. Upon finding it he declares it more likely to have come from a river junk. These expeditions are interesting nonetheless and aid his overall goal of depicting the Yangzi as a fascinating place both in present and past tenses. Simon Winchester has certainly done his research. He tells of otherwise obscure river-navigators, chart-makers and naturalists who made their marks in respective fields along the river's twists and turns in times long pastTwo thirds of the book is allocated to the more sedate stretch of water, between Shanghai and Wuhan, perhaps because this is where the far greater proportion of recent history lies. Other experiences though, like the Three Gorges, Tiger Leaping Gorge and the trip along forbidden roads in Tibet, are also allocated their due space.The end product, though is one that vividly colours the mind with written-images of a river that has formed the very heart of the world's most populated nation -continuing to very much dominate day to day life today. It is a narrative of a journey that inspires the arm-chair reader to do likewise. Indeed, I myself started reading Simon Winchester's book in far-off New Zealand, finishing it a few weeks later while visiting China - on the river itself aboard a ferry boat from Shanghai bound for Wuhan.Very inspirational stuff indeed Mr Winchester.

Excellent knowledge base, informative and captivating

Simon Winchester displays a wealth of knowledge about the Yangtzee. He has clearly done his homework and clearly explains why the Yangtzee holds the importance that it does to the Chinese. His narrative covers all aspects of the region, the geological history, economic history and the crucial political aspects. He always puts the historical importance of these factors into the modern context and the net result is a truly interesting, yet richly informative read. It was difficult to put down. This is not a book for the lazy mind however as the imagery that the author conjures up is provocative and requires a good deal of interaction from the reader.