2018-11-01
昨日阅读1小时,累计阅读441小时
Read book "Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West " by Peter Hessler
Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage—a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. The stories in this book were written between 2000 (when the author was 30) and 2012. Many are from China, where he lived for over a decade, but also a few from the U.S., Japan and Nepal.
The first story opens in a small village in southern China. A waitress is asking if he wants a big rat or a small rat. Virtually everyone in the village is named Zhong. Hessler selects a small rat. Other options include turtledove, fox, cat, python, and other local animals. One does not eat cat simply to eat cat - you eat cat because they have spirit and thus you will improve your spirits. Eating a snake makes you stronger, deep penis to improve virility. Eating rats supposedly keeps you from going bald; eat rats regularly and white hair will turn black. One of the two rat restaurants cost $42,000, and the other $54,000; they opened within six days of each other. A third will open soon, costing $72,000 and having air-conditioning, and a fourth is in the planning stages. They're all located within a half-hour of much larger Guangzhou, population 8+ million.
The rats are from the mountains - they're clean - mostly eating fruit, not like city rats. The government checks the rats to see if they have diseases. Farmers on mopeds, bicycles, and on foot bring in rats trapped on their farms. A pound of rat costs nearly double that of a pound of beef. The meat is lean and white.
Hessler is quite a venturesome writer - he's not only game for trying rat as a meal, he also ignores the regulation requiring registering with the government before traveling. (Too much trouble, and then I'd have to take all the officials out to lunch.') The restaurant owner suspects Hessler is really there to write about human rights, and doesn't want his name used - even though it's the same as everyone else's.
Hessler then goes next door to a competing rat restaurant. They're disappointed he doesn't bring a TV crew with him. This time he chooses a big rat, and is taken out back to choose his rat. Fifteen minutes later, it arrives at his table.
Hessler's normal Chinese abode is in a three-story apartment off a tiny alley without a name in a section of old Beijing. His alley is visible on the first detailed map of Beijing - completed in 1750. A local archaeologist believes the street may date back to the 14th century. The apartment is surrounded by single-story homes behind walls of gray brick. Dozens of households might share a single entrance, and though the old residences have running water, few have private bathrooms. Much is communal - even in winter residents sit outside chatting. Street vendors on three-wheel carts pedal through regularly - the group of houses is too small for a supermarket. The beer woman is the loudest. There's also a rice man, a vinegar dealer, a toilet-paper vendor, a knife-sharpener, etc.
|