StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Whats Wrong with China by Rodney Gilbert - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "What’s Wrong with China by Rodney Gilbert" is dedicated to the book that was published in 1932 by Frederick A. Stokes Company. In this book, Gilbert gives us a deep insight into the historical and environmental background of the Chinese people…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.6% of users find it useful
Whats Wrong with China by Rodney Gilbert
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Whats Wrong with China by Rodney Gilbert"

The Chinese language is considered to be one of the romantic languages and it is not phonetic in nature but rather pictorial. Every word is represented by a character.
The Chinese language dates far back into History when their ancient writings were done on Tortoiseshells and on ox bones. But in modern times, many Asian languages have been influenced and derived from Chinese – like Japanese and Korean. Chinese is the only major language system that still continues with the use of pictographs for their writing and which is very much in use in these modern times.

Seeking to learn extensively about China, Gilbert took up a job as a journalist that entailed traveling all across China and learning not only the language but also coming to know of the customs, traditions, and life of the Chinese people. Gilbert drew extensively from his observations and experiences with the different social groups he came in contact with.

The Chinese literati," explained Rodney Gilbert, "always are and always have been a cautious, timid, evasive cult of physical weaklings, with passive rather than active—defensive rather than aggressive—minds." Commoners were tainted with the affliction through historical contact with the literati who "conveyed their attitude to the people. 29 (Gilbert Rodney, New York: 1932. Pp. 203)

When writing on China, Gilbert’s attitude was direct and unsentimental besides being precise and clear. His outlook was that of a “hard-boiled” businessman as described by his publishers. The American Political Science Review, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Feb. 1933), pp. 137-139doi:10.2307/1947368

His description of the countryside was unique and straightforward.
He says that the country is so vast and multifaceted and has every diverse aspect one could think of, but still, everyone remains united under one name “China”. Just as the “Himalayas” has one word “Majestic” to describe it, so also China with all its breathtaking sights of mountains, plains, valleys, and rivers has just one word to describe it -“ Beauty”. (Tales of old China)

Gilbert explains that Chinese culture is so unique and one–of–a–kind that it has inspired and influenced people the world over. This culture that has evolved for thousands and thousands of years has an enchanted beauty that is so meticulously entwined with its history.

According to Gilbert, Chinese culture can be divided into two parts - The Modern culture and the Traditional culture. Before the 1900s the Chinese followed the Traditional culture with their ancient beliefs and lifestyles but after the 1949 war, a whole new change came over China which led to a great change in their way of thinking of their customs and their way of life. Nowadays, though the Chinese mostly follow the Modern style of culture, yet both “subcultures” co-exist.

The Chinese language belongs to the “Han Tibetan” language family and is one of the most commonly used languages in the world. It is the official language of China and therefore the most widely used language in China. Chinese is not an easy language to learn as it consists of 6 different categories of Chinese characters, such as - Pictographs, Self-explanatory characters, Associative compounds, Pictophonetic characters, Phonetic loan characters, and mutually explanatory characters.

There are approximately 56,000 Chinese characters but only 3,000 of them are in common use. The standardized form of spoken Chinese is the Standard Mandarin which is based on the Beijing Dialect. Different ethnic groups had their influence on the Chinese language and that is why between the dialects many common words are found. Different ethnic groups speak different languages collectively called Zhōngguó Yǔwén meaning"speech and writing of China". Because of the variety of these ethnic groups, countries such as Japan, Vietnam, and Korea have a lot of common in their vocabulary. It is hard to point out the origin of respective words.

Though Rodney Gilbert had a great love for China and its culture, yet in his writings, he had passed caustic remarks on some of the burning issues there. The final words in the famous book of Rodney Gilbert's What's Wrong with China (1932):

We have therefore to be grateful to the firebrand element in China which is driving furiously on towards the complete ruin of China as a nation, the utter collapse of foreign trade with this bad-boy people, and very possibly the martyrdom of those of us who are foolish enough to live in China: and out of the great weariness of the spirit and something like Petronian good cheer in the face of what is coming, our toast is: "More power to their elbows!" (Rodney Gilbert, New York: Frederick A.Stokes Company.!932) Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Comment on the passage from the book called Whats wrong with China, Essay”, n.d.)
Comment on the passage from the book called Whats wrong with China, Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1540027-comment-on-the-passage-from-the-book-called-whats-wrong-with-china-1932-by-rodney-gilbert-whatever-scholars-in-future-may-reveal-of-the-origin-of-the-chin
(Comment on the Passage from the Book Called Whats Wrong With China, Essay)
Comment on the Passage from the Book Called Whats Wrong With China, Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1540027-comment-on-the-passage-from-the-book-called-whats-wrong-with-china-1932-by-rodney-gilbert-whatever-scholars-in-future-may-reveal-of-the-origin-of-the-chin.
“Comment on the Passage from the Book Called Whats Wrong With China, Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1540027-comment-on-the-passage-from-the-book-called-whats-wrong-with-china-1932-by-rodney-gilbert-whatever-scholars-in-future-may-reveal-of-the-origin-of-the-chin.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Whats Wrong with China by Rodney Gilbert

Contemporary Human Resourse Management Research

Introduction There is an increasing awareness of how innovative forms of human resource management can contribute towards organizational performance.... Personnel management traditionally focused on management-trade union relations, maintaining control of the workforce, ensuring organizational adherence to policies and also on training and development (Bach, 2000)....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Challenges Facing Contemporary Africans the Product of Internal or External Historical Forces

rodney goes further to echo the same sentiments when he argues that the systematic corrupt enterprises established by the colonies to expropriate African natural resources to Europe.... The paper "Challenges Facing Contemporary Africans the Product of Internal or External Historical Forces" discusses that the World Bank and the international monetary funds give loans to many African countries and at the same time ensure accountability and proper usage of these funds....
13 Pages (3250 words) Research Paper

What's Eating Gilbert Grape The movie

In the film What's Eating gilbert Grape, the struggles of a dysfunctional family who tries their very best to keep the family intact to function like a regular one are outstandingly depicted.... In the film What's Eating gilbert Grape, the struggles of a dysfunctional family who tries their very best to keep the family intact to function like a regular one are outstandingly depicted.... Towards the end of the film when gilbert comes back What's Eating… 3 home, apologizing to his mother for hitting Arnie, his brother who needs special care, it may be interpreted that Mrs....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Kevin Gilbert-Australian Indigenous Author

This essay "Kevin gilbert-Australian Indigenous Author" discusses how Kevin gilbert's experiences helped shape his destiny and the destiny of his people.... In 1972, gilbert became instrumental in the building of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.... Kevin gilbert was an Australian artist born in Condobolin, New South Wales in 1933.... gilbert was born to an Irish father, his mother half-Aboriginal.... From then on, gilbert was brought up by his eldest sister....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Chinese Way of Life Is the Confucian Way

They replicated the Analects and distributed them all throughout china after his demise.... The author states that the Chinese character is described as giving importance to the five relationships i.... .... ruler and subject; parent and child; elder and younger brother; friend and friend; husband and wife....
14 Pages (3500 words) Term Paper

Is Rodney Guilty of Negligence

This paper "Is rodney Guilty of Negligence" discusses whether or not rodney is guilty of negligence, as well as whether the business, Trotter Independent Traders Ltd.... Thus, under Donoghue, there would be sufficient proximity between the claimant, Jeff, and rodney to establish a duty of care.... Next, did rodney breach that duty?... At first glance, it would seem that rodney did not act reasonably – he drank and drove....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape

This paper ''Whats Eating gilbert Grape'' tells that no matter how much a family, who doesn't have parents who perform their duties, tries to function normally as possible, it would have a real tough time, if not impossible, to function accordingly.... Towards the end of the film, when gilbert comes back.... It could have prevented Larry from running away, allowed gilbert to enjoy his life and still manage to take care of his brother, Arnie, avoided Amy from being the mother of the family, made Ellen understand her brother, Arnie, and would have allowed herself to go on and continue living and eventually move on from the past and still be able to perform her duties as a single mother to her kids....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Analysis of Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Movie

"Analysis of What's Eating gilbert Grape Movie" paper focuses on "The American drama movie, What's Eating gilbert Grape?... that has viewed the world from the perspective of a troubled soul gilbert Grape who although cannot escape the responsibilities of his family dreams of a more meaningful life.... The principal character gilbert Grape is shown as taking care of his 17-year-old mentally handicapped brother Arnie.... gilbert, in between his responsibility towards his brother, is also the sole breadwinner of the family....
6 Pages (1500 words) Movie Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us