Chinese Whispers: Peter Hessler on what English names can reveal about China
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The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2024
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
You might think this is a bit of a trivial question, but I think the question of English names goes deeper than just some odd words. I think these names reveal something about the China that gave rise to them. So I was pleased to come across another China watcher recently who is also obsessed by the question. Peter Hessler is an award winning journalist whose 2001 book River Town was highly influential for its depiction of life in a changing China. I spoke to him recently upon the publication of his latest book, Other Rivers. Tune in to hear where I also reveal the origins of my English name.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You can get three months of The Spectator for just £15 and a free bottle of pro ranger champagne if you go to spectator.com.uk-fool slash jengu. |
| 0:09.0 | This offer is UK-only and subject to availability. |
| 0:26.1 | Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me, Cindy Yu. Every episode I'll be talking to journalists, experts and long-time China watchers about the latest in Chinese politics, society and |
| 0:31.4 | more. There'll be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background knowledge and some |
| 0:36.1 | context as well. How do the |
| 0:37.7 | Chinese see these issues? Why do so many Chinese people choose such curious English names? |
| 0:44.9 | You must have come across this phenomenon, whether there are names from a past century, |
| 0:49.3 | or surnames, nouns or even adjectives used as first names, or even words that aren't real at all. |
| 0:56.8 | I have a particular interest in this because my English name, Cindy, isn't exactly in vogue these days. |
| 1:02.5 | You might think this is a bit of a trivial question, but I think the question of English names goes deeper than just some odd words. |
| 1:09.2 | I think these names reveal something about the China that gave rise to them. |
| 1:13.2 | So I was pleased to come across another China watcher recently, who is also obsessed by the question. |
| 1:18.4 | Peter Hessler is an award-winning journalist whose 2001 book, Rivertown, was highly influential |
| 1:23.7 | for its depiction of life in a changing China. |
| 1:26.6 | I spoke to him recently upon the publication of his |
| 1:28.9 | latest book, Other Rivers, and keep listening to hear where the name Cindy comes from. Peter Hesler is an |
| 1:36.3 | honour to welcome you to Chinese Whispers. How are you? I'm doing fine. Yeah, thanks for having me. |
| 1:41.0 | I've been very much enjoying your latest book, Other Rivers, which is a sequel of sorts to your first book, |
| 1:45.7 | which made such an impact in the English-speaking China-watching world, Rivertown. |
| 1:49.6 | For listeners who don't know these books, could you briefly introduce them? |
| 1:53.3 | Yeah, I mean, I was sent to China as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1996. |
| 1:57.1 | You know, I arrived in China without studying Chinese or without really having thought very much about China. |
... |
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