Peter Hessler, arguably the most famous contemporary American writer on China after his first book River Town which detailed his years teaching in a small city along the Yangtze River in the late 90s, returned to the region more than two decades later to see how his students had done while teaching at a university, which he details in his new book Other Rivers. Any book by Hessler about life in China would be fascinating enough, but as luck would have it, he arrived right before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As expected, the pandemic and worsening US-Chinese ties add extra elements of intrigue, uncertainty and risk. Hessler doesn’t disappoint, juxtaposing teaching at Sichuan University and family life with the rigors of dealing with Covid controls, journalism, and political uncertainty.
The book starts off with Hessler recounting his time teaching English at Fuling as a Peace Corps volunteer in the late 1990s. This was Hessler’s main purpose for returning to China to teach after a journalism stint in Cairo, this time to the Sichuanese capital Chengdu (Fuling had been part of Sichuan when Hessler started teaching there before becoming part of Chongqing, a municipality created in 1997). By the time Hessler starts at Sichuan University in 2019, relations between China and the US are already fraught while domestically, the political climate was also tighter. Things start off rather smoothly though at one point, he is targeted by mysterious online criticisms that may have arisen from comments he made on a student paper. The controversy quickly dies down though Hessler remains perplexed by it.
When the Covid pandemic starts in early 2020, Hessler describes the measures such as masks, temperature checks, contact-tracing, and making classes online-only which were seen as hardcore by some international observers but which proved to be effective in enabling much of the country to return to somewhat normal life a few months later.
Hessler is sympathetic to China’s handling of the pandemic and he interviews epidemic experts who point out that epidemics often spread quickly at the source especially when they are unknown. However, the country would experience further waves of Covid with Hessler, having stayed in China for two years, also experiencing the second one but not the last one which resulted in the most draconian measures such as months-long lockdowns.
During this whole time, Hessler’s twin daughters studied at a local school, an experience which produces interesting insights into the Chinese education system. The schooling is as rigorous as expected with students toiling in long hours of schooling from the earliest grades. While Hessler and his wife, journalist Leslie Chang, tried to guide their twins in handling Chinese state “propaganda,” the girls could not help embracing the competitive nature of their studies which involved weekly rankings in which the top performers became “group leaders.”
Despite a major part of the book being a diary of life under Covid, the most interesting parts remain those dealing with his Chinese students, both current and past. Both success and tragedy mark his students’ lives, though the country’s economic boom during the 21st century is apparent in various ways from the business success of his Fuling students and several of his Chengdu students continuing their graduate studies overseas. There are significant changes between his Fuling and Chengdu students, which is apparent in their physical statures and clothing. Many of his Fuling students, who Hessler kept in touch with regularly through letters and emails, have started businesses or developed careers which saw them go to other parts of the country before returning home.
When the first Covid wave is over in 2020, Hessler manages to visit Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic which is a metropolis further downstream on the Yangtze, and meets with several Chinese. One of these is Fang Fang, a local writer who achieved a measure of international fame for criticizing the authorities at the start of the pandemic for not being transparent.
Hessler writes a reasonably balanced narrative though he also makes moderate criticisms of the country’s limits on arts, media and online discussions. It is clear that while he retains an affection for the country and his students, he is not very positive about the currently more restrictive political atmosphere. For his troubles, he was denounced from both sides, with Western critics accusing him of shilling for the Chinese authorities, while also being criticized by Chinese netizens for tarnishing the country. It is ironic that a Western academic even accuses him of practicing journalism illegally in China, something which Hessler admits is somewhat true as he was in China on a teaching visa.
Eventually, Hessler’s attempt at even-handedness fails to spare him from not having his contract renewed and thus having to leave China reluctantly. It is clear that he would have wanted to stay longer, though this would have meant living through China’s third Covid boom and the resumption of harsh measures.
Other Rivers is a valuable account of life in China during a tumultuous time, which we now know came to an end of Covid lockdowns and waves. Even if Hessler is dissatisfied with the country’s political situation, it is likely many of his students will have gained valuable lessons and will continue to do well just as his former ones from Fuling.