Roaming Japan

Author: Mao Danqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Following a tour guide through Japan sets a preliminary boundary for imagination. But following Mao Danqing, a travel writer in Japan known by the nickname "A Mao," becomes an unknown journey. As Mo Yan once: he is a fish. As a bilingual writer, his subtle experiences with foreign cultures are a series of essays, each a story that even Japanese might not notice, rather than the typical travel lists of backpackers, such as where to shop cheaply or what not to miss. It is very vivid because it is accompanied by many photos of Japanese customs, all taken by top domestic photographers who traveled with him in Japan. The text and images stand independently yet complement each other, all under Mao Danqing's leadership. The articles are divided into three groups: "Mystery of the Foreign," "Documenting Customs," and "Calm Currents of Literature," but they are not strictly separated. Reading them feels like a fortune-teller telling stories, with the of Beijing tea house chats, rare in its detail. Following a tour guide through Japan sets a preliminary boundary for imagination. But following Mao Danqing, a travel writer in Japan known by the nickname "A Mao," becomes an unknown journey. As Mo Yan once: he is a fish. As a bilingual writer, his subtle experiences with foreign cultures are a series of essays, each a story that even Japanese might not notice, rather than the typical travel lists of backpackers, such as where to shop cheaply or what not to miss. It is very vivid because it is accompanied by many photos of Japanese customs, all taken by top domestic photographers who traveled with him in Japan. The text and images stand independently yet complement each other, all under Mao Danqing's leadership. The articles are divided into three groups: "Mystery of the Foreign," "Documenting Customs," and "Calm Currents of Literature," but they are not strictly separated. Reading them feels like a fortune-teller telling stories, with the of Beijing tea house chats, rare in its detail.