Watching the excitement in the United States

Author: Ding Xiaowen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: How frugal can wealthy Americans be? Chinese restaurants in small towns don’t make money but still survive—what’s their secret? West Point hangs a portrait of Lei Feng, American soldiers read "The Art of War"—is it true or false? Chinese people choose female crabs, Americans choose male ones—is it the Americans who are foolish or us? Two homeless men "guard" the front and back doors of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. day and night—who sent them? For a bill, one spoke for 24 hours straight; another spoke for five days, making 10,000 gestures. Why are U.S. so talkative? Read this book, and you’ll be surprised by the insights you gain! Ding Xiaowen has interacted with Americans for over a decade and lived in the U.S. for three years. In "Amusing in America," he shares his observations and reflections from his interactions with Americans, most of which are unrelated to diplomacy. The book contains over 60 articles, including reports, essays, reviews, and, with varying lengths and styles, but all share a common feature: vivid descriptions, in-depth yet accessible analysis, and high readability. Titles like "Two Homeless Men Guarding the Chinese Embassy," "Forgot Life-Saving Money," "Frugal Americans," "Selling Old Goods for Small Profits," and "Congressional Windbags" alone are enough to pique readers' curiosity. Delving deeper, each story, experience, and reflection—whether laughable, heartbreaking, or thought-provoking—comes alive under the author’s pen. In his writing, he first presents himself as an ordinary person living and working in the U.S. He has ordinary joys: The U.S. is often called a "paradise for shoppers," but it also has many pitfalls, and the author has fallen for them too. One day, he received an envelope containing a $20 check labeled " redeemable immediately." He carefully read the instructions and realized it was another scam, so he threw the check in the trash. He felt proud of outsmarting the merchants. He has ordinary anger: After the infamous "Cox Report" was released, Chinese people were unfairly associated with "theft" and "spying," even young Chinese students were called "thieves" by their classmates. Seeing politicians trample on China’s reputation, he grew angry. He has ordinary sorrow: At Detroit Airport, he rushed around to help two elderly travelers who had lost their wallets, nearly missing his flight in the process. When he finally reached their destination and called to check if they had arrived safely, he heard the cold response of their American son. He lamented how Chinese people who have left the country have become so indifferent! He also writes like a journalist on the scene. In the article "Sketches from the Ground Zero of the World Trade Center in New York," the scene is vivid: A makeshift viewing platform was packed with over 30 middle school students. A dozen children played somber music, while others prayed with a pastor. Children held candles, and flickering flames swayed like giant tears. Of course, the author is also a diplomat, and he never forgets his mission when interacting with Americans. In the article "Behind the Noisy March," he joined the protesters and talked with them while also doing his job. A Black woman approached him, saying, "You’ve taken our jobs." She pointed to her sweater, "Look, this sweater is so beautiful, only $10, how can we compete with you?" I asked, "Do you want to spend $30 on this sweater?" "Not really, but our garment workers will lose their jobs because of this." She added. I calmly explained to her, "Trade is competition. Whoever offers better quality at a lower price has an advantage in the competition, which benefits consumers. Besides, you’re at a disadvantage in this field, but you lead in others. American computers, planes, and cars are very popular in China—don’t they bring you job opportunities?" The woman smiled and said nothing more. "Amusing in America," as the title suggests, shows that the author doesn’t want to present his experiences and observations as something "serious." He doesn’t want to impose his opinions and analyses as conclusions, nor does he want readers to draw any conclusions about the U.S. from this book. The author says he is "amusing in America," but he also hopes readers will view his personal experiences as mere entertainment, enjoying them as lightly as sipping tea.