After spending six years as the National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent in Beijing, Rob Gifford decided to conclude his time there with a 3,000-mile journey across the vast country to illustrate how China is undergoing a dramatic change.
Gifford spoke Monday about this journey and what he learned to a packed audience at Miami University's Hall Auditorium.
"Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66," starts the first paragraph in the synopsis of Gifford's book, China Road: A Journey Into the Future of a Rising Power. "It flows 3,000 miles from East to West, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down."
Gifford's interest in this eastern country is not newly founded. According to his NPR online biography, he holds a bachelor's degree in Chinese studies from Durham University (located in the UK) and he received his masters in Harvard's Regional Studies, East Asia. However, Jenny Callison, director of communication for the Farmer School of Business, said that he brings a unique perspective to the table.
"By living in China for six years, Rob was able to develop a perspective that most Westerners don't normally acquire," she said. "By speaking fluent Mandarin, he was able to communicate with many unique varieties of people, ranging from prostitutes to shopkeepers."
Callison went on to explain why China is so important for American students to learn about.
"There is a chance that China is going to become the world's next dominant power, and we need to adapt and learn to work with their culture to generate a greater understanding," she said. "Students should consider learning the Mandarin language because this would lead to broader comprehension of the culture along with the complexities of the nation."
The main focus of his speech was centered on how China is teetering on the brink of both greatness and implosion and the factors that impact both perspectives.
"There is a theory that China's rise to power is unstoppable," Gifford said. "This view was supported by the people I met along the way who were full of hope and optimism about what the future holds, but then there were others who felt that all they could do was endure, because to them there was no hope or promise of a better tomorrow."
Gifford went on to discuss the massive dislocation currently taking place that is reshaping the entire nation.
"Physically, there are 150 million people who are relocating around various portions of the country to take advantage of the increase in the number of factory jobs available," Gifford said. "However, psychological and spiritual dislocation are also at work because people's beliefs and understanding of the society they once knew are rapidly evolving. What China is currently undergoing is similar to the Industrial Revolution that took place in the U.S. 100 years ago, and Shanghai is the new Manhattan."
Gifford believes that China's chance for greatness lies in Route 312, the 3,000-mile road that slices through China from the East China Sea to Kazakhstan.
"One noticeable difference from China's past is that now there is an exit (along Route 312)," he said. "This exit gives people the opportunity to leave and make different lives for themselves instead of committing to revolution. However, if there is one word that predicts China's fate it is its history. By looking at examples from other great world powers through the centuries, we can try to predict what will become of this country by examining the past."
Gifford also held a book signing in Hall's Green Room prior to the event. His presentation was cosponsored by the Center for American and World Cultures, Havighurst Center, and NPR at 88.5/WMUB.
