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Analysis Of The Book Chinese Lessons By John Pomfret

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Prior to Communism in China, it was known to be a chaotic country on the brink of self-destruction. With the emergence of the party leader Mao Zedong, came a new hope, which filled its inhabitants with the belief that China would return to its former historical greatness. American and Chinese relations before 1971 were in simple terms described as “uneasy”, due to the American, Soviet Cold War. It was not until President Richard Nixon visited China and realized the high value of having China as a ally that relations between the two powers began to become positive. Unknown at the time, it is assumed in the book Chinese Lessons written by John Pomfret, that the relationships he formed with the people he met in China would change his outlook on life and Communist China forever.
John Pomfret began his story Chinese Lessons as a third year Stanford student that felt extremely optimistic about gaining the opportunity to benefit from American political efforts to create friendly relations with China. He begins in 1979; here the author takes the reader through the immense difficulties associated with Americans studying abroad on Chinese soil. He describes his first interaction with Cao Guisheng, a Chinese spy (unknown at the time), working as a Chinese Diplomat. With his help, John was then permitted to study the Chinese language at Beijing languages Institute. After the author developed tedious study habits, he applied for Nanjing University, a school that allowed foreigners to

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