An account/love story of a Vietnam veteran's return to Asia.
Ji Feng means "monsoon" in Mandarin. Long ago I had become an empty vessel and I vowed never to return to Asia. Now, half a century later, I returned. Full of questions and issues to resolve I believe I came for a monsoon downpour to help in healing some old scars of war. This is an account of meeting the woman who is now my wife and how her culture has helped me find some answer I needed.
"Ji Feng: The Winds that Bring these Rains" is a mixture of random thoughts and short windows of experience during those recent trips to the MIddle Kingdom.
Excerpt
Landing in Hong Kong and taking a room at the hotel adjacent to the airport, I stood at the window looking out over the ancient harbor. It was a city packed with Asians and the longer I watched the activity below the larger my rear-view mirror became. It grew until I could no longer see what was ahead—only the awful war years behind. The heat, the smells, the sounds, the people; it was as if I had returned to a place where I had done something terrible…and I had. 1965 and 1966 had been the years of my life in Vietnam that I disrespected the very existence of Asian life—and I was now unsure if I could make peace with any of that. As I thought more about it I began to wonder if my meeting Jingwen could help me make this passage in good order. Or was I going to unintentionally drag her into the shadows of my own dark tunnels of hurt, which would do neither of us any good at all. I hoped not.
After making a cup of coffee in the small hotel machine I cranked up my laptop and connected to the Internet. In an effort to blow off some anxiety I decided to spend some time learning more about my destination. I typed “Nanning” into Google search and the wiki information said: Nanning is 150 miles north of Hanoi. It is the capitol city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region lying in southern China. (Interestingly enough the city, where Jingwen lives, was the main rail hub during Vietnam’s fight for liberation. It had been a major staging area that sent war materials south to help North Vietnam’s military conduct the war.)
I was beginning to see some familiar signs.
Professional Reviews
Gives you the important info about China. I love this book!
5.0 out of 5 stars March 7, 2014
By Jack Lewin
Format:Kindle Edition
I've read other books on China.... They're mostly abstract and don't tell me what I need (and want) to know. This is a frank and informative view of the things I need in order to understand China. I've traveled to China before and wish I'd had this book before my travels. Also, a romantic story of one man's marriage and affection for his wife and her country.
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