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Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road
A narrative account profiling the ordinary men and women who live, work, and dream on the author's street in Shanghai, inspired by his enormously popular Marketplace series of the same name
Marketplace's Rob Schmitz moved to Shanghai in 2010. To gain perspective on China's new reality, he interviewed the ordinary people who lived and worked beside him. He spoke to shop owners, young professionals, beggars, and countless others about their everyday experiences, their troubled histories, and the hopes that fuel them. Schmitz forged deep relationships with the diverse array of people who make up China’s most vibrant city, their stories connected by a single street that runs through the heart of Shanghai.
At a time when president Xi Jinping has launched a political agenda entitled "The Chinese Dream" to guide the country's 1.4 billion people, Street of Eternal Happiness sheds light upon the dreams of individual Chinese along a single street in the nation’s largest city. A humorous and at times heartrending journey through the static, mixed messages the Western world is fed about the planet's most populous nation, Schmitz treats readers to recurring characters that illuminate the distinct generations of 21st-century China. Each memorable character's story adds another layer of humanity and texture to modern China, and these portraits merge with Schmitz's personal discoveries through his work as a foreign correspondent. The result is an intimate, surprising, involving portrait of contemporary China that dispenses with the tired stereotypes of a country we think we know.
From the Hardcover edition.
Marketplace's Rob Schmitz moved to Shanghai in 2010. To gain perspective on China's new reality, he interviewed the ordinary people who lived and worked beside him. He spoke to shop owners, young professionals, beggars, and countless others about their everyday experiences, their troubled histories, and the hopes that fuel them. Schmitz forged deep relationships with the diverse array of people who make up China’s most vibrant city, their stories connected by a single street that runs through the heart of Shanghai.
At a time when president Xi Jinping has launched a political agenda entitled "The Chinese Dream" to guide the country's 1.4 billion people, Street of Eternal Happiness sheds light upon the dreams of individual Chinese along a single street in the nation’s largest city. A humorous and at times heartrending journey through the static, mixed messages the Western world is fed about the planet's most populous nation, Schmitz treats readers to recurring characters that illuminate the distinct generations of 21st-century China. Each memorable character's story adds another layer of humanity and texture to modern China, and these portraits merge with Schmitz's personal discoveries through his work as a foreign correspondent. The result is an intimate, surprising, involving portrait of contemporary China that dispenses with the tired stereotypes of a country we think we know.
From the Hardcover edition.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2016
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About the author
Rob Schmitz
2 books73 followersROB SCHMITZ is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
Prior to covering Europe, Schmitz provided award-winning coverage of China for a decade, reporting on the country's economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China's impact beyond its borders took him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he's interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road (Crown/Random House 2016), a profile of individuals who live, work, and dream along a single street that runs through the heart of China's largest city. The book won several awards and has been translated into half a dozen languages. In 2018, China's government banned the Chinese version of the book after its fifth printing. The following year it was selected as a finalist for the Ryszard Kapuściński Award, Poland's most prestigious literary prize.
Schmitz has won numerous awards for his reporting on China, including two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an Education Writers Association Award. His work was also a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. His reporting in Japan — from the hardest-hit areas near the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and tsunami — was included in the publication 100 Great Stories, celebrating the centennial of Columbia University's Journalism School. In 2012, Schmitz exposed the fabrications in Mike Daisey's account of Apple's supply chain on This American Life. His report was featured in the show's "Retraction" episode. In 2011, New York's Rubin Museum of Art screened a documentary Schmitz shot in Tibetan regions of China about one of the last living Tibetans who had memorized "Gesar of Ling," an epic poem that tells of Tibet's ancient past.
From 2010 to 2016, Schmitz was the China correspondent for American Public Media's Marketplace. He's also worked as a reporter for NPR Member stations KQED, KPCC and MPR. Prior to his radio career, Schmitz lived and worked in China — first as a teacher for the Peace Corps in the 1990s, and later as a freelance print and video journalist. He also lived in Spain for two years. He speaks Mandarin and Spanish. He has a bachelor's degree in Spanish literature from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
Prior to covering Europe, Schmitz provided award-winning coverage of China for a decade, reporting on the country's economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China's impact beyond its borders took him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he's interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road (Crown/Random House 2016), a profile of individuals who live, work, and dream along a single street that runs through the heart of China's largest city. The book won several awards and has been translated into half a dozen languages. In 2018, China's government banned the Chinese version of the book after its fifth printing. The following year it was selected as a finalist for the Ryszard Kapuściński Award, Poland's most prestigious literary prize.
Schmitz has won numerous awards for his reporting on China, including two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an Education Writers Association Award. His work was also a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. His reporting in Japan — from the hardest-hit areas near the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and tsunami — was included in the publication 100 Great Stories, celebrating the centennial of Columbia University's Journalism School. In 2012, Schmitz exposed the fabrications in Mike Daisey's account of Apple's supply chain on This American Life. His report was featured in the show's "Retraction" episode. In 2011, New York's Rubin Museum of Art screened a documentary Schmitz shot in Tibetan regions of China about one of the last living Tibetans who had memorized "Gesar of Ling," an epic poem that tells of Tibet's ancient past.
From 2010 to 2016, Schmitz was the China correspondent for American Public Media's Marketplace. He's also worked as a reporter for NPR Member stations KQED, KPCC and MPR. Prior to his radio career, Schmitz lived and worked in China — first as a teacher for the Peace Corps in the 1990s, and later as a freelance print and video journalist. He also lived in Spain for two years. He speaks Mandarin and Spanish. He has a bachelor's degree in Spanish literature from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews
June 12, 2016
Author Rob Schmitz is a foreign correspondent, living in Shanghai; to be precise he lives on the ‘Street of Eternal Happiness,’ a formerly French neighbourhood. During his years living in the city, Schmitz tells the story of the inhabitants of the street where he lives with a great deal of warmth and affection. We learn how the street wakes in the early hours with deliveries of fresh fish, of the vendors who are everywhere selling snacks, of the pasts of the older inhabitants and the difficulties they have faced, the generation gap, the high ‘bride prices’ and difficulty of arranging marriages, and of the changing face of the city.
Half of the residents of Shanghai are migrants from the countryside; literally termed, “outside people.” Meanwhile, old communities have been destroyed to put up high rise blocks and luxury apartments. During this book we meet those who are literally squatting in their own, virtually demolished houses, situated directly behind where Schmitz lives in a new apartment block. There is Zhao, the flower shop owner who spends her time trying to marry her son, Uncle Feng who sells snacks from the communal area of his apartment block while his wife, Auntie Fu, loses their savings in ‘No Risk’ get quick rich schemes and attending illegal churches which demand money and meet the dreaming Chen Kai, who tries to tempt local office workers with a new snack, ‘sandwiches’ while selling accordions on the side.
This is a portrait of a community and of a city that often receives a lot of bad press. There are so many tragic stories from the past and the present– of factor owners sent to labour camps for being capitalists for example. Every person we meet has a story and a struggle to succeed. The author makes the place come alive and the people sympathetic. He does not judge anyone, but obviously has a deep love for the place and people which comes across in his writing. A wonderful book and extremely well written.
Half of the residents of Shanghai are migrants from the countryside; literally termed, “outside people.” Meanwhile, old communities have been destroyed to put up high rise blocks and luxury apartments. During this book we meet those who are literally squatting in their own, virtually demolished houses, situated directly behind where Schmitz lives in a new apartment block. There is Zhao, the flower shop owner who spends her time trying to marry her son, Uncle Feng who sells snacks from the communal area of his apartment block while his wife, Auntie Fu, loses their savings in ‘No Risk’ get quick rich schemes and attending illegal churches which demand money and meet the dreaming Chen Kai, who tries to tempt local office workers with a new snack, ‘sandwiches’ while selling accordions on the side.
This is a portrait of a community and of a city that often receives a lot of bad press. There are so many tragic stories from the past and the present– of factor owners sent to labour camps for being capitalists for example. Every person we meet has a story and a struggle to succeed. The author makes the place come alive and the people sympathetic. He does not judge anyone, but obviously has a deep love for the place and people which comes across in his writing. A wonderful book and extremely well written.
December 9, 2018
When I saw a brand-new copy of Street of Eternal Happiness at my local library branch, I recalled my friend Sarah's enthusiastic review and couldn't resist checking it out. It was a risky move. My reading for the remaining weeks of 2018 was pretty much already planned out; was it wise to inject an unexpected book into the mix? Fortunately, in this case it really was! Rob Schmitz is an excellent, engaging writer, and he effectively explores China's past and present via portrayals of some fascinating residents of one Shanghai street. The results were moving and infuriating and inspiring and shocking and occasionally cringingly funny (how I wish I could erase those Heavenly Happiness pads from my memory!). There are a lot of books that seem like they're going to stick with you, but then they don't. I'm pretty sure Street of Eternal Happiness is one of those rare ones that actually will. Recommended!
March 16, 2016
What a terrific book. I became deeply absorbed in it almost immediately. The life stories of the Chinese people on just one block is fascinating. There is no way I can do this book justice. Anyone who is into sociology or who just wants an amazing and incredibly researched non-fiction title will love Street of Eternal Happiness.
February 3, 2022
In the genre of modern China travelog, three writers stand out: Peter Hesller, Michael Meyer and Rob Schmitz. Coincidently, they all started their “China career” as volunteers with the Peace Corps.
Very nuanced. In-depth observation. Not from a novelty-seeking tourist. It is both depressing and uplifting.
Very nuanced. In-depth observation. Not from a novelty-seeking tourist. It is both depressing and uplifting.
October 6, 2019
I love any book that helps me understand the place that I have called home for almost 12 years. The author digs deep into the personal histories of shopkeepers and residents who live on Changle Lu, in the Former French Concession. You will find yourself admiring every single person he meets for the tenacity and and dignity that they all posses as they go about their lives. There is humor and hope in all of the stories, and it will help you understand many intricacies of this country, such as corruption, the evolution of the communist party from Mao to Xi Jinping, the role of religion, the importance of resident permits (hukou) in the trajectory of each person’s education, parents’ roles in helping their children find a spouse, and important cultural concepts such as “eating bitter” and “saving face”.
November 18, 2018
“The sound of it is very inspiring, but first the Chinese people need to rejuvenate their trust in this country. There is no patriotism anymore. There is no trust. There is no love,” he says. “China is on a path without a soul.”
I kind of knew I'd like this before I even read it, but Street of Eternal Happiness exceeded even my high expectations.
Rob Schmitz's book follows a number of residents he befriends on a street in the former French Concession of Shanghai, 长乐路 (Chang Le Lu, which Schmitz translates as "Street of Eternal Happiness"). Schmitz is an American journalist, and in 2010 he returned to China as a correspondent for a public radio program, relocating to Shanghai with his young family. Having lived in rural China before as a member of the Peace Corps in the late 90s, Schmitz was familiar with China and spoke the language, which of course helps the stories told here to be told more authentically and accurately. The people he meets open up to him, and their stories are truly fascinating.
As with most Chinese cities, most of the residents Schmitz meets are not really locals. He meets a young dreamer, CK, who has recently opened a not very successful sandwich shop but makes accordions for a living; Auntie Fu, an avid churchgoer who keeps getting involved in pyramid schemes she are sure will earn her tonnes of money (at the disgust of her husband, a pancake stall owner); and Zhao, a former factory worker turned shopkeeper who hopes for a better future for her two adult sons. We also meet an elderly couple forced out of their traditional home to make way for a new apartment complex. Although I was well aware this happened in China, I'd never heard a personal account of the lengths the companies will go to to remove residents from their homes, and it was quite frankly shocking and upsetting.
An engaging and eye-opening account of everyday lives in modern China. Highly recommended!
May 20, 2017
4.25 stars.
I probably would have rated this 5 stars if I hadn't previously read Peter Hessler's China trilogy (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...). I really liked everything about the contents of this book, I just would have preferred the depth of Hessler's books.
Schmitz is a very good storyteller. I was interested in the lives of the people he introduced and thought about them when I wasn't reading the book. There's a solid blend of the absurd (both funny and sad) along with perceptive insights into the social and economic struggles between the various generations in modern day China. Schmitz cares about the subject matter and it comes across very well.
I probably would have rated this 5 stars if I hadn't previously read Peter Hessler's China trilogy (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...). I really liked everything about the contents of this book, I just would have preferred the depth of Hessler's books.
Schmitz is a very good storyteller. I was interested in the lives of the people he introduced and thought about them when I wasn't reading the book. There's a solid blend of the absurd (both funny and sad) along with perceptive insights into the social and economic struggles between the various generations in modern day China. Schmitz cares about the subject matter and it comes across very well.
September 8, 2016
Won a copy of this fine book in a Goodreads giveaway – thanks!
This author often appears on National Public Radio. The stories in this book, about modern Shanghainese along a single street dealing with or failing to deal with life's changes, reads kind of like a string of those “texture of life” pieces that NPR runs during those short blessed periods, often on weekends, when the world is insufficiently full of horror and misery to fill up the allotted airtime. I enjoy this kind of reportage, usually much more than the allegedly more serious and pressing news that it appears with, because I feel it actually tells me more about the world than, for example, the excruciating details of some politician's latest faux pax. So I also liked this book. It told me things I didn't know, which is why one reason I read books in the first place, and made me feel as if I understood people far away and vastly different from me, which is another reason.
Sometimes the reportage is almost too real: the miserable and bickering old couple, straight out of some nightmarish Beckett play, made me cringe and think of similar people I knew. Generally, though, it's fun to read.
I also wished that all of those knuckleheads who insist that we in the West are all living under an intolerably oppressive regime could read this book and get a load of what a real oppressive regime is like, i.e., complete with plainclothes goons who kidnap elderly people and destroy their home of a lifetime so some corrupt official can enlarge his ill-gotten pile, and other similar lunacy. I mean, life in the West is not all unicorns and rainbows, but relatively few (hardly any, really) elderly people are treated in this manner.
This author often appears on National Public Radio. The stories in this book, about modern Shanghainese along a single street dealing with or failing to deal with life's changes, reads kind of like a string of those “texture of life” pieces that NPR runs during those short blessed periods, often on weekends, when the world is insufficiently full of horror and misery to fill up the allotted airtime. I enjoy this kind of reportage, usually much more than the allegedly more serious and pressing news that it appears with, because I feel it actually tells me more about the world than, for example, the excruciating details of some politician's latest faux pax. So I also liked this book. It told me things I didn't know, which is why one reason I read books in the first place, and made me feel as if I understood people far away and vastly different from me, which is another reason.
Sometimes the reportage is almost too real: the miserable and bickering old couple, straight out of some nightmarish Beckett play, made me cringe and think of similar people I knew. Generally, though, it's fun to read.
I also wished that all of those knuckleheads who insist that we in the West are all living under an intolerably oppressive regime could read this book and get a load of what a real oppressive regime is like, i.e., complete with plainclothes goons who kidnap elderly people and destroy their home of a lifetime so some corrupt official can enlarge his ill-gotten pile, and other similar lunacy. I mean, life in the West is not all unicorns and rainbows, but relatively few (hardly any, really) elderly people are treated in this manner.
October 25, 2020
Journalist Rob Schmitz’s sensitive and very personal engagement with his characters and the city of Shanghai make ‘Street of Eternal Happiness’ an absolute joy to read. For any reader wanting to explore and experience the richness of modern China and ponder the complexity and legacy of Mao’s rule, this makes a fine introduction.
June 27, 2021
Bardzo dobry reportaż. Nie miałam wcześniej pojęcia o tym jak wyglada sytuacja społeczno-ekonomiczna w Chinach. Najbardziej wstrząsnął mną fakt, że dzieci pochodzenia wiejskiego, wychowane w dużych miastach, mają często zaprzepaszczone szanse na zdobycie wykształcenia wyższego. Dlaczego? Przeczytajcie sami! :)
Duża część pokrywa się z moją wiedzą na temat ustroju komunistycznego, ale nie zmienia to faktu, że nigdy nie przestanie mnie zaskakiwać jak ustrój w założeniach równościowy, może zwiększać różnice klasowe i nie szanować podstawowych praw człowieka.
Duża część pokrywa się z moją wiedzą na temat ustroju komunistycznego, ale nie zmienia to faktu, że nigdy nie przestanie mnie zaskakiwać jak ustrój w założeniach równościowy, może zwiększać różnice klasowe i nie szanować podstawowych praw człowieka.
May 24, 2020
I prefer Peter Hessler's books, on China or Egypt. This has half as many characters, and is more focused on business (especially pyramid schemes). Much less humor, too. It isn't bad, but I wanted more, especially more stories about daily life.
> They tend to ignore their elders' guidance. Their parents and grandparents toiled most of their lives through Mao's political campaigns without much of an education. Like Auntie Fu and Uncle Feng, they now struggle to cope with the free-market realities of modern China and they usually give lousy advice.
> They tend to ignore their elders' guidance. Their parents and grandparents toiled most of their lives through Mao's political campaigns without much of an education. Like Auntie Fu and Uncle Feng, they now struggle to cope with the free-market realities of modern China and they usually give lousy advice.
May 11, 2018
engrossing, riveting, captivating
in china, there’s a lot of censorship in media. people don’t want to talk about the great famine, the great leap, the cultural revolution- because it’s a time to be forgotten- we must strive to look at China’s bright future
the China I know is modernized, glamorous, convenient, fast paced, safe, congested. that is one China. the china I know is limited to the brief encounters I’ve had with it’s major cities- shanghai and Beijing
in china, there’s a lot of censorship in media. people don’t want to talk about the great famine, the great leap, the cultural revolution- because it’s a time to be forgotten- we must strive to look at China’s bright future
the China I know is modernized, glamorous, convenient, fast paced, safe, congested. that is one China. the china I know is limited to the brief encounters I’ve had with it’s major cities- shanghai and Beijing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2017
Living the Chinese Dream
It is reasonable to think that a book like Street of Eternal Happiness could be written about any stretch of road on the planet — even this country hill where white clapboards and long driveways are separated by acres of margin. Even here, I’m sure this winding road is lined on both sides with serial narratives. The difference is, of course, that I have not lived my way into the stories behind these thermal-pane windows as Rob Schmitz has managed to do on the two-mile expanse of real estate in Shanghai that he calls home.
Lined on both sides by plane trees left over from an historic season of French occupation, the street is shaded by tangled branches overhead. Its restaurants and shops testify to the economic boom Schmitz has chronicled in his role as NPR’s Shanghai correspondent. Skimming around the traffic and pedestrians on his bicycle, he discovered a way of understanding the economy and interpreting the city by meeting and knowing its people.
“Better City. Better Life.”
Shanghai was showcased as the model Chinese city during the 2010 world’s fair, and the slogan “The city . . . makes life more beautiful” showed up as a slogan on billboards everywhere, reminding citizens that China was on a trajectory of growth and improvement. A nation of contradictions, attaining the spot as the second largest economy in the world does not guarantee the cessation of spitting on the sidewalk or of total strangers shoving each other in the line for the subway.
Beginning in a second-floor sandwich shop, Rob constructs a map in which people are the primary landmarks. With him, we wind our way down a lane peppered with demolished houses — still occupied by their determined owners; pop in on a bickering couple from the Lost Generation; and become embedded in the lives of a flower shop owner and her left-behind children, now adults and living the consequences of a broken system. Street of Eternal Happiness is characterized by the journalistic excellence of Rob’s NPR Marketplace series where the story first saw daylight. At the same time, the book incorporates all the satisfying elements of a fictional page turner.
A favorite story thread involved the discovery of a box of antique letters, the record of a correspondence between a family based on the Street of Eternal Happiness and their father, interred in a 1950’s Maoist-era labor camp. Hardship and shame drive the narrative which ends up in New York City where the prisoner’s youngest son has immigrated to seek a larger and broader life.
A Land of Contradictions
When Xi Jinping became China’s ruler in 2013, his first speech was a call to the nation to realize “the Chinese dream. With millions who still remember the totalitarian Mao regime, it will be interesting to see how this will be interpreted going forward in this land of wild contradictions where old and new collide in some pretty amazing ways.
For example, in spite of its vast geography, China adheres to one time zone. By golly, if it’s 6 a.m. in Beijing, then it’s 6 a.m. EVERYWHERE! So, even though it is 3,000 miles from Shanghai to Kashgar (think New York to Los Angeles!), their citizens all leave for work at the same time — Kashgar citizens arrive at work just in time to watch the sunrise.
The cultural norm of children caring for elderly parents has been interrupted by the need for adult children to move to a city to find work. Occasionally senior citizens file suit against these children for elder abuse and neglect. Ironically, adult children may send their own offspring back “home” to be cared for by grandparents since children are ineligible for advanced educational opportunities if they do not live and attend elementary and secondary schools in their city of origin.
Taoism is China’s only indigenous religion, but a flood of philosophies have rushed into the vacuum. Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, a smattering of Marxism, and rampant materialism swirl into the mix, each one making just enough of an impact to bring confusion to a new generation of adults — sometimes referred to as Fenqing (“Angry Youth”). Any objectionable language in Street of Eternal Happiness comes from the lips of the old and the young, venting their frustration and anger over their inability to sort through so many webs created by the mix of tradition, practicality, honor and shame juxtaposed with desire and opportunity.
Two Very Different Mindsets
A burgeoning economy in a land that does not recognize or respect the notion of personal property is built on a foundation of sand. For the American raised to believe that independence is the ultimate good and that institutions should harness the economic power of the individual, it is difficult to understand the clan-orientation of Chinese culture. Whether based on the Communist Party or the family unit, China’s economy is geared toward a tendency to “corral dreams into a single national dream.”
For all our ability to communicate and assimilate technologically, China is still, in many ways, a land shrouded in mystery, and it’s clear that Rob Schmitz has some significant questions concerning the policies and practices of present day China. Even so, the tone of his writing does not breathe judgment into the room, but instead communicates the author’s heart of compassion and genuine interest in the individuals who surround him.
In many ways, this has been an indictment of my own insular ignorance around the lives that run parallel to my own in this rural zip code. I’m challenged to press into the stories behind the lives and to attempt a deeper understanding of the challenges caused by context and belief systems. Leaning in to heart beat of the story helps me to see that, in many ways, the differences that define all of us on this country road can be traced back to what we believe about the meaning of life and what we value and hope for as we go about the business of living our own unique versions of the American dream.
//
This book was provided by Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
It is reasonable to think that a book like Street of Eternal Happiness could be written about any stretch of road on the planet — even this country hill where white clapboards and long driveways are separated by acres of margin. Even here, I’m sure this winding road is lined on both sides with serial narratives. The difference is, of course, that I have not lived my way into the stories behind these thermal-pane windows as Rob Schmitz has managed to do on the two-mile expanse of real estate in Shanghai that he calls home.
Lined on both sides by plane trees left over from an historic season of French occupation, the street is shaded by tangled branches overhead. Its restaurants and shops testify to the economic boom Schmitz has chronicled in his role as NPR’s Shanghai correspondent. Skimming around the traffic and pedestrians on his bicycle, he discovered a way of understanding the economy and interpreting the city by meeting and knowing its people.
“Better City. Better Life.”
Shanghai was showcased as the model Chinese city during the 2010 world’s fair, and the slogan “The city . . . makes life more beautiful” showed up as a slogan on billboards everywhere, reminding citizens that China was on a trajectory of growth and improvement. A nation of contradictions, attaining the spot as the second largest economy in the world does not guarantee the cessation of spitting on the sidewalk or of total strangers shoving each other in the line for the subway.
Beginning in a second-floor sandwich shop, Rob constructs a map in which people are the primary landmarks. With him, we wind our way down a lane peppered with demolished houses — still occupied by their determined owners; pop in on a bickering couple from the Lost Generation; and become embedded in the lives of a flower shop owner and her left-behind children, now adults and living the consequences of a broken system. Street of Eternal Happiness is characterized by the journalistic excellence of Rob’s NPR Marketplace series where the story first saw daylight. At the same time, the book incorporates all the satisfying elements of a fictional page turner.
A favorite story thread involved the discovery of a box of antique letters, the record of a correspondence between a family based on the Street of Eternal Happiness and their father, interred in a 1950’s Maoist-era labor camp. Hardship and shame drive the narrative which ends up in New York City where the prisoner’s youngest son has immigrated to seek a larger and broader life.
A Land of Contradictions
When Xi Jinping became China’s ruler in 2013, his first speech was a call to the nation to realize “the Chinese dream. With millions who still remember the totalitarian Mao regime, it will be interesting to see how this will be interpreted going forward in this land of wild contradictions where old and new collide in some pretty amazing ways.
For example, in spite of its vast geography, China adheres to one time zone. By golly, if it’s 6 a.m. in Beijing, then it’s 6 a.m. EVERYWHERE! So, even though it is 3,000 miles from Shanghai to Kashgar (think New York to Los Angeles!), their citizens all leave for work at the same time — Kashgar citizens arrive at work just in time to watch the sunrise.
The cultural norm of children caring for elderly parents has been interrupted by the need for adult children to move to a city to find work. Occasionally senior citizens file suit against these children for elder abuse and neglect. Ironically, adult children may send their own offspring back “home” to be cared for by grandparents since children are ineligible for advanced educational opportunities if they do not live and attend elementary and secondary schools in their city of origin.
Taoism is China’s only indigenous religion, but a flood of philosophies have rushed into the vacuum. Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, a smattering of Marxism, and rampant materialism swirl into the mix, each one making just enough of an impact to bring confusion to a new generation of adults — sometimes referred to as Fenqing (“Angry Youth”). Any objectionable language in Street of Eternal Happiness comes from the lips of the old and the young, venting their frustration and anger over their inability to sort through so many webs created by the mix of tradition, practicality, honor and shame juxtaposed with desire and opportunity.
Two Very Different Mindsets
A burgeoning economy in a land that does not recognize or respect the notion of personal property is built on a foundation of sand. For the American raised to believe that independence is the ultimate good and that institutions should harness the economic power of the individual, it is difficult to understand the clan-orientation of Chinese culture. Whether based on the Communist Party or the family unit, China’s economy is geared toward a tendency to “corral dreams into a single national dream.”
For all our ability to communicate and assimilate technologically, China is still, in many ways, a land shrouded in mystery, and it’s clear that Rob Schmitz has some significant questions concerning the policies and practices of present day China. Even so, the tone of his writing does not breathe judgment into the room, but instead communicates the author’s heart of compassion and genuine interest in the individuals who surround him.
In many ways, this has been an indictment of my own insular ignorance around the lives that run parallel to my own in this rural zip code. I’m challenged to press into the stories behind the lives and to attempt a deeper understanding of the challenges caused by context and belief systems. Leaning in to heart beat of the story helps me to see that, in many ways, the differences that define all of us on this country road can be traced back to what we believe about the meaning of life and what we value and hope for as we go about the business of living our own unique versions of the American dream.
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This book was provided by Blogging for Books in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
June 13, 2016
The Street of Eternal Happiness provides its readers of various snapshots in 21st China. The writer and the narrator of our novel tells the stories of different people from all walks of life while giving a detailed background of Chinese history and events.
To be honest, sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed while reading this book. Far too much information, in too little time was being thrown at me. While I was trying to focus on the stories of the people Schmitz profiles in his book, I felt like all these events in Chinese history and etc. were being force-fed to me. This problem doesn’t occur in every single chapter of the book, but I still felt this caused the writing to feel a bit disjointed at times.
I appreciated that Schmitz puts a lot of effort in telling the “Street of Eternal Happiness” residents’ stories. He manages to translate their tales very well, especially since he speaks Chinese, and lets the readers hear their own voices. From the story of CK who overcomes many obstacles, to Old Chen’s constant fight for his home at Maggie Lane which has virtually been destroyed, and even Zhao who builds her own business to provide for her two sons, all of the people in the book manage to find some happiness in their life. The main theme that comes across is that you can find happiness in the smallest of places.
I also learned more about China through reading this book. It delves into the issue of China’s rigid structure and how that it’s a country that wants to advance, but doesn’t want to dispose of its old foundations. Some of the many things I thought that were interesting was the practice of “hukou” which ties Chinese families to their hometown, the concept of “gaokao” where if one studies hard enough they take control of their family’s destiny, and the history of migrant workers. The book manages to teach readers about many aspects of Chinese culture that they might be unfamiliar with.
Overall, this is quite a heavy book. I thought it would be a bit more lighthearted, but I guess I should have paid more attention its synopsis. I wasn’t in the reading mood for a heavy themed book so at the time I read this I think I couldn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. But it is still was an intriguing and informative read.
To be honest, sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed while reading this book. Far too much information, in too little time was being thrown at me. While I was trying to focus on the stories of the people Schmitz profiles in his book, I felt like all these events in Chinese history and etc. were being force-fed to me. This problem doesn’t occur in every single chapter of the book, but I still felt this caused the writing to feel a bit disjointed at times.
I appreciated that Schmitz puts a lot of effort in telling the “Street of Eternal Happiness” residents’ stories. He manages to translate their tales very well, especially since he speaks Chinese, and lets the readers hear their own voices. From the story of CK who overcomes many obstacles, to Old Chen’s constant fight for his home at Maggie Lane which has virtually been destroyed, and even Zhao who builds her own business to provide for her two sons, all of the people in the book manage to find some happiness in their life. The main theme that comes across is that you can find happiness in the smallest of places.
I also learned more about China through reading this book. It delves into the issue of China’s rigid structure and how that it’s a country that wants to advance, but doesn’t want to dispose of its old foundations. Some of the many things I thought that were interesting was the practice of “hukou” which ties Chinese families to their hometown, the concept of “gaokao” where if one studies hard enough they take control of their family’s destiny, and the history of migrant workers. The book manages to teach readers about many aspects of Chinese culture that they might be unfamiliar with.
Overall, this is quite a heavy book. I thought it would be a bit more lighthearted, but I guess I should have paid more attention its synopsis. I wasn’t in the reading mood for a heavy themed book so at the time I read this I think I couldn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. But it is still was an intriguing and informative read.
May 3, 2016
As a foreign correspondent reporting on Chinese economics, Rob Schmitz lives in Shanghai on a street named The Street of Eternal Happiness. As he gets to know the personal stories of the business owners that live on his street he learns about the history, economics, culture and frustrations of China. He follows several different people including a young entrepreneur who keeps pushing ahead at his sandwich shop even when he has no customers, a man who owns a snack business and his bickering wife who invests thousands of dollars in pyramid schemes, and a flower shop owner who escaped a abusive marriage to build her own life in Shanghai. In some ways this reminded me of Katherine Boo's Beyond the Beautiful Forever in that it follows one small area of people who have been at the mercy of their country's political and economic situation (though this book is much less bleak) but the author in this book is very present in the situation he writes about whereas Boo removes herself completely from the pages of the book. I have to say that I personally favor Schmitz's approach because there is definitely a reaction to his foreigness that affects the overall interactions. Overall, I really thought this was a well written, insightful look into a country that still remains somewhat a mystery. I received this book from Penguin's First to Read Program in exchange for an honest review.
July 25, 2016
An interesting overview of a very particular set of people on a very small street in a very, very large city in a huge country. I enjoyed some of the stories of the lives of these cooks, vagrants, activists, retirees, flower resellers, sandwich shop operators and accordion marketers, investing in insane dreams and forcing their children to get married, all while living in one-room hovels. Their lives seemed, at the end, similar to ours, despite their wretched histories of forced "re-education" camps (i.e. slave labor), famine, eviction, death, and disillusionment.
This re-reminded me how evil Mao is, and how his image and history too often gets whitewashed in America. I was also frequently irritated by the author's ham-handed attempts to insert his own opinion on matters, and by the entire mission of generalizing on the character of a nation by using a tiny subset of people. I kept flashing into how a Chinese person might describe all of America by focusing on a bunch of store owners on Figueroa St...it just wouldn't be possible.
However, I did get a good general feel of the "Chinese character." I think. I guess. Confucianism, tradition, food, family, TV, and MONEY MONEY MONEY. Also frequent bouts of meaninglessness, alienation, and persistent thoughts of suicide. Sounds like America to me.
This re-reminded me how evil Mao is, and how his image and history too often gets whitewashed in America. I was also frequently irritated by the author's ham-handed attempts to insert his own opinion on matters, and by the entire mission of generalizing on the character of a nation by using a tiny subset of people. I kept flashing into how a Chinese person might describe all of America by focusing on a bunch of store owners on Figueroa St...it just wouldn't be possible.
However, I did get a good general feel of the "Chinese character." I think. I guess. Confucianism, tradition, food, family, TV, and MONEY MONEY MONEY. Also frequent bouts of meaninglessness, alienation, and persistent thoughts of suicide. Sounds like America to me.
June 12, 2017
As started to review this book, I found myself choosing many more "bookshelves" than normal. Rob Schmitz introduces the reader to many facets of Chinese life and history through the lives of several families he met during his years as the China correspondent for the radio show Marketplace. China is a huge country with many internal migrants and a complicated bureaucracy. Much of the economy is "off the books."
Reading the book is like following Schmitz as he gossips with his neighbors. We see a China that is rushing forward, sometimes without a clear direction of where it wants to go. I understand China a bit better now, if only to know it is a lot more complicated and diverse than I thought. Rob Schmitz called the Chinese economy "....one of the most perplexing economies in the world to figure out." Still, he gave us a good look at parts of the economy through the day to day lives of his neighbors.
The book is an entertaining way to understand the whole country a bit better.
(I won this book through goodreads. The goodreads giveway program is a great way to take a chance on a book and read something new. )
Reading the book is like following Schmitz as he gossips with his neighbors. We see a China that is rushing forward, sometimes without a clear direction of where it wants to go. I understand China a bit better now, if only to know it is a lot more complicated and diverse than I thought. Rob Schmitz called the Chinese economy "....one of the most perplexing economies in the world to figure out." Still, he gave us a good look at parts of the economy through the day to day lives of his neighbors.
The book is an entertaining way to understand the whole country a bit better.
(I won this book through goodreads. The goodreads giveway program is a great way to take a chance on a book and read something new. )
December 31, 2016
I was assigned this book by my nephew, who is living in Shanghai this year and whom I am going to be visiting in a short time. It is a really interesting book told from an incredibly personal perspective. The author delves into the story of his closest neighbors and others like them whose lives provide a glimpse of the seismic changes taking place in modern China. He literally follows the histories of those who he knows from his years of living in Shanghai, and lets their stories be reflective of what has happened to China as a whole over the past 50 years. The result is a look at how, on issues ranging from urbanization to religion and the rise of the consumer class, everyday Chinese people are navigating the country’s political, economic and social currents. It is a daunting tale of bad timing, luck, ingenuity, gullibility, and the unfairness of the winds of fortune. Overall, everyone's boat has risen, but watching some boats rise much higher has the consequences that you would expect. I think that disenfranchised Americans would do well to read some of these stories, because some of the parallels are remarkable.
July 10, 2022
I think this is nice and there are some interesting characters that help illustrate the history of modern China. Of course, some of these people are more interesting than others and the juxtaposition can be sometimes annoying and sometimes refreshing. I guess I feel bad because some of my criticism towards this is that it wasn't illuminating enough or interesting enough with all of the history. On the other hand, that's what interviewing people and life is like; not everyone is fascinating or illuminating and this is nonetheless their stories.
I'm not sure how much I would recommend it to someone who didn't live in China or was fascinated by Chinese culture. Still, it won't be my go to book, but it was enjoyable learning about people's lives and I did get some cultural explanations out of it.
I'm not sure how much I would recommend it to someone who didn't live in China or was fascinated by Chinese culture. Still, it won't be my go to book, but it was enjoyable learning about people's lives and I did get some cultural explanations out of it.
April 1, 2024
长乐路。the street of eternal happiness. The street I used to live in around 6 years after Schmitz published it.
The book is not only a souvenir from my time in Shanghai it's also a very vivid story about a very typical street in Shanghai and its people. The story of the people catches you and I had the honor to even go there and see the corners and alleys he was writing about while I was reading the book. Through the book I felt very connected to the beautiful city of Shanghai and the amazing people who live there.
The book is not only a souvenir from my time in Shanghai it's also a very vivid story about a very typical street in Shanghai and its people. The story of the people catches you and I had the honor to even go there and see the corners and alleys he was writing about while I was reading the book. Through the book I felt very connected to the beautiful city of Shanghai and the amazing people who live there.
December 3, 2017
中国普通民众的梦想和政府宣传机器制造的虚幻的「中国梦」处于两个不同的时空，人们在现实中挣扎求存，当权政府则不遗余力地试图把人们编织进他们构筑的虚幻完美世界中。
May 22, 2019
Rob Schmitz wpadł na pomysł opowiedzenia o Chinach poprzez przedstawienie historii swoich sąsiadów, kilkorga zaledwie osób, zamieszkałych przy ulicy Wiecznej Szczęśliwości w Szanghaju. I tak poznajemy losy właściciela baru kanapkowego Chen Kai, sprzedającego cebulowe placki wujka Feng i jego żony cioci Fu, prowadzącej kwiaciarnię Zhao, rodziny niepoprawnego ideologicznie Wanga Ming oraz mieszkańców wyburzanego osiedla Maggie Lane: Kanga, Chena i Xie. Opowiedziane w książce historie dają niespodziewanie pełen obraz Chin, zarówno tych współczesnych, jak i komunistycznych pod rządami Mao. Rob Schmitz jest bardzo wnikliwym obserwatorem, uważnym słuchaczem i świetnym dziennikarzem, który doskonale potrafi oddać charaktery i emocje swoich bohaterów oraz klimat miejsc, o których pisze. Świetna i wciągająca lektura.
June 23, 2022
Bardzo, bardzo dobra rzecz. Autor, opowiadając historie życia mieszkańców jednej szanghajskiej ulicy, mimochodem przeprowadza czytelników przez meandry historii, polityki czy kultury Chin. Czyta się to świetnie, a jednocześnie spora dawka wiedzy wędruje do głowy. Mocne 4,5. Oczywiście polecam!
June 20, 2017
This made me extremely nostalgic for my birthplace, especially the whole "government is trying to boot me out of my house" aspect to the stories.
December 27, 2019
Reportarz o Chinach z perspektywy ludzi mieszkających na jednej ulicy w Szanghaju.
December 27, 2020
Great context, warmth, character and neighborhood descriptions. Unfortunately, and this may just be me, I felt constrained by the focus on a single street.
May 29, 2016
I read books like this to get a full understanding of the every day lives of people around the world, because it's the best way to really understand such countries and to see what they're really like. And this book does just that. It didn't hide the ugliness that surrounds the lives of the people that Rob Schmitz met and wrote about.
This book focuses on the lives of the people who happen to live on this road in Shanghai - past, present, and future. All these lives just so happen where shaped by Mao and events of the cultural revolution that follows. To this day, people are shaped by these events, young and old. As someone outside of China, I didn't realize to what degree it still effects the lives of the people in this country and how these people live today. It talked about the cultural revolution, laws in current day China that are often talked about on the internet (such as the law about China's youth being required to visit their parents monthly, but the posts never talking about the fact most youth move to the cities from rural China to get decent jobs and not talking about the great distances they have to travel to do just that, in one of the biggest countries in the world), arranged marriages, religion, 'left behind children', power of the government, and more. It was a need to know what happened to people who lost their homes, who continued to fight an uphill battle against China's current government that kept me reading.
I admit, I did put this book down after the first few chapters due to the fact I couldn't get into the writing of this book at first. It was only after taking a break and coming back and seeing it more as a news article than an exciting book that was written not to inform, but as entertainment. This book wasn't a fun read, but it was an interesting one. I often read it at night for this reason until I reached the last few chapters, in which I needed to simply know what happened next for these people who had grown on me and left me rooting for them, even if they're causes were impossible.
Surprisingly, this book helped me remember why I wanted to become a librarian (despite the hardships that they are now facing more than ever) due to one of these people who immigrated here and had found a home in his local library, which helped him learn English and get his GED. I honestly didn't see this happening when I picked up this book but I'm happy it had, when I had been shaken by things other librarians have written of late that they deal with daily. Because it showed the good that still comes from it, from the people you least except.
If you're looking for a nonfiction book about modern day China, then I do recommend this book, but only to warn that it talks about very difficult subjects such as suicide, abuse, injustice, starvation, and a lot of uncomfortable topics. It's interesting, though the writing is that of someone who writes for newspapers (the author actually writes about the Chinese economy, so it's understandable that he might not get how to make it more interesting, but he does try and get better). It should be remembered though that this was written by an outsider, though one that had lived there for ten years. He does point this out throughout the book, which is an improvement, but such things are best said by those from there. It helps his case that he doesn't talk about his own life except for small sections in the story. But this being the case, it might be better to read something from someone that is a native to compare this with.
This book focuses on the lives of the people who happen to live on this road in Shanghai - past, present, and future. All these lives just so happen where shaped by Mao and events of the cultural revolution that follows. To this day, people are shaped by these events, young and old. As someone outside of China, I didn't realize to what degree it still effects the lives of the people in this country and how these people live today. It talked about the cultural revolution, laws in current day China that are often talked about on the internet (such as the law about China's youth being required to visit their parents monthly, but the posts never talking about the fact most youth move to the cities from rural China to get decent jobs and not talking about the great distances they have to travel to do just that, in one of the biggest countries in the world), arranged marriages, religion, 'left behind children', power of the government, and more. It was a need to know what happened to people who lost their homes, who continued to fight an uphill battle against China's current government that kept me reading.
I admit, I did put this book down after the first few chapters due to the fact I couldn't get into the writing of this book at first. It was only after taking a break and coming back and seeing it more as a news article than an exciting book that was written not to inform, but as entertainment. This book wasn't a fun read, but it was an interesting one. I often read it at night for this reason until I reached the last few chapters, in which I needed to simply know what happened next for these people who had grown on me and left me rooting for them, even if they're causes were impossible.
Surprisingly, this book helped me remember why I wanted to become a librarian (despite the hardships that they are now facing more than ever) due to one of these people who immigrated here and had found a home in his local library, which helped him learn English and get his GED. I honestly didn't see this happening when I picked up this book but I'm happy it had, when I had been shaken by things other librarians have written of late that they deal with daily. Because it showed the good that still comes from it, from the people you least except.
If you're looking for a nonfiction book about modern day China, then I do recommend this book, but only to warn that it talks about very difficult subjects such as suicide, abuse, injustice, starvation, and a lot of uncomfortable topics. It's interesting, though the writing is that of someone who writes for newspapers (the author actually writes about the Chinese economy, so it's understandable that he might not get how to make it more interesting, but he does try and get better). It should be remembered though that this was written by an outsider, though one that had lived there for ten years. He does point this out throughout the book, which is an improvement, but such things are best said by those from there. It helps his case that he doesn't talk about his own life except for small sections in the story. But this being the case, it might be better to read something from someone that is a native to compare this with.
September 11, 2016
This was a REALLY good book. Schmitz is a journalist who spent several years living in Shanghai along a road that is best translated into English as the Street of Eternal Happiness. There he chronicles the lives of some people who live or work along the street that he knows. You primarily learn about the people in the community, but that also serves as a window into modern China - how it's changing, what advantages it has, what problems it has, how the past influences it (or doesn't influence it).
The chapters bounce between five families. There is flower shop owner Zhao, who struck out on her decades ago leaving her kids behind in order to help provide for her kids. There is the eternally squabbling couple of Uncle Feng and Auntie Fu. They run a pancake shop while she puts all her money in get-rich quick scams, and their relationship appears to keep worsening. There are the people of Maggie Lane - residents (illegally) forced from their homes by the state to make room for new, more profitable construction. They fight to preserve their homes, but the system is rigged against them. There is the family from the box of letters he finds in a pawnshop. The letters are from the Cultural Revolution and afterwards and show how that era tore the family apart. The family lived near where Schmitz lived - and he is even able to eventually contact one member. Finally, there is my favorite - sandwich shop owner CK. Born in the 1980s, he had a rough family upbringing but was able to take advantage of the Deng-era reforms to make a profitable accordion sales business - which let him start the sandwich shop in Shanghai.
The characters all vividly come to life, and you get a sense for China as a whole. The Mao-era projects were entirely disastrous and left their mark on many in the book. While the current era works much better, there are still problems of corruption, lack of a real legal system, and difficulties caused by official residences. Overall, a really great book.
The chapters bounce between five families. There is flower shop owner Zhao, who struck out on her decades ago leaving her kids behind in order to help provide for her kids. There is the eternally squabbling couple of Uncle Feng and Auntie Fu. They run a pancake shop while she puts all her money in get-rich quick scams, and their relationship appears to keep worsening. There are the people of Maggie Lane - residents (illegally) forced from their homes by the state to make room for new, more profitable construction. They fight to preserve their homes, but the system is rigged against them. There is the family from the box of letters he finds in a pawnshop. The letters are from the Cultural Revolution and afterwards and show how that era tore the family apart. The family lived near where Schmitz lived - and he is even able to eventually contact one member. Finally, there is my favorite - sandwich shop owner CK. Born in the 1980s, he had a rough family upbringing but was able to take advantage of the Deng-era reforms to make a profitable accordion sales business - which let him start the sandwich shop in Shanghai.
The characters all vividly come to life, and you get a sense for China as a whole. The Mao-era projects were entirely disastrous and left their mark on many in the book. While the current era works much better, there are still problems of corruption, lack of a real legal system, and difficulties caused by official residences. Overall, a really great book.
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