THROUGH THE DRAGON’S MOUTH:
Journeys into the Yangzi Gorges – Second Edition
Ben Thomson Cowles
On the first edition . .
.
“Four hundred million
Chinese live in proximity to, and are influenced by, the Yangzi River. Just
after World War II [Cowles] traveled the gorges in junks, along with a
missionary, a military pilot, and a Chinese university instructor. These were
the days when trackers in harness pulled the boats upstream, straining along
narrow riverside paths, chanting to the beats of drummers. In recent years,
Cowles has returned several times, but on the now-popular tourist boats, to
contrast his experiences. His descriptions are strong, as are his knowledgeable
musings on Chinese history and culture. He writes alarmingly of the dam now
under construction and the enormous toll it will take in human and ecological
terms. Far more than a travel narrative, this is a major book on an important
topic and is recommended for all libraries.”
— starred
review in Library Journal
“Rivers - and water in
general - possess properties that are both constant and constantly in flux.
This paradox is certainly not lost on Cowles in his account of traveling along
China’s Yangzi River and, in particular, through its famous Three Gorges. His
first excursion took place in 1946, and he took three subsequent trips half a
century later. On the surface, the book features Cowles’s impressions of the
river’s majestic beauty, essential links to Chinese culture, rugged denizens,
and a controversial ‘mega-dam’ project that threatens to reshape them all…the
philosophical conclusions he draws are earnestly argued, whether one is
inclined to go against them or be swept away.”
— Publishers Weekly
“The present mega dam
construction in the Yangzi’s Gorges gives special timeliness to Ben Cowles’
intrepid two-way journey by junk. Cowles weaves a rich tapestry, describing the
lives of the common people who daily pit their frail craft against the river
dragon. We learn much about China in 1946, when the ruling Guomindang seemed to
falter and the prospect of civil war with the Communists loomed.”
— John S. Service, formerly
U.S. State Department, China Desk
“Dr. Cowles’ formative
years were spent in China and he brings his intimate appreciation of Chinese
customs to this acute understanding of the multifaceted Chinese psyche… The
account of his 1946 journey occurs before the river was tamed by man. The book
is rich in Chinese folklore and philosophy.”
— Audrey Ronning Topping, Photojournalist and author of Splendors and Sorrow of Tibet
Ben Thomson Cowles, raised in Swatow, South China, earned degrees
from Haverford College and Union Theological Seminary, University of
California, Berkeley, and University of Southern California. At the end of
World War II, he served under the Presbyterian Board of Ecumenical Missions in
China and taught at Nanking University.
He was chairman of the Refugee Relief Project outside the city wall
during the winter of 1947. A clinical psychologist and an ordained Presbyterian
minister, he continues to supervise psychology interns.
EastBridge The Missionary Enterprise in Asia 2004 367 pages illustrations, bibliography
ISBN 1-891936-14-x (pb) $29.95