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[SillySally]

I highly recommend this movie to everyone, old and new, teaching EFL in China.

This is the story of one of the first foreign devils to come to China to teach English. This movie will show you how much China has changed in the past 20+ years for us foreign devils and how much it really has not changed at all.

This is also a great film to use for conversation or cross-cultural classes.

It can be purchased on line. Do a Google search.

http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/012236169420IE
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6302194245/104-5041460-5431927?v=glance

[SillySally]

User Reviews:
Terrific Movie of Non-Actors
The thing that I love the most about this movie is how much it is populated with non-actors. When you read the credits at the end you find that a lot of the actors were regular folks that somehow made it into the movie. And it shows. Certainly their performances are not polished smooth, but that makes the movie so much more genuine.
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A Travel Adventure with a Spiritual Center
Mark Salzman's adventures while teaching English as a second language to medical students in rural China are retold with remarkable detail. Each tale reads like a proverb of right living. Salzman's writing is a testament to the many lessons he learned from the special relationships he developed behind the cold wall of communism and socialism. In Iron & Silk westerners catch a glimpse of the real people of China.

This is more than a book of travel adventures, it is a spiritual journey of one man's search for meaning in the ordinary, only to find that the ordinary is often what makes life extraordinary. Here East meets West on the playing field of daily living, with the West always looking outward for more, while the East focuses more inwardly. In Iron & Silk the reader is able to understand the adage, less is more. After finishing the book I found myself wanting more, nonetheless.
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A "Non-Ugly American" in China.
To be a well-rounded Sensei, I must continually grow in knowledge as well as technique. To that end, I've been reading a number of books about the martial arts. One part of that genre are the autobiographical accounts of Budo practitioners. I want to gain deeper insight through what others have experienced, learned, and how they changed as a result of martial arts training. "Iron and Silk" is one such tale, written by a man who studied Kung Fu in the USA during the 70s and Wushu in China during the 80s. At a young age, Mark Salzman developed a deep appreciation for Chinese culture, martial arts included (as documented in his other fine non-fiction book "Lost in Place"). "Iron and Silk" chronicles Mr. Salzman's adventures during a two-year stint as an English teacher in China. This book is an easy and fun read, a testament to Mr. Salzman's excellent, flowing writing style and storytelling ability.

Mark Salzman is probably one of the most unique and resourceful contemporary individuals I've had the pleasure to read about. He's always ready to try something new, or step out and build relationships with total strangers. Even during adolescence, his passion for learning, combined with a good work ethic, created many possibilities. His youthful fascination with Chinese culture led to acceptance at Yale, where he majored in Chinese literature. While there, he mastered Mandarin Chinese, which opened a unique door. Despite his obsession with all things Chinese, he had no desire to see China. But in his words, he "did need a job," so he applied for and got a position teaching English at Hunan Medical College in Changsha. Funny how great experiences can come from such pragmatic decisions.

I should state that Mr. Salzman has a somewhat different perspective on the martial arts compared to, say, C.W. Nicol or Robert Twigger. Yes, he shares their fascination with the Budo. But instead of being an all-consuming focus, the fighting arts are just one part of Mr. Salzman's multifaceted life. I wouldn't call him a dilettante, but he didn't seem to have the same level of passion towards the martial Way that the other two men possessed. For example, Mr. Salzman obtains Wushu tutelage from some talented (and even famous) Chinese instructors. However, he isn't on a quest to tame his inner rage (Sensei Nicol), prove himself as a man (Mr. Twigger), or even earn a black belt. Mr. Salzman appears to already possess a solid sense of self, so Wushu is merely another interest. Instead of being a high-stakes means to an urgently desired end, Wushu is one of many activities he enjoys and learns from, like playing the cello, learning Chinese calligraphy, and simply getting to know the Chinese themselves. If I had any issue with "Iron and Silk," it was the absence of any overt character flaws on the part of Mr. Salzman, along with his ability to do just about everything well. Indeed, the Chinese nicknamed him "Huoshenxian" - an immortal in human form - because he was so "different," and made people happy all of the time. I guess I wish I was more like him, or at least knew more people created in his mold.

At any rate, the implied benefit of being centered and having an eclectic approach to life is a running theme in "Iron and Silk." Along those lines, it's more Chinese travelogue than serious immersion into martial arts study. Travel gets me out of my normal introverted shell, and Mr. Salzman's adventures remind me how much I enjoy that practice. He built many interesting relationships just by being open to possibility and respectful towards the various Chinese he encountered. Of course, the Communist government during that period was somewhat of an obstacle, but in most cases he was able to get around them quite nicely, often in a humorous and good-natured manner.

I read "Iron and Silk" in conjunction with "Angry White Pyjamas" by Robert Twigger and "Moving Zen" by C.W. Nicol to get multiple perspectives on martial arts training. It's interesting to compare and contrast Mr. Salzman's 70s and 80s presuppositions and experiences with those of Sensei Nicol in the early 60s and Mr Twigger in the 90s. Each book is a fascinating snapshot of a particular era, culture, and martial art style (Wushu, Aikido, and Karate). But despite their different philosophies, motivations, and levels of immersion, all of these men achieved personal growth and maturation through persevering within the martial arts. I found that to be inspiring, and so I recommend all three books (along with "Lost in Place" for insight into Mr. Salzman's formative years).

[Mideatoo]

I can burn DVD here, so why not sending it to me please?

[KES]