Oracle Bones melds the multiple personalities and tangled story lines into a kaleidoscopic vision of a country surging toward an uncertain future The society that emerges from its pages is one buffeted by conflicting currents, confident and yet deeply insecure, and haunted by its recent past.

Acentury ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people. In a narrative that gracefully moves between the ancient and the present, the East and the West, Hessler captures the soul of a country that is undergoing a momentous change before our eyes.

Author's Note 

  PART ONE

Artifact A: THE UNDERGROUND CITY

The Middleman

Artifact B: THE WRITTEN WORLD

The Voice of America

The Broken Bridge

Artifact C: THE WALL

The Overnight City

  PART TWO

Starch

Hollywood

Artifact D: THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE

At Night You're Not Lonely

Immigration

The Courtyard

Artifact E: THE BRONZE HEAD

Anniversary

Sichuanese

  PART THREE

Artifact F: THE BOOK

Asylum

Artifact G: THE UNCRACKED BONE

The Games

Sand

Artifact H: THE WORD

Translation

Flags

Straight to Video

Artifact I: THE HORSE

Wonton Western

Election

  PART FOUR

Chinatown

Artifact J: THE CRITICISM

State Visit

Artifact K: THE LOST ALPHABETS

Encapsulate Prime

Artifact L: THE MISPRINTED CHARACTER

Patton's Tomb

Artifact Z: THE SOLD WORDS

Tea

  Sources 

  Acknowledgments

  Index