Peter Hessler
Encyclopedia
Peter Hessler is an American writer and journalist
. He is the author of three acclaimed books about China and has contributed numerous articles to The New Yorker
and National Geographic, among other publications. In 2011, Hessler received a MacArthur Foundation
"genius grant" in recognition and encouragement of his "keenly observed accounts of ordinary people responding to the complexities of life in such rapidly changing societies as Reform Era China."
and graduated from Hickman High School
in 1988. He went on to study English and creative writing at Princeton University
, where, during his junior year, he took John McPhee
's renowned writing seminar, which Hessler describes as a "revelation." Hessler graduated in 1992 and won a Rhodes Scholarship
to study English language and literature at the University of Oxford
.
The summer before graduating from Princeton, Hessler worked as a researcher for the Kellogg Foundation in southeastern Missouri. He wrote an extensive ethnography about a small town called Sikeston, which was published in the Journal for Applied Anthropology.
in 1996 and was sent to China for two years to teach English at a teachers college in Fuling, a small city near the Yangtze River
in Sichuan Province. He later worked in China as freelance writer for numerous publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the South China Morning Post, and National Geographic. Hessler joined The New Yorker
as a staff writer in 2000 and served as foreign correspondent for the same publication until 2007.
He is best known for his three books on China. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001) is a Kiriyama Prize
-winning book about his experiences in two years as a Peace Corps
volunteer teaching English in China
. Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present (2006) features a series of parallel episodes featuring his former students, a Uighur dissident who fled to the U.S., and the archaeologist Chen Mengjia
who committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution
. His third book, Country Driving: A Journey from Farm to Factory (2010), is a record of Hessler's journeys driving a rented car from rural northern Chinese counties to the factory towns of southern China, and the significant economic and industrial growth taking place there. While his stories are about ordinary people's lives in China and are not motivated by politics, they nevertheless touch upon political issues or the lives of people who encountered problems during the Cultural Revolution
, one example being that of the story of the archaeologist Chen Mengjia
and his wife, poet and translator Zhao Luorui
(a.k.a. Lucy Chao).
Hessler left China in 2007 and has continued to publish articles in The New Yorker
on topics including the Peace Corps in Nepal and small towns in Colorado.
In October 2011, Hessler and his family moved to Cairo
, where he will cover the Middle East for The New Yorker
. In an interview upon being named a MacArthur Fellow in September 2011, Hessler expressed his intention to spend much of the next year learning Arabic. He has stated that he envisions spending five or six years in the Middle East.
. They are the parents of twin daughters born in 2010.
Hessler's Chinese name is (Hé Wěi).
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He is the author of three acclaimed books about China and has contributed numerous articles to The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and National Geographic, among other publications. In 2011, Hessler received a MacArthur Foundation
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Based in Chicago but supporting non-profit organizations that work in 60 countries, MacArthur has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978...
"genius grant" in recognition and encouragement of his "keenly observed accounts of ordinary people responding to the complexities of life in such rapidly changing societies as Reform Era China."
Early life
Peter Hessler grew up in Columbia, MissouriColumbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
and graduated from Hickman High School
Hickman High School
David Henry Hickman High School is a coeducational public secondary school in Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving students in grades 10–12. The school is one of three high schools in the Columbia Public School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes...
in 1988. He went on to study English and creative writing at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where, during his junior year, he took John McPhee
John McPhee
John Angus McPhee is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, widely considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction....
's renowned writing seminar, which Hessler describes as a "revelation." Hessler graduated in 1992 and won a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
to study English language and literature at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
The summer before graduating from Princeton, Hessler worked as a researcher for the Kellogg Foundation in southeastern Missouri. He wrote an extensive ethnography about a small town called Sikeston, which was published in the Journal for Applied Anthropology.
Career
Hessler joined the Peace CorpsPeace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
in 1996 and was sent to China for two years to teach English at a teachers college in Fuling, a small city near the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
in Sichuan Province. He later worked in China as freelance writer for numerous publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the South China Morning Post, and National Geographic. Hessler joined The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
as a staff writer in 2000 and served as foreign correspondent for the same publication until 2007.
He is best known for his three books on China. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001) is a Kiriyama Prize
Kiriyama Prize
The Kiriyama Prize is an international literary award given to books which will encourage greater understanding of and among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim and South Asia...
-winning book about his experiences in two years as a Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteer teaching English in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present (2006) features a series of parallel episodes featuring his former students, a Uighur dissident who fled to the U.S., and the archaeologist Chen Mengjia
Chen Mengjia
Chen Mengjia was a Chinese scholar and archaeologist. At the height of his career Chen was Professor of Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He was married to Chinese poet and translator Zhao Luorui...
who committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. His third book, Country Driving: A Journey from Farm to Factory (2010), is a record of Hessler's journeys driving a rented car from rural northern Chinese counties to the factory towns of southern China, and the significant economic and industrial growth taking place there. While his stories are about ordinary people's lives in China and are not motivated by politics, they nevertheless touch upon political issues or the lives of people who encountered problems during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, one example being that of the story of the archaeologist Chen Mengjia
Chen Mengjia
Chen Mengjia was a Chinese scholar and archaeologist. At the height of his career Chen was Professor of Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He was married to Chinese poet and translator Zhao Luorui...
and his wife, poet and translator Zhao Luorui
Zhao Luorui
-Biography:Luorui published since the early 1940s. She gained a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1948 and returned to teach English and North American literature at Peking University, Beijing. She was married to Chen Mengjia, an archaeologist and expert on oracle bones...
(a.k.a. Lucy Chao).
Hessler left China in 2007 and has continued to publish articles in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
on topics including the Peace Corps in Nepal and small towns in Colorado.
In October 2011, Hessler and his family moved to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, where he will cover the Middle East for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. In an interview upon being named a MacArthur Fellow in September 2011, Hessler expressed his intention to spend much of the next year learning Arabic. He has stated that he envisions spending five or six years in the Middle East.
Personal
Hessler is married to journalist and writer Leslie T. ChangLeslie T. Chang
Leslie T. Chang is a Chinese-American journalist and the author of Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China . A former China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, she has been described as "an insightful interpreter of a society in flux."-Factory Girls:In response to the...
. They are the parents of twin daughters born in 2010.
Hessler's Chinese name is (Hé Wěi).
Books
- Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, Harper, New York, 2010.
- Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present, HarperCollins, New York, 2006.
- River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Harper, New York, 2001. Awarded the Kiriyama PrizeKiriyama PrizeThe Kiriyama Prize is an international literary award given to books which will encourage greater understanding of and among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim and South Asia...
.