University of Virginia Library

Peking Weatherman

expectations from the
trip-which seemed strangely
out of character to me. Usually
reporters are more prone to
indulge in the glamour of Big
News. But for some reason,
they were being awfully
guarded about their reactions
to the Chinese people they
met. "They were only being
friendly and courteous because
they had to," was a recurring
motif in the reports. This may
very well be true. But, after all,
how much could we honestly
expect them to love us? As far
as our government policy is
concerned their country does
not even exist. Maybe the
interviewees felt a little
intimidated by the presence of
probing American reporters
after 23 years of being
convinced of our animosity.

But even American
newsmen seemed to maintain a
profound awe of Chairman
Mao. Perhaps the most
insidious man in the world,
perhaps a harbinger of the new
order, Mao was not "just
another Chinaman." The only
hint of his vulnerability to
American journalism came in
the much-deserved harsh
criticism of his wife's ballet.
While pleasant sounding and a
little bit intriguing in an exotic
sense, it appeared to be just as
bad as the press said it was.
Otherwise, there was
noticeably little humor or
condescension in anyone's
comments regarding
Mao-tse-Tung.

The cameramen, whoever
they were, displayed the talent
Americans take for granted.
China looked as exotic to me
via COMSAT as it does in
travelogues and old movies.
(No doubt the cameramen
looked pretty exotic to the
people in front of the
cameras.)

As the last of the coverage
ended, we were left with our
own collections of quips,
anecdotes, special reports, and
commentaries to try to edit
and transform into lasting
impressions. Whether or not
the trip is an epochal event is
debatable. Some will besmirch
the whole thing as politics.
Time will be the judge of that.
But if you followed the affair
on your tube, and if history
does judge it important, you
probably will be the better for
having Reasoner, Cronkite, et
al in your living room all those
late nights last week. Just hope
the commentary will be a bit
more germane when the
president travels to the moon
next spring. Even Harry
Reasoner could not make
much conversation about the
lunar weather.