Iron and Silk

A detailed Summary of Iron and Silk

Salzman, M., (1986). Iron and Silk. New York: Random House. This book was given to me by a good friend who knew that I had an interest in Asia. I chose to read it because it was a true story and was told that it was a good read.

The author travels to China as an English teacher for the Hunan Medical School. There he stayed for two years picking up many anecdotes along the way. The author already had spent a large amount of his life studying Chinese language and the martial arts. However, when he arrives in China he meets teachers who have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting a particular art or skill, whether it be martial arts or calligraphy.

Mark Salzman was perfecting his calligraphy skills and as weeks had passed he began to make progress. He was getting tired of the models and wanted to try something new. When he told Hai Bin,(his teacher), he frowned and said,"Some people spend their entire lives researching a single model. You should be willing to s

I found that my reading skills vary like a roller coaster. I had days when I found my reading to be very choppy and I had to remind myself to see the words in the book as speech and not words in a book,(if that makes any sense). My vocabulary was up to par and the book was an easy read. I began to use my speed reading techniques without discomfort near the last few chapters in the book.

pend a year on this one." This is an example of the dedication and perseverance these men have towards their chosen artform or skill. Another example of this theme, was Mark's Wushu teacher, Pan, who punched a fifty pound plate of steel up to ten thousand times a day. Mark's relentless practicing of the many forms of Wushu was influenced by Pan.

in a country with so many people there was so little freedom. The government controlled everything from the railroad to the Rat Collection Office to whether families and friends could mourn for lost loved-ones. Mark found this way of life tr

Some common words found in the essay are:
Iron Silk, Mark Salzman's, Medical School, Hai Binhis, Pan Salzman, Mark's Wushu, Collection Office, Random House, Mark Salzman, martial arts, China English, mark salzman's, entire lives, chosen artform, found reading, dedication perseverance, iron silk, people china, rarely able,

Approximate Word count = 663
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Iron and Silk

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