A Distant Place

This unique collection of student essays is the result of an American teacher's fascination with the content and quality of stories submitted in his English composition classes at Qingdao University in Qingdao, Shandong, P. R. China. The best and brightest of the country's youth detail family traditions and customs that are rapidly disappearing. Like a time capsule, some stories preserve the history of war, famine, poverty and deprivation. Others describe the personal experiences of childhood, family relationships, school activities, the difficulty of growing up, the pressure of studying to pass the university entrance examination and of optimism when contemplating the future. Essays depicting situations of great seriousness are balanced with those reflecting childhood innocence and humor.