Peter Fleming One's Company

Peter Fleming was born in in 1907 and educated at Eton and Oxford. In the 1930's he was a special travel correspondent for The Times, and he subsequently served with distinction in World War II. He is not as well known as his older brother Ian Fleming, author of the Bond books, nonetheless he shares something of the courage and daring of one of his brother's characters, and makes for a superb guide in the wilderness of nationalist China.

Littered with terse observations on the Chinese character, like the ubiquitous 'commission' or 'squeeze' extorted with any transaction, or the 'face' of bargaining, the absence of puncutuality, this travel writing is an entertaining and comic read for newcomers to China. It contains elements of today's culture and daily experience, that far from being unique, were apparent in the 1930's and, as Fleming hints, were probably there long, long before.

It is remarkable that Fleming was 26 when the book was written, and even younger when he was taking his notes at the nationalists' front in 1931. His knowledge of the military and his apperceptions on the state of red China are surprisingly accurate and show an uncanny maturity.

As special correspondent to the Times, Fleming finds himself interviewing the last emperor of China, Pu Yi, and even the Generalissimo, Chiang Kai Shek. His observations of these great characters, descriptions of their faces, their moods and personas, make this invaluable reading to those who seek to understand more of the personalities of revolutionary China.

Peter Fleming is in the main a travel writer, and the book is obsessively journalistic at times, failing to develop relationships with his sometime companions. Fleming is a fascinating character, and occasionally draws the reader into his mind with a heartfelt apercus or snippet of nostalgia.

There are times when the subject or target of the Chapter is uncertain, it is highly descriptive and picturesque, yet lacks contiguity. It is in these parts where we become uncertain of the narrator's motivation for each destination, and reminded that we are kept at arms length to his purpose with a vague notion, like they are off to hunt bandits, or investigate Red China.

"One's Company", published in 1934, is not Peter Fleming's most well known, nor is it his only work in China. "News of Tartary" is another selection that investigates Xinjiang province in the late thirties. Both are excellent travel titles for sinophile bookshelves.