In October 1, 1993, National Day in China, a couple in their early seventies had dinner at the McDonald's restaurant on Wangfujing Street. They had been invited to celebrate the holiday at McDonald's by their daughter and son-in-law, who spent almost 200 yuan for the dinner, an unimaginably large sum in the view of the elderly couple. The experience of eating in a foreign restaurant struck them as so significant they had their picture taken in front of the Golden Arches and sent it to their hometown newspaper, along with another photo they had had taken on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square--celebrating the first National Day of the People's Republic of China. Their story was later published by the newspaper, with the two contrasting photographs. In the 1949 photo, the two young people appear in identical white shirts, standing slightly apart, their thin faces betraying undernourishment in hard times. In the 1993 photo, a portly woman proudly holds her husband's left arm, and the two are healthy looking and fashionably dressed. They took a taxi to McDonald's and, while crossing Tiananmen Square, they remembered how poor they had been in 1949 and realized how much China has changed in the interim.

At first glance, this news story reads like the typical propaganda skit that one still finds in official Chinese media, with its constant play on "recalling the bitterness of old China and thinking of the sweetness of the new society" (yiku sitian). However, in this case it is McDonald's--a capitalist, transnational enterprise--that symbolizes the "sweetness" of current life. What is even more interesting, the headline of the story reads: "Forty-Four years: From Tu to Yang." The terms tu and yang have been paired concepts in the everyday discourse of Chinese political culture since the nineteenth century. In common usage, tu means rustic, uncouth, and backward, whereas yang refers to anything foreign (particularly Western), fashionable, and quite often, progressive. The juxtaposition of these common terms demonstrates how McDonald's and its foreign (yang) food have become synonymous with progressive changes that make life more enjoyable in contemporary China.

In the eyes of Beijing residents, McDonald's represents Americana and the promise of modernization. McDonald's highly efficient service and management, its spotless dining environment, and its fresh ingredients have been featured repeatedly by the Chinese media as exemplars of modernity. McDonald's strict quality control, especially regarding potatoes, became a hot topic of discussion in many major newspapers, again with the emphasis on McDonald's scientific management as reflected in the company's unwavering standards. According to one commentator who published a series of articles on McDonald's, the company's global success can be traced to its highly standardized procedures of food production, its scientific recipes, and its modern management techniques. As the title of his article ("Seeing the World from McDonald's") suggests, each restaurant represents a microcosm of the transnational, so much so that, according to another article by the same author, many American youths prefer to work at McDonald's before they leave home to seek work elsewhere. The experience of working at McDonald's, he continues, prepares American youth for any kind of job in a modern society.

Other news items associate the success of transnational food chains with their atmosphere of equality and democracy. No matter who you are, according to one of these reports, you will be treated with warmth and friendliness in the fast food restaurants; hence many people patronize McDonald's to experience a moment of equality. This argument may sound a bit odd to Western readers, but it makes sense in the context of Chinese culinary culture. When I asked my Beijing informants about the equality factor, they all pointed out that banquets in Chinese restaurants are highly competitive: people try to outdo one another by offering the most expensive dishes and alcoholic beverages. It is typical for the host at a banquet to worry that customers at neighboring tables might be enjoying better dishes, thus causing him or her to lose face. To avoid such embarrassment, many people prefer to pay the extra fees necessary to rent a private room within a restaurant. Such competition does not exist at McDonald's, where the menu is limited, the food is standardized, and every customer receives a set of items that are more or less equal in quality. There is no need to worry that one's food might be lower in status than a neighbor's. For people without a lot of money but who need to host a meal, McDonald's has become the best alternative.

During the autumn of 1994 I conducted an ethnographic survey of consumer behavior in Beijing. I discovered that the stories commonly told about McDonald's have taken on a surreal, even mythic tone. For instance, it is believed among a number of Beijing residents that the potato used by McDonald's is a cube-shaped variety. A 20-year old woman working at McDonald's told me in all seriousness about McDonald's secret, cube-shaped potatoes, the key to the corporation's worldwide success. She was also fascinated by the foreign terms she had learned in the short time she had worked there, terms such as weisi (waste), jishi (cheese), and delaisu (drive-through). The first two are straight transliterations of the English terms, but the third is both a transliteration and a free translation: it means "to get it quickly." These half-Chinese, half-English terms are used by employees and customers alike, making their experiences at McDonald's restaurants exotic, American, and to a certain extent, modern.

In this connection the ways Beijing McDonald's presents itself in public are also worth noting. By the autumn of 1994, McDonald's had not yet placed any advertisements on Beijing television. According to the General Manager, it was pointless to advertise McDonald's on television because Chinese commercials, unlike their counterparts in the West, appear only during the interval between programs. After watching one program, audiences tend to switch to another channel, which means that advertisements have little chance of being seen. Newspapers and popular magazines were regarded as a better way to present McDonald's public image. In the Beijing region, McDonald's relied on Berson-Marsteller, a transnational public relations company, to deal with the Chinese news media. The main source of information about McDonald's in China is a short booklet that sketches the history of the American-based corporation and its famous business philosophy, QSC & V, or quality, service, cleanliness, and value. The absence of what might be called hard news has led Chinese reporters to repeat McDonald's corporate philosophy of QSC & V--which, incidentally, reinforces the Chinese government's promotion of upgrading and modernizing the local business environment.

Part of the Time-Life Series Myth and Mankind, this book tells the story of the Chinese from Prehistoric times to the present Communist regime. China is a diverse land with many different groups of people and many different beliefs. Some people, such as Mao and Confucius, are not associated with the supernatural, but rather with philosophy. Confucius, for example, taught self-discipline and duty. He has had a great influence on Chinese society even up to the present day. Mao, the country's first communist leader, used stories about peasant outlaws to illustrate the struggles of communism. However, while stories about struggles against tyrants were accepted, other old tales were put aside.

Ancestor worship was one of the first religions of the Chinese. They believed that happy ancestors (those sacrificed to) would bring them good fortune. Next came Daoism, which was a mystical religion. This developed over a long period of time, taking up many other superstitions and beliefs from the Chinese people. After that, Buddhism came from India on the silk road. Most people worshipped in both the Daoist and Buddhist ways and blended the deities and beliefs in their minds. Confucius influenced the rules and laws that people followed in their daily lives.

Many ancient Chinese medical beliefs are still in use today. In fact, these have spread around the world. Among these are acupuncture, Tai Ji, and Feng Shui. These three practices all centre around belief in the power of Qi, or life-force. An imbalance in Qi is believed to be the cause of sickness. Acupuncture is the inserting of needles into certain parts of the body to put pressure on meridians, or the channels of the body where Qi flows. Tai-Ji is based on the movements of animals and is considered helpful in relaxation. Feng Shui is a way of arranging the environment around one to keep the Qi that is present but not to allow it to stagnate. Feng Shui is popular among designers and interior decorators.

Among many Chinese who do not live on mainland China, the myths and religious beliefs are still practised. Chinese New Year, for example, is an event celebrated by Chinese communities in places like London and Los Angeles. New Age followers have discovered the Yi Jing, an ancient divination book.

Ever since the death of Mao, religion on mainland China has revived. On New Year, people clean their homes and make offerings to the Kitchen God. Kitchen God is the deity who is believed to report the deeds of the household to Heaven. An offering is believed to bring a favourable report. On Qing Ming, graves are now renovated in honour of the ancestors interred there. Also, closed temples have been reopened.

This is a beautifully illustrated book full of colour photos and ancient and modern pictures depicting myths. The sidebars help in better understanding the main text by telling the full stories of the myths that are being discussed. The panoramic view of the Forbidden City is spectacular and two pages are taken up describing the symbols contained in the furniture and architecture. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in Chinese myth and culture because the beautiful sidebars and illustrations help make this subject interesting to the reader.