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Not all of Salzman's Chinese were so mundane. He describes his encounter with Pan Qingfu, the country's foremost master of wushu, the traditional Chinese martial art. Salzman managed to become a private student of the fiercely demanding Pan, whose nickname, "Iron Fist," came from his reputed practice of punching a heavy iron plate up to 10,000 times every day. For more than a year, Pan pushed his acolyte through pain, sweat, blood and fatigue, inching him toward the goal of gong fu, or "skill that transcends mere surface beauty." The day before Salzman left for the U.S., he was finally allowed to display his new skills in a dramatic, draining, nightlong workout. At the end of the session, the master acknowledged that the American had indeed acquired gong fu. No other term is as apt for a book that describes the land and its people with such deftness and delight.