CHINA DIARY By Stephen Spender and David Hockney (Thames & Hudson, $220) A RE-PUBLICATION of a 1982 travel book on China sounds about as unappetising as a cold plate of last week's Peking duck. Not so this new paperback edition of China Diary.
When, in the early 80s, American tourism to China was in its infancy, China Diary quickly became favourite reading for discerning travellers. There is little reason why it should not remain so.
Granted, events in China have overtaken the book in some ways, occasionally making it read more like history than travelogue. In 1981, Sir Stephen Spender and David Hockney show a clear preference for socialist China over capitalist Hongkong.
Twelve years later the people of China have decided otherwise; they are opting for Hongkong ways, warts and all. China Diary is no longer simply a brilliant travel companion; events have propelled it into a telling historical and social commentary.
It may be still true that ''in China today officials live in apartments more hidden from the public gaze than those of any Emperor and his retinue in the Forbidden City'', but Spender could not now write ''To many Americans, China is a love-object. . .''.
Nor could he report that ''property of foreign visitors is meticulously guarded''. China Diary is a constant, valuable reminder of just how much change there has been.
The observation of Spender's pen and Hockney's camera and brush are very keen. The result is an intimate view full of close observation. How true it is that many Chinese speak English ''with a kind of eagerness as though pleasurably reaching forward for each next word''. How understandable it is that Hockney's favourite place was Guangzhou's Children Park.