The Same Bright Moon: Teaching China's New Generation During Covid

In 2019, Wendy Bashant, a burned-out college dean, quits her job to teach two hundred students in the ancient, walled city of Xi'an, China.

The year turns extraordinary when tensions between China and the U.S. escalate: first tit-for-tat tariffs. Then a worldwide pandemic. Finally lockdowns, closed consulates, and expelled journalists. All the while, accusations are lobbed back and forth, like flaming arrows launched over the Pacific.

Against this background of aggression, Wendy is expected...