351:
In 1948, Roderick was sent by the
Associated Press to the Middle East to cover the establishment of the state of Israel. However, he remained engaged with China and its politics throughout his career. Though he often worked outside of China, he became known as a leading "China watcher" during the
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for
Roderick to make his home. Takishita, whom Roderick adopted as his son, went on to become an architect who specializes in preserving and restoring old post-and-beam farmhouses. Roderick later wrote about his experiences with the then 273-year-old Kamakura farmhouse and its restoration in his
271:, China. The city of Yan'an, which is located in central China, had been devastated by Japanese aerial bombings in 1938. Thus, by the mid-1940s it was largely composed of thousands of caves which had been dug out of the hills that surrounded the city and the nearby
313:, Roderick was never a full supporter of their goals. His opinion of Mao became much more negative following Mao takeover of China. Roderick disliked the brutality of Mao's rule which he observed, as well as the failure of many of his policies, such as the
564:
In 2007 filmmaker Davina Pardo began a documentary on
Roderick inspired by the book. Before filming could begin Roderick fell ill and was unable to participate, and so Pardo relied on Yoshihiro Takishita to tell their story. The film was funded in part by
118:
during the mid-1940s. Roderick continued to cover China throughout the rest of his career. He was considered to be a leading "China watcher," who covered the country from before the
Chinese Communist victory of 1949 to the
352:
1950s. He often studied scraps of information and
Chinese Communist government news dispatches for clues to what was going on behind the scenes in China. Roderick though disliked to be called a "China watcher."
279:, such as Roderick, used the caves as a place to live and conduct their raids against their Japanese and Kuomintang opponents. Mao Zedong had been based in the city since 1935 as Ya'an was at the end of Mao's
173:, on September 14, 1914. He was orphaned when he was just 16 years old. His journalistic career began at the age of 15, when he began writing for a local newspaper, Waterville Morning Sentinel (now called
395:
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Roderick initially admired Mao Zedong and his supporters for their ideas saying, "I admired the fact that they were trying to do something for the poor
Chinese." However, unlike other reporters, such as
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Roderick was 31 years old when he began living with leaders of the
Chinese Communist rebel movement for seven months between 1945 and 1947. He resided with the rebel leadership, who included Mao Zedong,
510:
Roderick reluctantly retired from active work at the
Associated Press in 1984 at the age of 70. He later described himself as retiring "prematurely." However, he continued to report for the AP. The
503:
He returned to Tokyo in 1980 as a special correspondent, one year after reopening the AP's office in
Beijing. He was given a great deal of creative and journalistic freedom to travel throughout
231:
Roderick remained in China as an
Associated Press reporter after World War II. His first major postwar assignment was to cover the breakdown in relations between the Chinese nationalist
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Roderick lived at Ya'an (also called Yenan) in the same way as everyone else, including the Communist leadership. He lived and slept in a tiny cave with a makeshift bed and a
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484:(close to his hometown of Gifu) would be lost, following the construction of a reservoir. In order to save the farmhouse, Takishita arranged to have the it relocated to
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Following his retirement, Roderick continued to write background stories on the Middle East and China. He spent much of his retirement at his restored farmhouse in
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The Times: John Roderick, Veteran AP correspondent whose friendship with China's leaders helped to pave the way for Nixon's visit to Beijing
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After he left Ya'an, Roderick covered the breakdown of peace talks between the Communists and the Kuomintang as well as the ensuing
687:"John Roderick, Veteran AP correspondent whose friendship with China's leaders helped to pave the way for Nixon's visit to Beijing"
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Roderick was named an "Associated Press special correspondent" in 1977, becoming one of the AP's few reporters to hold the title.
301:. He observed Mao Zedong and other leaders during meal times, dances and lectures, which he would later chronicle in his book, "
243:. The two sides had collaborated to fight the Japanese during World War II, but had turned on each other following the defeat of
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in 1979. He continued to work with the AP as a special correspondent for the two decades following his retirement in 1984.
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John Roderick completed his last piece for the Associated Press, a personal reflection, in February 2008. He died of
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was allowed to open a Reuters news office in Beijing in 1956, passing over Roderick and the Associated Press. (The
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normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China
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filled with sand. He filed his reports and typed out stories with a portable
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war correspondents, Roderick was a military veteran of a war (World War II).
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had informal relations with the Communist government at the time, while the
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and other guerrilla leaders, at their headquarters in a series of caves in
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province. Kunming was a strategically important city at the end of the
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with the Associated Press spanned over fifty years, with postings in
840:"Longtime Associated Press China-watcher John Roderick dies at 93"
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223:. He rejoined the Associated Press after the end of World War II.
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in 2007. A translation into French has been published by Elytis.
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for his work in reporting on Japanese and Asian issues in 1985.
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476:. During the late 1960s, Takishita learned that a 250-year-old
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United States ping pong team on a trip to the country in 1971
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764:"John Roderick; AP Correspondent Captured a Changing China"
533:. Also in 2006, Roderick began writing a series of monthly
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Roderick owned a traditional Japanese farmhouse, called a
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concerning China as part of his coverage of the upcoming
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as the man who "opened the door" to China for foreign
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did not.) Roderick was forced to report on China from
929:"In Japan, a Farmhouse Becomes a Journalist's Elegy"
461:. He was later posted again in Paris and Hong Kong.
418:, just two weeks after the creation of the state of
340:. He continued to cover the Chinese Civil War from
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50:
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184:Roderick moved to the Associated Press' office in
82:(September 15, 1914 – March 11, 2008) was an
871:"John Roderick, 93; leading China watcher for AP"
390:Roderick was able to reopen the Associated Press
449:in the 1950s. He covered the fall of the French
410:from China in 1948. He arrived in the city of
8:
993:United States Army personnel of World War II
1018:People of the Office of Strategic Services
507:and report on stories of interest to him.
188:in 1942. However, he was drafted into the
18:
153:. Roderick reopened the Associated Press
123:during the 1980s. He was once praised by
398:. He became head of the Beijing bureau.
100:. Roderick was best known for covering
955:Minka ma ferme au Japon, French edition
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593:, on March 11, 2008, at the age of 93.
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394:in Beijing in 1979, following the
175:The Central Maine Morning Sentinel
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434:by the Israeli extremist group,
1008:Deaths from pneumonia in Hawaii
988:People of the Chinese Civil War
927:Pardo, Davina (19 March 2015).
539:2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
200:, which was a precursor of the
569:, and was featured in 2015 in
1:
1003:People from Waterville, Maine
838:Briscoe, David (2008-03-11).
762:Briscoe, David (2008-03-13).
607:Princeton Architectural Press
495:Princeton Architectural Press
493:, which was published by the
630:, translated into French by
603:Minka: My Farmhouse in Japan
559:Minka: My Farmhouse in Japan
516:Order of the Sacred Treasure
491:Minka: My Farmhouse in Japan
198:Office of Strategic Services
114:while living with them in a
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902:"Minka, ma ferme au Japon"
632:Benjamin Aguilar-Laguierce
208:, which is the capital of
204:, and sent to the city of
169:John Roderick was born in
983:American male journalists
406:Roderick was sent to the
196:. He was assigned to the
620:Minka, ma ferme au Japon
445:and spent five years in
237:Chinese Communist forces
464:Roderick was posted to
137:Roderick's career as a
428:Count Folke Bernadotte
294:, which was next to a
514:awarded him with the
91:foreign correspondent
73:Author and journalist
998:Colby College alumni
695:. London. 2008-03-25
589:at his apartment in
402:Other AP assignments
512:Japanese government
474:Yoshihiro Takishita
385:Ping Pong Diplomacy
369:American government
315:Cultural Revolution
235:government and the
16:American journalist
933:The New York Times
571:The New York Times
480:, located in Ise,
383:. The so-called "
365:British government
329:during the 1970s.
190:United States Army
39:September 15, 1914
876:Los Angeles Times
628:978-2-35639-325-8
615:978-1-568-98731-6
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56:(2008-03-11)
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912:10 February
567:Kickstarter
457:in 1954 in
408:Middle East
361:David Chipp
273:Gobi Desert
181:, in 1937.
151:Middle East
967:Categories
887:2008-04-06
853:2008-04-06
779:2008-04-06
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638:References
319:Jiang Qing
311:Edgar Snow
292:typewriter
281:Long March
265:Jiang Qing
261:Zhou Enlai
253:Australian
241:Mao Zedong
233:Kuomintang
214:Burma Road
165:Early life
132:news media
128:Zhou Enlai
104:and other
102:Mao Zedong
87:journalist
35:1914-09-15
692:The Times
587:pneumonia
527:champagne
478:farmhouse
432:Jerusalem
426:official
373:Hong Kong
277:reporters
112:guerillas
109:Communist
908:. Elytis
605:(2007),
555:Kamakura
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451:garrison
355:British
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296:charcoal
149:and the
93:for the
84:American
459:Vietnam
357:Reuters
346:Nanjing
338:Beijing
323:Mme Mao
299:brazier
249:British
239:led by
159:Beijing
106:Chinese
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489:book,
443:London
420:Israel
416:Jordan
392:bureau
288:pillow
269:Yan'an
210:Yunnan
155:bureau
147:Europe
577:Death
551:minka
470:Japan
466:Tokyo
447:Paris
412:Amman
377:Tokyo
336:from
245:Japan
227:China
914:2022
624:ISBN
611:ISBN
585:and
505:Asia
436:Lehi
375:and
251:and
143:Asia
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89:and
51:Died
29:Born
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430:in
202:CIA
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