5 BOOKS ON CONTEMPORARY CHINA

 

 

Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China by Philip P. Pan – Very readable, stories from the post-Mao era that shaped China as it is today

 

 

 

 

 

 

Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip by Peter Hessler  -The third book Hessler wrote from China, this is the one both most up-to-date and widest in scope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie Chang – Sensitively told, the human side of the factory boom, a continuation of the China story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiger Head, Snake Tails: China Today, How It Got There, and Where It Is Heading by Jonathan Fenby – The best short read "big picture" book about China's rise out there

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land ed. Angilee Shah, Jeffrey Wasserstrom – Disclosure: I have a chapter in this book

 

 

 

 

5 BOOKS ON MODERN CHINA

 

 

The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence – The grandaddy of China history books, from late Ming to 1989, this doorstopper is also a pleasure to read

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-first Century by Orville Schell and John Delury – 14 individuals who made modern China, absolutely terrific

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World by Rana Mitter – The broad span of modern Chinese history through an original and compelling lens

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Death of Mao: The Tangshan Earthquake and the Birth of the New China by James Palmer –Insightful history of the dramatic year of Mao's death in 1976

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know by Jeffrey Wasserstrom – Slim, comprehensive, intuitive. Perfect reading for the plane trip over

 

 

 

5 BOOKS FROM CHINESE VOICES

 

 

China in Ten Words by Yu Hua – A Chinese perspective of the transition from Cultural Revolution to opening up and the contradictions of 21st century China

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Generation: Dispatches from China's Most Popular Literary Star (and Race Car Driver) by Han Han – Social commentary from the superstar Chinese blogger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Corpse Walker: China From the Bottom Up by Liao Yiwu – Surprising and often moving narratives of ordinary people from all over China's countryside

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Candid: The People on the People's Republic by Sang Ye  – Oral histories of ordinary Chinese lives, a ground up portrait of China since 1949

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman Mao Would Not Be Amused: Fiction from Today's China ed. Howard Goldblatt –The perfect open sesame to contemporary Chinese literature

 

 

 

5 CHINA BOOKS FROM THE CANON

 

 

The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun trans. Julia Lovell – China's George Orwell. At least read the canonical "The True Story of Ah Q" and "Diary of a Madman"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortress Beseiged by Qian Zhongshu – Funny and sharp indictment of Chinese society in the late 1930s, an often overlooked but still relevant classic

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Analects of Confucius trans. Simon Leys – Confucius say, a gentleman reads Confucius. Or at least dips into it and memorises the most famous quotes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wandering on the Way by Zhuangzi, trans. Victor Mair – For the other side of the Chinese philosophy coin (Taoism), this translation is a real treat to read

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck – 1931 American novel of a rags-to-riches Chinese farmer, it might feel a bit dated but Oprah's book club is never wrong

 

 

 

 

5 CHINA BOOKS TO AVOID (I don't mean that these books have no value – they all have value and are informative – but that they are ultimately misleading and so you should avoid them in favour of others. It's all very subjective.)

 

 

 

 

The Coming Collapse of China by Gordon Chang – Published in 2001, we're still waiting Gordon. This is why you never make a prediction in a book title

 

 

 

 

 

 

When China Rules the World by Martin Jacques – Some insightful analysis, but in the end these birds-eye-view big-thesis China books just aren't worth it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday – Mao was a complex figure who caused horrific suffering, but demonising him without nuance is just bad history

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

East Meets West: Human Rights and Democracy in East Asia, by Daniel A. Bell – Offers valuable perspective, but can come too close to apologism for authoritarianism

 

 

 

 

 

Shanghai Baby, by Wei Hui – If you're tempted by this "dark and edgy" novel of sex and self discovery, run in the other direction. It's unbearably affected and pretentious.BW