“We were fishers of memory waiting on the banks of time and waiting for the past to swallow the date.”
China is undoubtedly one of the most mysterious and misunderstood countries on the planet. From its ancient tribal origins, and its turbulent imperial dynasties to its present-day superpower status, Chinese history has been marked by significant upheavals, including religious, revolutionary, and innovative movements, often blurring the lines between myth and reality, especially for those looking on from afar. In short, China has and continues to dominate the international stage. For those interested in learning more about this fascinating land, explore the best books about China here at What We Reading!
The Shortest History Of China: From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower – A Retelling for Our Times – Linda Jaivin
Starting our list of the best books about China is The Shortest History of China by Linda Jaivin. At just 278 pages, Jaivin manages to weave thousands of years of war, intrigue, poetry, and politics into one concise and accessible resource. Readers will find it informative and engaging.
Charting a path from its tribal origins to its imperial palaces and the contemporary Communist party under Xi Jinping, Jaivin teaches us that, to understand China today, we must understand the innovations, characters, and upheavals that have shaped its past. Jaivin also sheds light on the women of Chinese history and addresses the enduring corruption and fractious infighting that plague the People’s Republic, offering insight into the future of the Far East nation.
China In Ten Words – Yu Hua
Yu Hua lifts the lid on the country’s meteoric economic rise and turbulent social shifts over the past few decades in his book about China, China in Ten Words.
Framing his work around ten iconic phrases known throughout the country, China in Ten Words is a collection of personal stories and astute analysis that debunk misconceptions and showcase the true characteristics of this often misunderstood nation. Delivered with his iconic sharp wit and dry humour, Yu Hua discusses how trickery and chicanery are becoming parts of everyday life, as well as how imitation and piracy are emerging as new forms of creative revolutionary action. Illuminating and intimate, China in Ten Words is an invaluable book for understanding China from the ground up.
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Private Life Under Socialism: Love, Intimacy, and Family Change in a Chinese Village, 1949–1999 – Yunxiang Yan
Most readers in the West know that China’s growth has been huge in recent years. However, it is only through a study like Yunxiang Yan’s Private Life Under Socialism that you truly begin to understand just how profoundly altered life in China has become. Delivered in extraordinary detail, this book follows one village over the second half of the twentieth century.
Yan explains how everything, from the layout of the village to the social expectations of marriage, evolved over this period. This demonstrates how life in rural areas has changed as dramatically as in towns and cities. However, what Private Life Under Socialism also does is demonstrate the changes to the Chinese economy and society, and delve into what these changes mean to the people and how it has affected their lives.
China Witness: Voices From A Silent Generation – Xinran
China Witness is another great book that explores the transformations and upheavals across the country in the past few decades from the perspective of those who experienced them first-hand.
In it, Xinran, author of The Good Women of China, travelled across the country speaking to the grandparents and great-grandparents who lived through the ushering in of the country’s modern era. From Mao to marriage, the Long March to modernization, China Witness is a compelling portrait of modern China. It is a compilation of the hopes, dreams, struggles, and experiences of those who helped forge China’s path and is delivered with a sincerity that other resources in the Far East seldom match.
Land Of Big Numbers – Te-Ping Chen
Wall Street Journal reporter Te-Ping Chen delivers a stunning debut book that captures the character and complications of the country in Land of Big Numbers.
A collection of ten compelling and illuminating short stories from contemporary China, the tales served up by Chen range from a market stall fruit seller who finds his produce having a strange effect on the population, to a woman exposing the dark secrets of the Communist party from her blog whilst her brother competes for gaming glory. Sometimes funny, sometimes dark but all incredibly-delivered, Land of Big Numbers unveils the realities of modern China through its profound and rich cast of characters.
The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China From The Bottom Up – Liao Yiwu
Another of the best books for understanding China from the perspective of everyday people comes from Liao Yiwu in The Corpse Walker.
The book is a compilation of twenty-seven oral histories from ordinary and outcast individuals from across Chinese society. Yiwu, one of the most censored writers in the country, cultivates these individuals to demonstrate how despite the ‘new’ China of globalization and economic growth very much feels like ‘old’ China for these individuals. Crafted between 1990 and 2003, this idiosyncratic and powerful portrait of China on the ground introduces readers to everything from a feng shui master, a Falun Gong practitioner, a professional mourner to a former Red Guard to demonstrate the complex and varied ways of life that exist across the country.
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China – Leslie T. Chang
Former Wall Street Journal correspondent in Beijing Leslie T. Chang documents the largest migration in history in her book on China, Factory Girls. Through the lives of two young women followed for three years, the book lifts the lid on the realities of the 130 million migrant workers that the country has.
From almost everyone around you being under thirty to how one English class can catapult you into a different social class, Chang’s book paints a life few readers can imagine. Factory Girls takes readers on a journey from the idleness of the rural areas to the assembly lines of the biggest trainer factory in the world to expose how urbanisation has transformed the lives of millions of ordinary boys and girls across Chinese society.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
