The best books on China’s Darker Side, recommended by Harry Wu
Activist Harry Wu spent 19 years in Mao’s labour camps and devoted years to uncovering what goes on in China’s ‘laogai’ or ‘reform-through-labour’ camps. He picks five books showing China’s darker side.
The best books on Obstacles to Political Reform in China, recommended by Richard Baum
The late China specialist and UCLA professor Richard Baum said that he sometimes felt genuine admiration for China’s technocratic leaders. Other days, he shook his head at their obsessive intransigence and China’s endemic political insecurity
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1
Aftershock: Essays from Hong Kong
by Holmes Chan (editor) -
2
Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang
by James Millward -
3
Forbidden Memory: Tibet during the Cultural Revolution
by Susan Chen (translator) & Tsering Woeser -
4
Beijing from Below: Stories of Marginal Lives in the Capital's Center
by Harriet Evans -
5
Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai
by James Carter -
6
American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yang
Best China Books of 2020, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Best China Books of 2020, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
All eyes are on China as it occupies an increasingly important role on the world stage and its economic growth continues to barrel on. But behind the Chinese Communist Party’s apparent competence lies a deep insecurity about its relationship with its own citizens, particularly those who question its right to rule them. American historian and Sinologist Jeffrey Wasserstrom picks the best books of 2020 on China.
The best books on The Chinese Economy, recommended by Victor Shih
Victor Shih’s selection highlights rising inequality, economic irregularity and political heavy-handedness at the heart of modern China. As its economy blazes on, uncertain times may be looming
Books every Chinese Language Learner Should Read, recommended by Chris Livaccari
China covers a vast territory, and is far more ethnically and culturally diverse than many outsiders assume. Chris Livaccari, a veteran Chinese language teacher, recommends books he believes every Chinese language learner should read.
Shanghai Novels, recommended by Paul French
Though it was the fifth biggest city in the world in the years following the Second World War, there aren’t nearly as many novels set in Shanghai as there are in Paris, Berlin and other international cities. Author and expert on modern Chinese history Paul French takes a look at the literary history of an often underwritten city from the 1930s through to the new millennium.
The best books on The Cultural Revolution, recommended by Roderick MacFarquhar
Countries do have to come to terms with their own history, and it’s unhealthy that China has not yet come to terms with the Cultural Revolution, argues the West’s leading scholar of the period, Roderick MacFarquhar. He chooses the best five books on the Cultural Revolution.
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1
The Silk Road: A New History
by Valerie Hansen -
2
Sogdian Traders: A History
Étienne de la Vaissière (trans. James Ward) -
3
Diary: Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law
Ennin (trans. E O Reischauer) -
4
Foreign Devils on the Silk Road
by Peter Hopkirk -
5
Silk Roads: Peoples, Cultures, Landscapes
by Susan Whitfield
The best books on The Silk Road, recommended by Valerie Hansen
The best books on The Silk Road, recommended by Valerie Hansen
From the Han dynasty to the time of Marco Polo, the routes connecting Asia, Africa and Europe—now known as the Silk Road—were responsible for enormous amounts of global trade. Yale historian Valerie Hansen, author of The Silk Road: A New History, introduces us to its rich history: “one of the reasons the Silk Road is a misnomer is that silk was not the main good moving along.”
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1
Chinese Hegemony: Grand Strategy and International Institutions in East Asian History
by Feng Zhang -
2
Sacred Mandates: Asian International Relations since Chinggis Khan
by Timothy Brook (ed.) -
3
The Annals of King T'aejo: Founder of Korea's Choson Dynasty
by Choi Byonghyon -
4
Tradition, Treaties, and Trade: Qing Imperialism and Choson Korea, 1850-1910
by Kirk W. Larsen -
5
Cold War Crucible: The Korean Conflict and the Postwar World
by masuda hajimu
The best books on China Korea Relations, recommended by Odd Arne Westad
The best books on China Korea Relations, recommended by Odd Arne Westad
China has had close political and cultural relations with Korea for centuries and the history of that relationship can shed light on China’s approach to international relations more broadly—including in its imperial past. Yale historian Odd Arne Westad recommends the best books on China, Korea and the relationship between them.
The best books on China, recommended by Evan Osnos
Travelling to China? What are the best books to read to get a more in-depth understanding of this complex country? Longtime Beijing resident and New Yorker writer Evan Osnos picks some of his favourites.