Books by Jiang Rong
“Wolf Totem contains certain things that have universal romantic appeal: wolves, tribesmen, and so on. But the message that central Chinese policies have been catastrophic for the people who were China’s neighbours – and who are now incorporated into China – very much needed to be said. And it was a way of criticising the party without it being about Han China. But it spoke for a lot of what had happened in Han China too.” Read more...
The best books on China’s Environmental Crisis
Isabel Hilton, Journalist
Interviews where books by Jiang Rong were recommended
Historical Novels Set in Asia
The complex history of Asia makes for a broad range of historical fiction. Here, we’ve collected the historical novels set in Asia that have been recommended in Five Books interviews, including Jing-Jing Lee’s How We Disappeared—a historical novel about the Japanese occupation of Singapore—and Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace, which follows the life of the last Burmese king and his family.
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1
The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia
by James C Scott -
2
The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China
by Mark C Elliott -
3
Wolf Totem
by Jiang Rong -
4
The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History
by Rian Thum -
5
Forgotten Kingdom: Lijiang and the Naxi People
by Peter Goullart
The best books on Minority Survival in China, recommended by James Palmer
The best books on Minority Survival in China, recommended by James Palmer
China’s minority peoples have shaped the country’s history and its identity. They led its most successful dynasty, the Qing. But nowadays, their role has been reduced to that of tourist spectacle. Beijing-based writer James Palmer picks the best books on China’s ethnic minorities.
The best books on China’s Environmental Crisis, recommended by Isabel Hilton
Editor of the website China Dialogue, Isabel Hilton says the evidence of environmental disaster in China is dramatic. She discusses six of the most influential books on environmentalism in China.
