Books by Mo Yan
“Set during the Japanese occupation, the novel explores love, betrayal and survival through the lens of a rural family. The characters are morally complex and deeply human — nothing is black-and-white…” Read more...
The Best 20th Century Chinese Fiction
Lijia Zhang, Memoirist
“His book for me is like a dictionary to understanding the huge differences between life in the city and the countryside. Sometimes it feels like there is 500 years of difference. The problem is that the young people move to the city and learn so much and then when they go home it is very difficult to communicate with the older generation, who are often peasants who have never been educated or travelled to the next village.” Read more...
The best books on Understanding China
Xinran, Nonprofit Leaders & Activist
Interviews where books by Mo Yan were recommended
The best books on 理解中国, recommended by Xinran
你想了解中国吗？你可能要先阅读这五本书
The best books on Understanding China, recommended by Xinran
What books should we read to understand China—its culture, its history? British-Chinese journalist, author and activist Xinran picks five to get started with, including the book believed by many to be the greatest Chinese novel ever written. (You can also read this interview in Chinese by clicking here.)
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1
The Real Story of Ah-Q
by Lu Xun & translated by Julia Lovell -
2
Fortress Besieged
by Qian Zhongshu & translated by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao -
3
Red Sorghum
by Mo Yan & translated by Howard Goldblatt -
4
To Live
Yu Hua, translated by Michael Berry -
5
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
by Dai Sijie & translated by Ina Rilke
The Best 20th Century Chinese Fiction, recommended by Lijia Zhang
The Best 20th Century Chinese Fiction, recommended by Lijia Zhang
While rooted in specific Chinese contexts, these books transcend cultural boundaries and speak to universal questions about dignity, freedom, identity, and the longing to be seen, says novelist and writer Lijia Zhang. She talks us through five of the best works of fiction to come out of mainland China in the twentieth century.
