Over the last 18 months, I have made it my mission to read only books about China, both fiction and nonfiction. While I have only scratched the surface in terms of what is out there, here are some nonfiction recommendations I have enjoyed – as well as one to avoid – in the world of good China reading (fiction to follow).
1. In Search of Modern China by Jonathan Spence
This one is a bit dry at times and probably only for the most dedicated in terms of wanting understand China’s most recent history. It provided a great background and context for what is happening in China today. I also found it more objective than Jung Chang’s Mao: The Unknown History (though I enjoyed this well-researched tome as well).
4. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
This is a gripping autobiography of Chang’s family in China. The book takes the reader from the story of Chang’s grandmother, a concubine with bound feet, to her own experiences during the Cultural Revolution.
5. The Good Women of China by Xinran
Xinran was a ground-breaking radio journalist in the 1990’s in Nanjing, China. She hosted the first call-in show targeted at women and became the confidant of women and keeper of their stories across China. I’ve read all her books, but The Good Women of China is a good starting point with vignettes of life in China during the 1990’s.
6. Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
As someone who studied the Russian and the Soviet Union in my previous life, I was always intrigued by stories of children who were plucked out of their environments by Communist governments to become athletes. Here is one man’s personal story about what it is like to be selected – at 11 – to attend an elite ballet school in Beijing. The road takes him from his life as a peasant living in the countryside with little to eat to that of a world-renowned dancer living in the West. The story is sentimental and heart-warming – perfect summer reading.
7. The Last Days of Old Beijing by Michael Meyer
Michael Meyer, another former Peace Corp volunteer, writes a memoir of his time spent teaching English at a local Chinese elementary school and living in a traditional Chinese walled home or hutong. This book captures beautifully life in Beijing today as the city’s landscape literally changes on a day by day basis. Great book.
Undress me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman
My friend, Vicki, bought this book to read on her flight to Beijing. She picked it up because of the interesting book cover and its catchy title. When I mentioned this to my husband with my scathing review and deceptive book cover, he appreciated the opportunity to remind me, “You know, you should never judge a book by it’s cover…” Wise words.
This is the tale of a two Ivy League graduates who leave the cocoon of the Northeast United States to see the world. The story focuses on China where one of them suffers a mental breakdown and the other is too narcissistic to see it coming. Or perhaps she was just too engrossed in Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs, the only reading she brought along for this momentous trip (No insult intended to Linda Goodman, which I read many years ago myself; however, when traveling abroad, I usually find it helpful to read about my destinations in more concrete terms).