The spiritual world of modern (young) Chinese II
The spiritual world of modern (young) Chinese II
For part II, I thought we might wade into books. Here are the top 125 books on Douban. For your reference, Douban does not disclose the algorithm that determines the top 250 books or movies. it’s presumed that both the rating score and the number of people who rated a certain movie or film are weighed.
1. Dream of the Red Chamber（红楼梦）
Author: Cao Xueqin（曹雪芹）
Country: China
Publication: mid-18th century
Celebrated as one of the best Chinese language literature, the Dream of the Red Chamber chronicles the fall of a great noble family in imperial China. Its masterful writing and intricate plots have something to offer for everyone. Chinese literature giant Lu Xun famously commented that in this novel scholars of classics can find reminiscent of the I-Ching, the prude can find corruption, literature masters can find romance, and the revolutionary can find anti-Manchu sentiments, and the gossiper sees juicy stories of the court.
Another great fan of the novel is no other than Mao Zedong, who praised the book for its profound critique of China’s feudal system and traits of feminism, which was rare in works during the imperial age.
The book is one of the big four classics of Chinese literature (四大名著), but is unfortunately an incomplete work. Some of the mysteries surrounding the proper ending of the story, as well as some of the plots, have spurred the emergence of “Redology”, or the study of the Red Chamber.
There are plenty of translations of the book in foreign languages, grab one that’s to your liking and unlock this Chinese literary treasure.
2. To Live（活着）
Author: Yu Hua（余华）
Country: China
Publication: 1993
This is the novel that inspired the namesake movie ranked 30 on the film’s list. For obvious reasons, the pictures painted in the original novel were even grimmer than in the movie adaption.
The novel follows the main character through China’s civil war era, the great leap forward, and the Cultural Revolution, recording his struggles against fate and sorrows as his loved ones die.
The novel is celebrated both for its faithful depiction of the resilience and grit of the Chinese people and the hardships they faced.
The novel itself is not long, but as one critic describes it, the book is the ultimate collection of major themes that frequently appear in other literature depicting the same period.
3. 1984
Author: George Orwell
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1949
Now this book claiming the number 3 spot may surprise a few of you. Or at least that’s how Peter Hessler felt when he remarked in his latest New Yorker piece that “In 2021, more than two hundred thousand copies of “1984” were sold in Chinese editions, along with a hundred thousand copies of “Animal Farm.”
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author: Gabriel García Márquez
Country: Argentina
Publication: 1967
A section of this novel, the very beginning, was included in China’s literature textbook for high school students, ensuring that Márquez’s masterpiece is the second most famous Spanish literature in China (after Don Quixote).
While not that many can claim to know the entire plot of the book, its opening line will certainly be familiar to those who are on Chinese social media, as wordplay on the classic opening line is a favorite of some web users.
Author: Liu Cixin（刘慈欣）
Country: China
Publication: 2008
This is probably the best science fiction novel China has offered the world in the 21st century. WSJ called it “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”
The trilogy is set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project that sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, rivaling camps form on whether to welcome or fight the aliens.
Just before this newsletter is published, a movie adaptation of the book has just released a trailer.
Author: Margaret Mitchell
Country: United States
Publication: 1936
Honestly, what’s not to love about the book? The gripping love story of the upper class? The heroic actions of protecting the homeland and ways of life? Or the upbeat ending reminding the readers that tomorrow is another day? These are what won the book its popularity among Chinese readers, who may relate little to the cruel realities of slavery in the plot’s background.
7. Harry Potter
Author: J. K. Rowling
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1997 - 2007
Yes as with anywhere else in the world, the boy who lived enjoys a great fan base in China. With the newly opened Beijing Universal Studios which features a majestic Hogwarts castle, Chinese wizards and witches now have just a place to demonstrate their magic.
8. Romance of the Three Kingdoms（三国演义）
Author: Luo Guanzhong（罗贯中）
Country: China
Publication: 14th century
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, attributed to Luo Guanzhong, is a historical novel set in the turbulent years stretching from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty better known as the era of the Three Kingdoms.
The story dramatizes a game of thrones by more than 100 colorful characters who mostly pledge allegiance to three kingdoms, the Wei, the Shu, and the Wu. So popular is the work that it forever changed how the Chinese view this part of history, and some of its characters are given godlike qualities and were worshiped throughout the age.
Interestingly, the novel also has a huge readership in Japan, which is why many of their most popular video games and animes have taken this theme.
9. Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise（房思琪的初恋乐园）
Author: Lin Yihan（林奕含）
Country: China
Publication: 2017
The most influential book of Taiwan’s #MeToo movement, Fang SiChi’s First Love Paradise is a chilling tale of pedophilia, sexual assault, and structural inequality in upper-class Taiwanese society. Author Lin Yi-Han’s intense stream-of-consciousness narrative style brings us directly into the young minds that are targeted, displaying before their and our very eyes how sexual assault can shatter human life, and how far unequal social institutions will go to hide the damage and protect abusers.
Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise was Lin Yi-Han’s gift to the world before she took her own life. As a work of both literature and literary activism, the book lives on to inspire readers and raise consciousness all over the world.
10. Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1945
Orwell takes another spot in the top 10 list.
11. The Complete Sherlock Holmes
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1986
Yes, there are master detective novelists Agatha Christie and Keigo Higashino, but for novels of this genre, Sherlock Holmes is like the original coca-cola and classic flavor Lays potato chips.
12. Journey Under the Midnight Sun
Author: Keigo Higashino
Country: Japan
Publication: 1999
Speaking of the devil, here’s Higashino with his best-known work in China. The Japanese detective novel master will return many times on this list.
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Country: France
Publication: 1943
As one of the world’s most translated books, The Little Prince is loved by many in China as well.
14. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils（天龙八部）
Author: Jin Yong/Louis Cha（金庸）
Country: China
Publication: 1963
The martial hero (武侠) novel is perhaps the most original of Chinese literature. Novels of this genre usually feature heroes with unworldly martial art skills and their 江湖. (The “jianghu” , literally rivers and lakes, is the milieu, environment, or sub-community, often fictional, in which many Chinese wuxia stories are set. It is used to describe the martial arts world of Historical China.)
This masterpiece is set in the Northern Song Dynasty, with the main thematic element of the novel concerning the complex, troubled relationships between characters from various kingdoms and sects and the inherent bond that underlies the struggles of each.
Jin Yong is the unparalleled master of martial hero novels. He leaves behind 14 main works, some of which will appear in this list. His works are steeped in Chinese culture and are highly recommended, if not extremely pleasurable, to read.
15. The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Country: Denmark
Publication: 1835-1872
When it comes to foreign fables, Andersen, Aesop, and the Grimm Brothers are in their own league. But while Aesop’s stories are often laden with moral values and the German stories sometimes showing a dash of darkness, Andersen’s G-rated fairy tales perhaps have the widest audience.
16. Stories of the Sahara（撒哈拉的故事）
Author: Sanmao（三毛）
Country: China
Publication: 1976
Stories of the Sahara is an autobiographical account of the life and love of the Taiwanese author Sanmao while she was living in the Sahara Desert with her boyfriend José. “Stories of the Sahara” is a breathtaking exploration of the adventures―and misadventures―of untamable wanderlust. Sanmao, with her fearless independence, has become an inspiration for a generation of Chinese.
Author: Harper Lee
Country: United States
Publication: 1960
How far is one willing to go to preserve honesty and bravery in an adverse environment? This book prod readers of all ages and backgrounds to reflect.
18. Call to Arms（呐喊）
Author: Lu Xun（鲁迅）
Country: China
Publication: 1923
I’m slightly disappointed that Lu Xun, perhaps the biggest name in modern Chinese literature, only came in 18th place in the ranking.
Lu Xun became the flag-bearer of the new culture movement in China soon after the demise of the Qing Dynasty. As a weakened China loses direction and conviction, Lu Xun was a beacon of light in guiding the path forward. Originally trained as a doctor, Lu Xun picked up the pen after coming to realize that “learning medicine cannot save the Chinese”.
Many of his short essays or novellas are included in Chinese literature textbooks and dropping his works from textbooks has always been a sensitive issue on social media. Lu Xun gave his name to one of the four most prestigious Chinese literary awards.
Call to Arms, a short fiction collection, depicts the social life in China from the Revolution of 1911 to the May Fourth Movement.
19. Stories about Ming Dynasty（明朝那些事儿）
Author: Dangnian Mingyue（当年明月）
Country: China
Publication: 2006
Stories about Ming Dynasty depict the history of the Ming Dynasty from 1344 to 1644 in a novelistic and humorous tone. Based on historical materials, the author successfully balanced accuracy and storytelling in this 7-parter that triggered widespread interest in the history of Ming.
The book was first posted on the internet forum Tianya in 2006. The book has sold over 5 million copies, being the best-selling book in the 2007-2008 period.
The author’s real name is Shi Yue and was an official of the Guangdong customs when he wrote the books. He now serves as deputy director of the Shanghai government research office.
Author: Wang Xiaobo（王小波）
Country: China
Publication: 1997
The Silent Majority is a collection of philosophical essays, covering social morality and ethics, cultural debates, Sinology and new Confucianism, etc, representing Wang Xiaobo’s thoughts on modern Chinese culture. In the 21st century, Wang Xiaobo is among the most-read of 1990s Chinese novelists. His unique black humor runs through his works.
21. The Stranger
Author: Albert Camus
Country: France
Publication: 1942
Perhaps once in a while, we all need to examine our ties with this world.
22. The Story of the Lost Child
Author: Elena Ferrante
Country: Italy
Publication: 2014
The Story of the Lost Child is the fourth volume of the bestselling saga Neapolitan Novels, which tells the story of a lifelong friendship between two women with unmatched honesty and brilliance, against the backdrop of a Naples that is as seductive as it is perilous and a world undergoing epochal change. This exotic story has also struck a chord with Chinese readers.
Author: Elena Ferrante
Country: Italy
Publication: 2012
The Story of a New Name is the second book in the epic New York Times-bestselling literary quartet that has inspired an HBO series. With these books, which the New Yorker’s James Wood described as “large, captivating, amiably peopled ... a beautiful and delicate tale of confluence and reversal,” Ferrante has created a world in which readers will recognize themselves and has drawn a marvelously nuanced portrait of friendship.
24. Merits and Demerits of Political Systems in Dynastic China（中国历代政治得失）
Author: Qian Mu（钱穆）
Country: China
Publication: 1955
With broad strokes, this booklet illustrates how each Chinese imperial dynasty seeks to learn from the successes and failures of the past as they chart their way forward. Collectively, these lessons formed China’s political traditions and system.
Combining historical facts and anecdotes from history to make the discussion straightforward, interesting, and easy to understand, this is an ideal book for beginners in Chinese history and the political system. The author was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and writer. He is considered to be one of the greatest historians and philosophers of 20th-century China.
25. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Country: Israel
Publication: 2011
In Sapiens, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions.
This international bestseller explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” The book is also widely read in China.
Author: Lu Yao（路遥）
Country: China
Publication: 1986
Ordinary World tells the story of the impoverished family of Sun, which struggle to make a living in the years after the founding of the PRC.
Writing from his first-hand observation and experience, Lu Yao accurately portrays the lives of farmers in Shaanxi.
In 1991, this masterpiece won the Mao Dun Literature Prize with an honor “a bright pearl of the Mao Dun Literature Prize crown.”
Interestingly, Lu Yao’s village of Guo Jia Gou is only about 10 km from Liang Jia He, the village Xi Jinping worked in between 1969 and 1975. That was the time when Lu Yao first began to write, publishing essays in local publications. Xi later told an interviewer that he bonded with Lu Yao during his years in Shaanxi as the two shared an interest in literature.
Author: Qian Zhongshu（钱钟书）
Country: China
Publication: 1947
Fortress Besieged written by Qian Zhongshu is a masterpiece of parodic fiction about middle-class Chinese society in the late 1930s. The novel also discussed topics such as identity, women, marriage, education, and middle-class snobbery during the Chinese Republic period.
In this book, Qian reflected on “harmony without uniformity” in Sino-Western intercultural dialogue by incorporating cultural relativism and the principle of “diversity”.
The literary critic C.T. Hsia has called Fortress Besieged, “the most delightful and carefully wrought novel in modern Chinese literature” and “perhaps ... the greatest.”
The book’s title has become somewhat of a euphemism for marriage, as the book describes it as “those on the outside want in while those on the inside want out.”
28. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer（笑傲江湖）
Author: Jin Yong/Louis Cha（金庸）
Country: China
Publication: 1967
This work is another famous wuxia novel by Louis Cha. Unlike his other works, this novel purposefully omits the historic era of the setting, instead directing attention to the political struggle between the sects and characters. Jin Yong mentions that The Smiling, Proud Wanderer can be read as a political allegory disguised as a wuxia novel, which can happen in “any dynasty or organization.”
29. From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society（乡土中国）
Author: Fei Xiaotong（费孝通）
Country: China
Publication: 1947
This classic text by Fei Xiaotong, China’s finest social scientist, is Fei’s chief theoretical statement about the distinctive characteristics of Chinese society. From a Chinese point of view, From the Soil describes the contrasting organizational principles of Chinese and Western societies, thereby conveying the essential features of both. Fei shows how these unique features reflect and are reflected in the moral and ethical characters of people in these societies. This profound, challenging book is both succinct and accessible.
30. Wild Grass（野草）
Author: Lu Xun（鲁迅）
Country: China
Publication: 1924-1926
Wild Grass is a collection of twenty-three prose poems written by Lu Xun. The poems, written between 1924 and 1926, record the social conditions under the rule of the Beiyang government. It also reflects the author’s loneliness during the New Culture Movement. It shows the author’s appeal to revolutionary forces, the deep sympathy for the working class, and the profound analysis of the Chinese people’s character.
31. Love in the Time of Cholera
Author: Gabriel García Márquez
Country: Colombia
Publication: 1988
Undoubtedly this masterpiece’s readership saw a big bump after the Covid outbreak.
Author: Chen Zhongshi（陈忠实）
Country: China
Publication: 1992
White Deer Plain is the story of two landowner families, Bai and Lu, over half a century and three generations, in a rural area called White Deer Plain, in Shaanxi. The story starts around 1900 and ends in the 1950s, the early years of the PRC. The characters witness all the major events that took place during that period of Chinese history, from the Revolution of 1911 to the founding of the PRC.
In the epigraph to the book, Chen quotes Balzac, who believed that “the novel is no less than the secret history of nations.”
First published in 1993, it was the winner of the 1997 Mao Dun Literature Prize, the highest literature prize for novelists in China, and was adapted into a popular film in 2011.
33. Murder on the Orient Express
Author: Agatha Christie
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1934
I distinctively remember reading this novel at a young age and marveled at the idea of international travel on a luxurious train. I didn’t know that passenger trains could be so luxurious, or that it can cross continents, but after reading the novel I learned that they could be deadly.
Author: Stephen King
Country: United States
Publication: 1982
The popularity of Shawshank Redemption likely has led to the wide recognition of these novellas.
Author: Alexandre Dumas (père)
Country: France
Publication: 1943
The first of the more western literary classics on this list.
36. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China
Author: Ezra F. Vogel（傅高义）
Country: United States
Publication: 1976
Much of China’s wealth today is owed to Deng Xiaoping and his Reform and Opening-up Policy. This is one of the best works chronicling his life.
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1919
This book is particularly popular among China’s young generation, who grew up amid China’s economic boom and found themselves often conflict between the pursuit of material wealth and desires of the heart.
38. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
Author: Peter Hessler
Country: United States
Publication: 2001
River Town is a compelling portrait of Fuling, a sleepy town in China’s Sichuan province, tucked in the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley. It documents the author’s Peace Corps teaching assignment at Fuling Teachers College, which started in 1996 and lasted for two years.
Attachment to the region brought him back to Sichuan to teach writing at Sichuan University, though unfortunately, the job came to an unexpected end last year.
39. I and The Temple of Earth（我与地坛）
Author: Shi Tiesheng（史铁生）
Country: China
Publication: 1989
I and The Temple of Earth is long philosophical prose written by Shi Tiesheng, a contemporary Chinese writer. The image of the autobiographical essayist, a withdrawn young man sitting alone in a wheelchair somewhere in the park of the Temple of Earth, has impressed many readers. Many critics consider the book one of the best Chinese essays of the 20th century.
The Temple of Earth is just a block north of the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Central Beijing.
40. 1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline
Author: Ray Huang（黄仁宇）
Country: United States
Publication: 1981
Historian Ray Huang’s most famous work, 1587, A Year of No Significance examines how a number of seemingly insignificant events in 1587 might have caused the downfall of the Ming empire. This is the first analysis of the crux of Ming society from a macro history perspective.
41. My Memories of Old Beijing（城南旧事）
Author: Lin Haiyin（林海音）
Country: China
Publication: 1960
My Memories of Old Beijing is an autobiographical short story collection that sets the famous female writer Lin Haiyin’s childhood life as the background. The book has five stories, which show the society and life in Beijing in the 1920s through the eyes of a 6-year-old girl, Yingzi. The light sorrow and heavy lovesickness implied in this book moved generations of readers.
Lin, born in Japan to Taiwanese parents, returned to Taiwan when she was three. Her family then moved to Beijing due to the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Her family then moved to Taiwan once again in 1948.
The book was adapted into a movie of the same name in 1983.
42. Wandering（彷徨）
Author: Lu Xun（鲁迅）
Country: China
Publication: 1924-1925
The book is a collection of 11 short stories by Lu Xun, the most famous of which is probably The New Year Sacrifice, which portrays the miserable life of Aunt Xianglin, who suffered the death of two husbands and a son. Feeling guilty for the death of her son, who is taken off by a wolf, Aunt Xianglin gradually loses her mind and eventually dies in destitute.
One most well-known plot in the story is Aunt Xianglin would repeatedly brings up the topic of her son’s death in all of her conversations, gradually wearing off any sympathy for her.
In 2019, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying makes an analogy between Aunt Xianglin and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in that Pompeo keeps bringing up the tiring anti-China rhetoric over and over.
43. The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Country: United States
Publication: 2003
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, caught in the tragic sweep of history, The Kite Runner transports readers to Afghanistan at a tense and crucial moment of change and destruction. A powerful story of friendship, it is also about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
44. The Legend of the Condor Heroes（射雕英雄传）
Author: Jin Yong/Louis Cha（金庸）
Country: China
Publication: 1957-1959
As one of Jin Yong’s most acclaimed works and the first part of the Condor Trilogy, this novel set in the Southern Song Dynasty follows the adventures of Guo Jing as he grows from a simple and honest young man to a general of martial arts warriors. The magnificent plot and full-bodied characters make this heroic epic-style martial arts novel very popular. Since its completion, the novel has been remade several times into multi-lingual films and TV series and has been broadcast worldwide.
45. The Story of Art
Author: E. H. Gombrich
Country: United States
Publication: 1950
The Story of Art, one of the most famous and popular books on art ever written, has been a world bestseller for over four decades. Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of all ages and backgrounds have found in Professor Gombrich a true master, and one who combines knowledge and wisdom with a unique gift for communicating his deep love of the subject.
46. Siddhartha
Author: Hermann Hesse
Country: Germany
Publication: 1922
It is the story of the quest of Siddhartha, a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life of privilege and comfort to seek spiritual fulfillment and wisdom. During his journey, Siddhartha discovers that true knowledge is guided from within.
47. The Razor’s Edge
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1944
Shi Hang, a popular Chinese screenwriter, said if he can only read three books in his lifetime, he’d read Les Miserable before 20, Tolstoy’s Resurrection after 40, and The Razor’s Edge between 20 and 40.
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Country: Russia
Publication: 1880
Freud called this novel “the most magnificent novel ever written.”
49. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Author: Agatha Christie
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1926
The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd is considered to be one of Agatha Christie’s greatest, and also most controversial mysteries, this novel breaks the rules of a traditional mystery.
50. Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
Author: Peter Hessler
Country: United States
Publication: 2010
Country Driving addresses the human side of the economic revolution in China, focusing on economics and development, and shows how the auto boom helps China shift from rural to urban, from farming to business. The shift from farming to commerce, from rural to urban, described in the book, is the most important change that has taken place in China since the reform and opening-up in 1978.
Author: Daniel Keyes
Country: United States
Publication: 1959
Flowers for Algernon is steadily gaining popularity in China. The Chinese version of a musical adapted from the book is enjoying commercial success in China.
52. Chronicle of a Blood Merchant（许三观卖血记）
Author: Yu Hua（余华）
Country: China
Publication: 1995
This novel tells the story of Xu Sanduo, who survives the Great Leap Forward, famine and the Cultural Revolution, and tides over the difficulties of his life by selling his blood. The novel portrays ordinary life in the midst of hardship with great warmth and expresses the desire of the Chinese people to survive in the face of misfortunes. The novel begins but does not end with suffering, and Yu Hua’s light-hearted approach to history from the specific perspective of the Chinese people makes it a favorite for readers.
53. Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk（朝花夕拾）
Author: Lu Xun（鲁迅）
Country: China
Publication: 1932
This collection of memoirs by Lu Xun, in which he recounts the stories of his childhood and youth in Shaoxing, China. His stories vividly reveal the beauty, joy, and struggle of life in early twentieth-century China.
Two of the essays, From Baicao Garden to the Sanwei Study and Mr. Genkuro, are selected from Chinese textbooks.
Mr. Genkuro, or Fujino Genkuro，was Lu Xun’s teacher when he studied medicine in Sendai, Japan. Because of the relationship between Lu Xun and Mr. Genkuro, Shaoxing and Awara, the hometowns of the two men, became friendship cities.
Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Country: German
Publication: 1812 - 1858
The earliest translation of Grimm’s Fairy Tales into Chinese can be traced to 1903, and the first full translation of the collection was published in 1934.
Author: Keigo Higashino
Country: Japan
Publication: 2005
The Devotion of Suspect X is a mind-twisting story in which the truth is a weapon that leads both police and readers astray. Higashino won Japan’s Naoki Prize for Best Novel with this stunning thriller.
Author: Lu Xun（鲁迅）
Country: China
Publication: 1922 - 1935
In this collection of short stories, Lu Xun takes ancient Chinese myths and legends for a twist, to satirical effect.
Author: Italo Calvino
Country: Italy
Publication: 1957
This novel tells the story of Cosimo, a young eighteenth-century Italian nobleman, who rebels by climbing into the trees to remain there for the rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to an arboreal existence and even has love affairs.
Author: Agatha Christie
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1939
Another one of Christie’s masterpieces.
59. Golden Age（黄金时代）
Author: Wang Xiaobo（王小波）
Country: China
Publication: 1994
As the first part of Wang Xiaobo’s Age Trilogy, this novel portrays Wang Er and Chen Qingyang as intellectuals who are rebellious and subversive in an absurd environment, with the Cultural Revolution as the backdrop. The novel uses sexuality as the last stronghold against the outside world, restoring the absurd social phenomena of the Cultural Revolution.
Author: Jane Austen
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1813
Definitely an English classic. Its namesake film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is also popular in China.
61. Records of the Grand Historian（史记）
Author: Sima Qian（司马迁）
Country: China
Publication: 94 BC
Some say what sets China apart as one of the greatest civilizations is its unbroken tradition of recording history throughout the millennium.
Among all the recorded history dating from the Warring State period and Qing Dynasty, the Records of the Grand Historian is held in the highest regard by historians.
First, Sima Qian is a master storyteller as well as a reputable historian and demonstrates the ability to breathe life into historical figures and events that no others can.
Second, unlike most other historical records, the “Records of the Grand Historian” was not commissioned by the court, which gave it a more personal perspective that is not confined to official narratives.
Third, Sima Qian adopted a new form of history writing that is the 纪传体， or biographical history, which is similar to POV novels. With this form of history writing, readers get the full picture of history by reading biographies of important people at the time. Before Sima Qian’s time, there were other forms of history writing, such as 编年体, which documented major events by year. Sima Qian’s new form of writing set a standard for later historians, who largely followed his precedent in writing history books.
Records of the Grand Historian deal with major events and personalities of about 2,000 years（down to the author’s time）, comprising 130 chapters and totaling more than 520,000 words.
62. Children’s Encyclopedia（中国少年儿童百科全书）
Author: Lin Chongde（林崇德）
Country: China
Publication: 1991
Children’s Encyclopedia books were common in China in the 1990s and early 2000s when China’s contact with the outside world was limited. For kids of that time, these books offered a valuable education source in understanding the world. Many publishers marketed different versions of Encyclopedias, and many achieved great commercial success.
Even until this day, many people share fond memories of pouring over these encyclopedias during their childhood, and some even claim that it was the book that had the biggest impact on their lives.
63. The Plague
Author: Albert Camus
Country: France
Publication: 1947
Similar to Love in the Time of Cholera, the readership of this book was boosted in the times of Covid.
64. Les Misérables
Author: Victor Hugo
Country: France
Publication: 1862
Compared with the book, perhaps more have come to be familiar with the story from the 2012 film adaption. The musical also enjoyed success in China.
65. Concerns in the Depths of History（历史深处的忧虑）
Author: Linda（林达）
Country: China
Publication: 1997
This is a collection of letters presenting to Chinese people how deeply the Bill of Rights influences Americans’ daily lives through several representative cases. It gives an unusual and in-depth view of American society, law, and politics.
66. History of Quantum Physics（上帝掷骰子吗: 量子物理史话）
Author: Cao Tianyuan（曹天元）
Country: China
Publication: 2006
A book that explained complicated physics concepts and made the discipline more accessible.
Author: Isaac Asimov
Country: United States
Publication: 1955
The End of Eternity is one of Isaac Asimov’s science fiction masterpieces, a monument of the flowering of SF in the 20th century. It’s a classic time travel novel, with Asimov’s trademark great ideas, plot twists, and cardboard characters.
68. The Return of the Condor Heroes（神雕侠侣）
Author: Jin Yong/Louis Cha（金庸）
Country: China
Publication: 1959-1961
This novel is the second part of Jin Yong’s Condor Trilogy. Again, reading Jin Yong would greatly improve your understanding of common cultural references in everyday reading.
Author: Wu Cheng’En（吴承恩）
Country: China
Publication: 1592
Journey to the West is another one of the “classic four”.
It tells the odyssey of a Buddhist monk’s journey to India in the Tang Dynasty with his three disciples. Although inspired by the real traveling of a real Tang monk, the novel wove a world of fantasy heavily influenced by traditional mythology. As harmless as it seems, the novel is filled with biting satire and euphemisms.
Journey to the West has heavily influenced other cultures in East Asia, one prime example is the popular Japanese cartoon Dragon Ball Z, which borrowed many of its characters from this book.
70. Literary Memoirs（文学回忆录: 1989-1994）
Author: Mu Xin（木心）
Country: China
Publication: 2013
This is a collection of oral history of world literature told by Mu Xin, a Chinese writer. Only some 40 thousand users have registered as have read the book, a modest number compared with some of the more popular publications on this list.
Author: Pai Hsien-yung（白先勇）
Country: China
Publication: 1971
This book is a collection of 14 short stories, portraying the life chances of people from various social strata who came from Mainland China to Taiwan in the 1950s. Although these people are called “Taipei People”, in their minds they are always reminiscing the scintillating old times in Mainland China, therefore most of them don’t really belong to Taipei mentally. Their loss and their sense of insecurity is what this book is depicting.
Country: China
Publication: 11th century B.C. - 6th century B.C.
It’s hard to overstate the influence Classic of Poetry has on Chinese culture. The book is China’s earliest collection of poems, which dates back to the 11th century to the 6th century B.C.
Its 305 poems included works of the common people as well as the courts, and their subjects covered virtually all aspects that governed the Chinese society in the Zhou dynasty, such as labor, love, war, and worship.
Since the Han dynasty, the book started to be considered a classic and made into required reading for scholars and would-be officials.
Many poems are included in modern-day textbooks, and even more phrases are preserved in the everyday lexicon.
Author: Sanmao（三毛）
Country: China
Publication: 1977
The novel, against the backdrop of the war for self-determination of the Western Saharan people, tells a tragic love story of the Saharawi guerrilla leader Basiri and his wife Shaida. With a heavy and sad tone, the novel shows the living conditions of people under the background of war, and strongly condemns the merciless destruction of people’s lives by war.
74. A Man Called Ove
Author: Fredrik Backman
Country: Sweden
Publication: 2012
A Man Called Ove describes that a grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door. Backman’s novel about this angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Country: United States
Publication: 2007
A Thousand Splendid Suns is an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.
76. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Author: Atul Gawande
Country: United States
Publication: 2014
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End is a 2014 non-fiction book by American surgeon Atul Gawande. The book addresses end-of-life care, and hospice care, and also contains Gawande's reflections and personal stories. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival. Being Mortal has won awards, appeared on lists of best books, and been featured in a documentary.
77. Poetic Remarks in the Human World（人间词话）
Author: Wang Guowei（王国维）
Country: China
Publication: 1908-1909
Poetic Remarks in the Human World is a literary critique by scholar Wang Guowei, whose life stretched from the late Qing dynasty to the Republic era.
The book primarily focused on 词， a form of poetry most prevalent in the Song Dynasty.
In critiquing the works of Song poets, Wang also infused his own philosophical thinking, which made the book a time-honored classic.
78. Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Author: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
Country: Japan
Publication: 1981
Totto-chan: the Little Girl at the Window is an autobiographical memoir written by Kuroyanagi. This engaging series of childhood recollections tell an ideal school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love.
79. Woman-Haters: Misogyny in Japan
Author: Chizuko Ueno
Country: Japan
Publication: 2019
Woman-Haters: Misogyny is not a purely theoretical work, but a practical analysis of various contemporary social phenomena in Japan through the lens of the feminist theory. This book deals with a wide range of social issues such as family and marriage which are also pervasive topics in other countries that aim to arouse readers’ reflections and strong resonance accordingly.
Country: China
Publication: 1763
The 300 Tang Poems is perhaps the most well-known collection of Tang poems. Qing scholar Sun Zhu selected 311 poems from 77 Tang poets out of more than 50 thousand poems to form this book. Sun’s intention had been to create a collection suitable for young children in their early learnings, so the primary criterion in selecting the poems was that they are easy to read, understand and recite.
Since its publication, the collection has been deemed the best introductory book for poetry.
Since the Tang Dynasty, each of China’s dynasties developed its own hallmark literary forms. For the Tang, it was poems, which comprises 4, 8, or more verses with the same number of characters. In the Song dynasty, it was the Ci, another form of poetry also known as uneven verses. The Ci also followed rhythmic patterns but their verses were different in length. The Yuan Dynasty was known for its songs which are most similar to modern-day musicals. The Ming and Qing dynasties were known for their novels. All of the “four classics” were written during this time.
Author: Wu Jun（吴军）
Country: China
Publication: 2019
This book presents a historical overview of the development of the IT industry. On the Top of Tides describes the ups and downs of Silicon Valley’s star companies. Through an analysis of major companies’ technological track and operating philosophies, the authors reveal not only the historical landscape of interchanging phases within the technology industry but also the growth patterns of several large companies. This book also provides the reader with a realistic understanding of the technology industry, guiding the reader to comprehend the significance of technological innovation and fair trade.
82. Insight（看见）
Author: Chai Jing（柴静）
Country: China
Publication: 2013
Insight is an autobiography of Chai Jing, a well-known reporter, and TV presenter, telling about her 10-year experiences at state broadcaster CCTV. Through an immediate and deeply personal narrative, Chai tells the stories of SARS quarantine wards, a teenage suicide cult, domestic violence, the consequences of industrial pollution, and workplace sexism, while examining her growth as a journalist.
83. Tales of Hulan River（呼兰河传）
Author: Xiao Hong（萧红）
Country: China
Publication: 1940
Tales of Hulan River was the last work written by Xiao Hong, one of the most talented female literary figures in modern China.
As a semi-autobiographic novel based on Xiao Hong’s own lonely childhood life that is written in poetical and vividly descriptive language, this work, set in a remote Chinese village, is filled with the purest childhood joy and extremely insightful observations of Chinese society in the 1920s. It deftly conveys the deep and pervasive misogyny of Chinese society at that time with a wryly humorous and bleakly poignant account of rural village life.
84. The Path of Beauty: A Study of Chinese Aesthetics（美的历程）
Author: Li Zehou（李泽厚）
Country: China
Publication: 1981
An authoritative book on the history of Chinese aesthetics.
85. Crystal Boys（孽子）
Author: Pai Hsien-yung（白先勇）
Country: China
Publication: 1983
Crystal Boys is widely known as the first gay novel in twentieth-century literature written in Chinese. Focusing on the gay teenagers in Taiwan, the novel reflects the living conditions of homosexuals in their families and in the society at that time through the love tragedy of the protagonists.
Author: Laozi（老子）
Country: China
Publication: 4th century B.C.
Tao Te Ching is believed to be written by Chinese philosopher Laozi, and coupled with Zhuangzi is the fundamental text for Taoism.
Laozi’s philosophy was a major competitor for Confucianism in Chinese history, early Han Dynasty rulers followed Laozi’s teaching before Confucianism solidified its position as the officially recognized philosophy.
87. Loving You Is Like Loving Life（爱你就像爱生命）
Author: Wang Xiaobo, Li Yinhe（王小波、李银河）
Country: China
Publication: 2004
Loving You is Like Loving life contains unpublished correspondence between the renowned author Wang Xiaobo and his wife Li Yinhe. In these love letters, Wang and Li share their opinions and ideas about life, friendships, books, poetry, and the society around them, which shows their unwavering love.
88. Three of Us（我们仨）
Author: Yang Jiang（杨绛）
Country: China
Publication: 2003
Three of Us is an affectionate memory of Yang Jiang’s beloved husband Qian Zhongshu and daughter Qian Yuan from the perspective of a wife and mother. As the only surviving member of the three, Yang started the first two chapters with a dream. Yang finished the book when she was 92. As she said, the book is “her own memory of the three of them”. The moving story of the family of three proves: Family is life’s best shelter.
Author: Li Juan（李娟）
Country: China
Publication: 2012
Winner of the People’s Literature Award, Winter Pasture has been a bestselling book in China for several years. Li Juan has been widely lauded in the international literary community for her unique contribution to the narrative non-fiction genre. Winter Pasture is her crowning achievement, shattering the boundaries between nature writing and personal memoir.
90. Fall of Giants
Author: Ken Follett
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 2010
Fall of Giants is Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic. The first novel in “The Century Trilogy,” it follows the fates of five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.
91. The Godfather
Author: Mario Puzo
Country: United States
Publication: 1969
A masterpiece that inspired three award-winning movies. Though in retrospect, the success and popularity of the book and movies greatly shaped many Chinese’s first impression of Italy, closely associating the country with organized crime.
92. Complete Poems of Haizi（海子的诗）
Author: Haizi（海子）
Country: China
Publication: 1999
Haizi, originally named Zha Haizheng, is an important literary figure in contemporary China that left a mark on a generation of Chinese. His poem “Facing the Ocean in the warmth of the spring and amid blossoming flowers” is well known and frequently cited.
Haizi committed suicide in 1989, at the age of 25.
93. Of Human Bondage
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1915
Chinese readers have obviously developed a great liking for Maugham.
Author: Arthur Schopenhauer
Country: Germany
Publication: 1851
The wisdom of life is part of Parerga and Paralipomena, published in 1851 by Schopenhauer.
95. Four Generations Under One Roof（四世同堂）
Author: Lao She（老舍）
Country: China
Publication: 1944
This novel tells the story of the inhabitants of a hutong in Beiping（Beijing）during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, focusing on the grief and misery suffered by four generations of the Qi family. Through the story of a group of people in the hutong, the novel expresses the patriotic passion and noble national ethos of the people of Beijing and exposes the ferocity, hypocrisy, and shamelessness of the Japanese aggressors. The translation released in the United States was hailed as “one of the most critically acclaimed novels and one of the finest novels published in the United States during the same period.”
Laoshe’s works are the embodiment of Beijng’s culture, especially during the Republic era. His characters are well developed and accurately reflected people’s lifestyles.
Laoshe committed suicide soon after the Cultural Revolution began, but his many works, including this novel and the play Tea House, will be forever treasured.
96. Brave New World
Author: Aldous Huxley
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1932
Another classic dystopian novel also made it into the list.
97. Stoner
Author: John Williams
Country: United States
Publication: 1965
Stoner’s uneventful life and his exploration of the meaning of life offered comfort for many Chinese readers.
98. Invisible Cities
Author: Italo Calvino
Country: Italy
Publication: 1972
Invisible Cities is Italo Calvino’s beloved, intricately crafted novel about an Emperor’s travel – a brilliant journey across far-off places and distant memory.
99. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
Author: Elena Ferrante
Country: Italy
Publication: 2013
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay is the third book of the Neapolitan quartet. In this novel, Elena and Lila have grown into womanhood. Both women are pushing against the walls of a prison that would have seen them living a life of misery, ignorance, and submission. They are afloat on the great sea of opportunities that opened up for women during the 1970s.
100. Stray Birds
Author: Rabindranath Tagore
Country: India
Publication: 1916
Stray Birds is a collection of 325 short poems by Rabindranath Tagore. They were written in Bengali before being translated into English by Tagore. The basic themes of these poems are mostly very common things, such as grass, fallen leaves, birds, stars, rivers, and so on. With the keen insight of the poet into nature and society, these poems are beautiful, thought-provoking, and somewhat reminiscent of Haiku.
Tagore visited China in 1924 and was received by Chinese architect Liang Sicheng and his wife Lin Huiyin. As the first Asian Nobel prize winner, Tagore is perhaps one of the biggest names to visit China during that time.
101. Qiu Yuan（秋园）
Author: Yang Benfen（杨本芬）
Country: China
Publication: 2020
An autographical novel by a Chinese granny writer “by the stove”.
The story describes the rough fate of the heroine Qiuyuan as a wife and mother, who struggled with her destiny after years of endeavor. It is a microcosm of the history of women’s liberation and freedom in that unrest and complicated social background.
102. Crime and Punishment
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Country: Russia
Publication: 1866
The novel vividly portrays the psychological changes of the protagonist after his crime and reveals the misery of the Russian lower class. This novel is considered one of the highest achievements of world literature.
103.Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768
Author: Philip A. Kuhn
Country: United States
Publication: 1990
In a fascinating chronicle of this epidemic of fear and the official prosecution of soul stealers that ensued, Philip Kuhn provides an intimate glimpse into the world of eighteenth-century China. This wide-ranging narrative depicts life in imperial China as it was actually lived, often in the participants’ own words. Soulstealers offers a compelling portrait of the Chinese people.
104. The Deer and the Cauldron（鹿鼎记）
Author: Jin Yong/Louis Cha（金庸）
Country: China
Publication: 1969 -1972
Jin Yong’s last full-length novel tells the story of Wei Xiaobao, a young man who grows up in a brothel in Yangzhou in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, who enters society without any martial arts skills, navigates the imperial court, and is ordered to go on an expedition to Yunnan and Russia. The novel portrays an antihero who is completely different from traditional chivalry and uses this image to satirize moralistic hypocrites and old-fashioned ideas, expressing the idea of harmony among all races and national unity.
105. Embedded Power: Chinese Government and Economic Development（置身事内: 中国政府与经济发展）
Author: Lan Xiaohuan（兰小欢）
Country: China
Publication: 2021
Only published last year, this book shot to fame propelled by its original discussion of China’s political and economic system. This book succinctly describes the basic methods of economic governance by local governments and points out that the Chinese government has gradually promoted the establishment of a market-based economy in the process of industrialization and urbanization. Based on the review and analysis of the reform process and social contradictions, this book also interprets the current market-oriented reform and government transformation to help readers better grasp the reality of China’s development.
106. These People, Those Things（这些人，那些事）
Author: Wu Nien-jen（吴念真）
Country: China
Publication: 2011
This book is written by Wu Nien-jen who is Taiwan’s best storyteller and famous director, recording all his life stories after he has gone through ups and downs. He uses the words to write down his most concerned families, hometown, and friends as well as the true touching stories everywhere in Taiwan. The common people and days as well as the quiet destiny remind us of the buried memory.
107. Lost in the Dream（梦里花落知多少）
Author: Sanmao（三毛）
Country: China
Publication: 1981
Lost in the Dream recorded the author’s life after the unexpected death of her husband Jose. This book shows the author’s courage to face the difficulties in life and her sentiment of missing, which touched the readers deeply.
108.The Criminal Lu Yanshi （陆犯焉识）
Author: Yan Geling（严歌苓）
Country: China
Publication: 2011
This novel narrates the ups and downs of intellectual Lu Yanshi’s life in the context of Chinese history and political changes in the 20th century. The protagonist Lu was condemned as an anti-revolutionary during the political campaigns in the early 1950s because of his influential family background and radical behavior, sentenced to the northwestern wilderness for “re-education” and finally realized his sincere love for his memory-lost wife. The novel was also adapted into the film Coming Home directed by Zhang Yimou.
109. The Border Town（边城）
Author: Shen Congwen（沈从文）
Country: China
Publication: 1934
This novel depicts the story of Cui Cui, a boat girl from Chardon, a small town on the border between Hunan and Sichuan, and shows the goodness and beauty of human nature. The novel depicts the unique customs of the western Hunan region in a beautiful combination of lyric poetry and fiction, creating a paradise of simplicity and peace in the chaotic China of the time. The novel has a unique place in the history of modern Chinese literature for its aesthetic art.
110. Educated: A Memoir
Author: Tara Westover
Country: United States
Publication: 2018
Educated is a memoir by the American author Tara Westover. Westover recounts overcoming her survivalist Mormon family in order to go to college and emphasizes the importance of education in enlarging her world. She details her journey from her isolated life in the mountains of Idaho to complete a PhD program in history at Cambridge University. Tara’s beautiful and propulsive story also inspired many Chinese readers.
Author: Stephen W. Hawking
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1988
A Brief History of Time is the story of the ultimate quest for knowledge, the ongoing search for the secrets at the heart of time and space.
112. Lectures on Modern Western Thought（刘擎西方现代思想讲义）
Author: Liu Qing（刘擎）
Country: China
Publication: 2021
Lectures on Modern Western Thought is the classic transcript of Chinese scholar Liu Qing and is considered one of the best in its field.
113. Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
Author: Oscar Wilde
Country: United Kingdom
Publication: 1888 -1891
Fairy tales are partly for the children, partly for the adults. Several stories have been included in primary school textbooks in China.
114. Remote Control
Author: Kotaro Isaka
Country: Japan
Publication: 2007
This novel is based on historical events but tells a story that seems unbelievable in the real world: a former deliveryman Masaharu Aoyagi was made a scapegoat for killing Prime Minister by dropping a bomb from a remote-control toy helicopter and received support and trust from other characters associated with Aoyagi. Through such a story, it outlines the increasingly scarce friendship, relationships, and kinship between people. This parable of good and evil also reveals today’s politics in an elegant and intricate way.
115. The Love Story of a Young Monk（受戒）
Author: Wang Zengqi（汪曾祺）
Country: China
Publication: 1941
The Love Story of a Young Monk describes the innocent and hazy love between a little monk Minghai and a peasant girl Xiaoyingzi and portrays the idyllic scenery of the Lixiahe area in north Jiangsu Province of China in the 1930s in a poetic way. The story is filled with an inherent joy, praising the simplicity and beauty of human nature and revealing the theme of pursuing individual liberation.
116. One Hundred Thousand Whys（十万个为什么）
Author: Dong Chuncai（董纯才）
Country: China
Publication: 1934
One Hundred Thousand Whys is an encyclopedia-like book that explained the world to young children in the form of questions and answers.
The book was originally borne out of a book of the same name from the Soviet Union, though later Chinese publishers greatly expanded the content of the book. The book greatly promoted scientific awareness in China.
And no, it didn’t really have 10 thousand whys.
117. The Garden of Forking Paths
Author: Jorge Luis Borges
Country: Argentina
Publication: 1941
The Garden of Forking Paths marked a turning point in the literary career of Jorge Luis Borges and helped to establish his reputation as a fiction writer. The story includes two parts but is skillfully combined by Borges.
118. The World of Yesterday: Memoires of a European
118.Author: Stefan Zweig
118.Country: Germany
118.Publication: 1942
Written as both a recollection of the past and a warning for future generations, The World of Yesterday recalls the golden age of literary Vienna—its seeming permanence, its promise, and its devastating fall.
119. Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung: Volume 1（毛泽东选集第一卷）
Author: Mao Zedong（毛泽东）
Country: China
Publication: 1960
The work of Mao has seen somewhat of a revival nowadays, as many young people revisit his thoughts as guides to their lives.
120.Three Novellas: The King of Trees, The King of Chess, The King of Children（棋王树王孩子王）
Author: Ah Cheng（阿城）
Country: China
Publication: 1996
This is a collection of Ah Cheng’s three novellas The King of Trees, The King of Chess, and The King of Children. When the three novellas were published separately in China in the 1980s, “Ah Cheng fever” spread across the country. In this collection, Ah Cheng dealt with the Cultural Revolution in Daoist-Confucian terms, mixing both traditional and vernacular elements with an aesthetic that emphasized not the hardships and miseries of those years, but the joys of close, meaningful friendships. The stories are based on the life of educated youth in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Describing and recalling the strange people and strange things that happened, it shows the spirit of seeking ideals in traditional Chinese culture.
121. Blindness
Author: Jose Saramago
Country: Portugal
Publication: 1997
A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century, Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayal of man’s worst appetites and weaknesses-and man’s ultimately exhilarating spirit. The author of the stunningly powerful novel of man’s will to survive against all odds is Jose Saramago, the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.
122. Letter from an Unknown Woman
Author: Stefan Zweig
Country: Germany
Publication: 1922
Letter from an Unknown Woman tells the story of an author who, while reading a letter written by a woman he does not remember, gets glimpses into her life story.
The book was elevated to wide recognition by Chinese readers with the help of successful Chinese movie and play adaptions.
123. Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting
Author: Robert McKee
Country: United States
Publication: 1997
Robert McKee’s screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the “magic” of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.
124. Scream
Author: Aki Hamanaka
Country: Japan
Publication: 2014
This is a detective story, focusing on the death of Yoko Suzuki, a woman dismissed from both the traditional family and the employment system. Aki Hamanaka describes Japan’s postwar society and sheds light on the anonymous people who are struggling at the bottom.
125. A General History of China（国史大纲）
Author: Qian Mu（钱穆）
Country: China
Publication: 1939
Mr. Qian had taught the General History of China at Peking University, Southwest Associated University, and Hong Kong New Asia College. A General History of China is based on the class transcripts of Mr. Qian. The dust-laden lecture notes many years ago make the more essential narration. The book is organized and compiled in the form of legend, and it is a rare precious historical material.
Sun Mengqi contributed to this news letter. Stay tuned for parts III and IV.
The fact that 1984 and Animal Farm are persistent best-sellers and not banned in China really invites some serious thoughts. It points to something the West -- Washington and Hollywood alike -- often fails to get right about us, that there is not this imagined dichotomy between a control-obsessed state vs its supposedly innocent and freedom-loving people, but a collective body of people -- the party, the intelligentsia, business groups, normal folks -- constantly pondering about options and choices in to make themselves, their families and their nation more prosperous ones, in a quintessentially Confucian tradition. In this context, books like 1984 simply serves as an allegory for what will happen when a Soviet-style governance runs wild. It's simply part of the global body of knowledge that Chinese nation can tap into for our own growth and development.
As a westerner, I’m disappointed in the exclusion of Confucius, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Hanfei, 左傳, 孫子兵法, 文心雕龍, 呂氏春秋…. what’s going on?