Every month in our WildChina Book Club we sit down with world-renowned authors to discuss Chinese society, culture, history, cuisine, and more in between. We’ve saved all of our past book discussions into one of our WildChina reading lists so you can catch up with our favorite authors whenever you’d like.
We’ve also collated our favorite reads from 2020 into a handy reading list that you can dip into at your leisure. So whether you’re looking to inspire your next trip or merely yearning to cozy up with a good read, we’ve got you covered.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Amy Chua
A mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it’s about a bitter clash and how you can be humbled by a thirteen-year-old.
Murders of Old China
Paul French
By delving deep into 12 of China’s most fascinating murder cases, Murders of Old China delivers a fast-paced journey through China’s early 20th-century history – including its criminal underbelly.
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Lisa See
A powerful story about a family, separated by circumstances, culture, and distance, Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane paints an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people and celebrates the bond that connects mothers and daughters.
Leading Through Culture
Ken Wilcox
Ken Wilcox writes on his experience as a leader both in the US, and in China. “Any of us may be called to lead, for a short time or a longer one, in a large or small group, and almost all of us are capable.”
Beethoven in China
Jindong Cai & Sheila Melvin
At the turn of the twentieth century, students returning from abroad brought Beethoven to China. The composer’s perseverance in the face of adversity and his musical genius resonated in a young nation searching for a way forward.
China’s New Youth
Alec Ash
Dahai is a military child and netizen; ‘Fred’ a daughter of the Party. Lucifer is an aspiring superstar; Snail a country migrant addicted to online games. Xiaoxiao is a hipster from the freezing north; Mia a rebel from Xinjiang. Learn about China’s contemporary youth culture through the lives of these six millennials.
The Good Women of China
Xinran
An unprecedented work of oral history, The Good Women of China offers firsthand accounts of societal issues facing women in the 20th century. In this heartrending and inspiring collection of stories, author Xinran shares her interviews during her time as a radio journalist in China in the 1980s.
The Great Wall in 50 Objects
William Lindesay
The Great Wall in 50 Objects offer a. look into the illuminating history of China’s most celebrated landmark from 2nd century BCE through the late-20th century. Author and WildChina Expert William Lindesay tells the stories of 50 carefully selected artifacts that were inspired by the Wall, like Abraham Ortelius’s pioneering world atlas and Kafka’s ‘At the Building of the Great Wall.
AI Superpowers
Dr. Kai-Fu Lee
Author Kai-Fu Lee imagines a sooner-than-we-imagine future with artificial intellignce. In this trailblazing book, Lee examines the role of U.S. and China in ushering this advancement in technology and its implications on the workforce.
Monkey King: Journey to the West
Wu Cheng’en – Translation by Julia Lovell
A shape-shifting trickster on a kung-fu quest for eternal life, Monkey King is one of the most memorable superheroes in world literature. High-spirited and omni-talented, he amasses dazzling weapons and skills on his journey to immortality: a gold-hooped staff that can grow as tall as the sky and shrink to the size of a needle; the ability to travel 108,000 miles in a single somersault.
Land of the Big Numbers
Te-Ping Chen
Gripping and compassionate, Land of Big Numbers traces the journeys of the diverse and legion Chinese people, their history, their government, and how all of that has tumbled—messily, violently, but still beautifully—into the present. Cutting between clear-eyed realism and tongue-in-cheek magical realism, Chen’s stories coalesce into a portrait of a people striving for openings where mobility is limited.
[…] Where possible, take a high-speed train (if less than ~6hrs duration, we consider it more efficient than flying). It’s a great way to see the scenery change while diving into a book on China […]