Recently I realized that although I’ve read a lot about Chinese history and politics, I know relatively little about contemporary Chinese culture inside of China. I’d love to read more books, both fiction and nonfiction, that would help me learn more about China’s culture as experienced by everyday people. Bonus points for great English translations of contemporary Chinese writers!
by MeatAlarmed9483
3 Comments
Three Wild Swans is an amazing book by a Chinese writer, it’s about the authors grandmother, mother, and herself and their experiences through essentially feudal China, growth and dominance of communism and what it’s like now. It taught me a huge amount about why China is the way it is now.
On the fiction front there are a couple of authors
if you’re interested in Rural settings
Jia Pingwa – *Shannxi Opera, The Mountain Whisperer, Broken Wings*
Liang Hong – *China in One Village, The Sacred Clan*
Li Er – *Cherries on a Pomegranate Tree*
Su Tong – *Raise the Red Lantern, Shadow of the Hunter*
If you’re interested in Urban settings
Dong Xi – *Record of Regret*, *Fate Rewritten*
Yao Emei – *The Unfilial*
Feng Jicai – *Faces in the Crowd*
it’s focused on Chinese tech specifically, but I really liked the essay collection blockchain chicken farm! I’m also a huge fan of pretty much everything jeremy tiang has ever translated, they have great taste in contemporary Chinese fiction