Review

Yu Hua: Fictional Cities

The bestselling Chinese novelist foregrounds individual suffering in the chaos of modern Chinese history. In his latest novel in translation, gratuitous violence shows the limits of fiction.

Ep. 26: Chris Horton on Taiwan’s History and Present

Colonized by the Dutch Republic, Qing China and Japan, Taiwan's complicated past led to a multi-layered identity today. We invited the author of a new primer to lay it out for us.

Patrick McGee on Apple in China

The author and journalist explains how China captured Apple's business and learnt from its technology, in a China Books Review event at Asia Society.

Hongbin Li: How the Gaokao Shapes China

The U.S.-based academic discusses why China’s college entrance exam system retains popular support despite its hardships, and how the gaokao’s influence can spread overseas.

How the iPhone was Made in China

When the iPhone launched in 2007, Apple's supply chain in China was still nascent. Yet as the product took off, China profited from the creation of its own advanced electronics industry.

No Country for a Woman

Women in China have suffered abuse, silencing and erasure — despite the Communist Party’s slogans about women’s liberation. Two novels by the Wuhan writer Fang Fang show how gendered oppression persists throughout political change.

Ep. 25: Timothy Thurston on Tibetan Satire

Tibetans inside China have found various ways to push back against Beijing and voice their dissatisfaction. A lesser-known form of subtle resistance is the art of “zurza,” or satirical repartee.

Recent books

Chinese Culture and the Chinese Military

Haizong Lei

November 6, 2025

Cambridge University Press

Rumor in the Early Chinese Empires

Zongli Lu

November 6, 2025

Cambridge University Press

Shaman and Intangible Heritage in Northern China

Jiyun Zhang

November 5, 2025

Sidestone Press

Two Paths to Prosperity

Avner Greif, Joel Mokyr, Guido Tabellini

November 4, 2025

Princeton University Press

Tigers Between Empires

Jonathan C. Slaght

November 4, 2025

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Browse more recent
Upcoming books

The Strength of Water

Karin K. Jensen

November 7, 2025

Sibylline Press

Trawling Talent

Ran Ren

November 7, 2025

Routledge

Clear and Muddy Loss of Love 1

Qing Jun Mo Xiao

November 11, 2025

Monogatari Novels

Southern Powers and Global Development

Laura Trajber Waisbich

November 11, 2025

Bristol University Press

Quiet Wars

Brian Ellison

November 11, 2025

Naval Institute Press

Browse more upcoming
Bestselling books

Breakneck

Dan Wang

August 26, 2025

W.W. Norton & Company

Apple in China

Patrick McGee

May 13, 2025

Scribner

The Lotus Shoes

Jane Yang

January 7, 2025

Park Row

Strangers in the Land

Michael Luo

April 29, 2025

Doubleday

Red Tide

M.P. Woodward

September 23, 2025

Naval Institute Press

Browse more bestselling
Editors' picks

You Must Take Part in Revolution

Badiucao, Melissa Chan

March 4, 2025

Street Noise Books

The Milk Tea Allianace

Jeffrey Wasserstrom

June 10, 2025

Columbia Global Reports

Breaking the Engagement

David Shambaugh

June 12, 2025

Oxford University Press

Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China

Ting Guo

February 13, 2025

Amsterdam University Press

Transplants

Daniel Tam-Claiborne

May 13, 2025

Regalo Press

Browse more picks

From the Archive

Wanted: Pandas, Dead or Alive

In 1928, the eldest two sons of President Theodore Roosevelt set out to capture or kill a giant panda. Their hunting trip accidentally contributed to the cause of wildlife conservation.

What China's Listening To

We picked five albums that China’s Gen Z are listening to while lying flat, working, involuting, “running” abroad and pushing the envelope.

What Happened to "Engagement" with China?

Since 1972, the U.S. has hoped that engaging with China would benefit both nations. That dream has burst. A new book performs an autopsy on engagement policy — but is it really dead?

Dan Wang on Engineers vs. Lawyers

The technology analyst discusses his new book "Breakneck," explaining what America's lawyerly society could learn from China's quest to engineer the future.

The Storytelling Robot

A science fiction story by Fei Dao, translated by Alec Ash — plus a Q&A with the author on the importance of Chinese sci-fi.

David Moser on Performing Comedy in China

The sinologist talks about moving to China in 1989, his first appearance on the Spring Festival Gala in 1999, and learning xiangsheng from the masters.

Empire of Engineers

China has been a nation of engineers, from imperial to communist rule. America’s lawyerly society could learn something from that — but civil and social engineering come at a human cost.

Sima Qian: Records of the Grand Historian

History is supposedly written by the victors. Sima Qian, author of China's original historical classic, showed it could also be written by the condemned.

Ill Winds In Tibet

A banned Tibetan novel, now published in English, recounts the devastation of Mao's campaigns in the wake of the Amdo Rebellion of 1958.

Ep. 24: China Conspiracy Theories

From Covid as a bioweapon to Chinese soldiers infiltrating America, Alexander Boyd discusses the right-wing conspiracy theories that lead our ranking of bestselling China books.

The Trouble with Chinese Cookbooks

Despite the difficulty of translating Chinese cuisine for Western readers, Chinese cookbooks continue to sell. But just as their form has changed over the decades, so too has their mission.

What America Reads About China

Conspiracy theories and alarmism about Cold War redux are the best selling China books on Amazon.com. We read them so you don’t have to.

From the Archive

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