Review Essay

King Lear And China’s Big Leader Kultur

Shakespeare has much to teach us about the hubristic fragility of despotic leaders, from the tyrants of the mid-20th century to those of today. But are we learning the lesson?

Nan Z. Da and Stephen Greenblatt on Shakespeare and Mao

Two literary scholars explain what Shakespeare can tell us about China under Mao, and the nature of tyranny, in a China Books Review event at Asia Society.

Chinese Horror with Xueting C. Ni

Horror writing has an unsavory reputation in China, but comes with a long history and is full of biting social commentary. The translator of a recent collection explains what lurks beneath.

Best China Books of 2025

Identity issues. Migrant stories. Company profiles. Lost daughters. Daddy issues. Our annual round-up of notable books on or from China, nonfiction and literature, nominated by experts.

Donate to CBR and Receive Our Yearbook!

Support our work at China Books Review by giving a tax-deductible donation this giving season — we'll send you a complimentary issue of our printed yearbook.

Logging Unpaid Hours

When a state-run sawmill from the Mao era privatized and eventually closed, its female workers were denied fair compensation. Its story doubles as an alternate history of China’s feminist protest movement.

Translated Chinese Literature: New Fiction

2025 has seen a bumper crop for Chinese literature in translation. We recommend five recent titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction from Hong Kong.

Recent books

A History of Chinese Silk Art

Feng Zhao (tr. Su Miao, Rao Ping)

January 14, 2026

Springer

Silicon Elsewhere

Andrea Pollio

January 13, 2026

University of California Press

Fly, Wild Swans

Jung Chang

January 13, 2026

Harper

Inspired by Taiwan

George S. Takach

January 13, 2026

Sutherland House

The Future of the South China Sea

Jiye Kim

January 13, 2026

University of Michigan Press

Browse more recent
Upcoming books

The Mandate of Heaven

Daniele L.R. Marini

January 16, 2026

Springer

Chinese Journalists Turned YouTubers

Luwei Rose Luqiu, Yinqiao Zhao

January 16, 2026

Routledge

Africa-China Relations

Ed. Lloyd G. Adu Amoah

January 17, 2026

Palgrave Macmillan

Rethinking China

Zhengyu Huang

January 19, 2026

Palgrave Macmillan

Planetarity from Below

Emily Yu Zong

January 19, 2026

University of Michigan 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

Autocrats vs. Democrats

Michael McFaul

October 28, 2025

Mariner Books

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

Barbara Demick

May 20, 2025

Random House

Red Tide

M.P. Woodward

September 23, 2025

Naval Institute Press

Browse more bestselling
Editors' picks

Scam

Mark Bo, Ivan Franceschini and Ling Li

July 8, 2025

Verso

Ocean, as Much as Rain

Tsering Woeser (eds., trs. Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Dechen Pemba)

February 10, 2026

Duke University Press

China’s Church Divided

Paul P. Mariani

July 15, 2025

Harvard University Press

Sentimental Republic

Hang Tu

February 18, 2025

Harvard University Press

China’s Backstory

Lee Moore

September 30, 2025

Unsung Voices Books

Browse more picks

From the Archive

Jung Chang: A Grande Dame of China Writing

The author of “Wild Swans” and its new sequel made her name by introducing China to readers through personal history — but her later biographies were criticized for historical inaccuracy.

Ep. 27: Sex, Scams and Sorcery with Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea

Tales of trickery were popular in the late Ming dynasty. The translators of a new collection explain how they still resonate today.

The Revolution Will Be Illustrated

In a graphic novel depicting a dystopian future Hong Kong, three former democracy activists struggle to come to terms with a dark new reality.

What China's Reading: Books from the Sinosphere

Five new reads from the wider world of sinophone literature, including a Taiwanese book on Covid quarantine and a Malaysian-Chinese memoir of loss.

Sins of the Father

Xi Zhongxun, one of China’s early communist revolutionaries, tried to balance reformist instincts with loyalty to the Party. His failure left an indelible mark on his son, Xi Jinping.

Vikram Seth: Hitchhiking From China to India

Before he became an award-winning novelist, the Indian writer Vikram Seth was an exchange student in China. In the 1980s, he traveled overland from Nanjing to Delhi.

Nominations Open for 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize

Our book prize returns in its second year, celebrating exceptional books on or from China and the Sinophone world. Nominate now!

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.

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.

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.

From the Archive

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