The Secret Life of Student Democracy
A scholar’s portrait of student volunteer groups in China is inspirational, but are they really planting the seeds of democratic change?
Why “All Under Heaven” is Wrong
Tianxia, Beijing’s favorite theory of global power, is held up by Chinese scholars as an alternative to West-centrism. The latest work of its loudest cheerleader...
For All the Trees in China
For over a century, Chinese rulers have launched tree-planting campaigns, to benefit the environment and build the nation. But did their rousing rhetoric actually lead...
Workers of the World, Rewrite!
A Chinese non-fiction writer finds himself in the same straits as the migrant laborer-artists of Picun village whom he profiles.
Found in Translation
An award-winning novel set in Japanese-ruled Taiwan explores the relationship between colonizer and subaltern, translator and translated — and how some distances can’t be closed.
The Thrilling Truth
A new thriller set in 1930s Shanghai includes just enough historical detail to be believable. But is history at risk of being overtaken by fiction?
Socialism with Socratic Characteristics
In attempting to justify Communist Party rule, Chinese academics have turned to an unlikely intellectual ally — classical Greek philosophy.
Can Cultural Exchange Save U.S.-China Relations?
Sino-American ties are reaching new lows. A new book looks back to the 1970s, when the relationship began, to question whether “people’s diplomacy” at sub-governmental...
Move Fast and Break Things
Deng Xiaoping’s Southern Tour of 1992 has been heralded as the unofficial act that kick-started China’s economic miracle. But other voices were also calling for...
China’s New Maritime Order
Asia contends with a complex history of unresolved disputes in the South China Sea. Two new books unpack the challenge posed by Beijing to maritime...
A Record of Old Kashgar
The Uyghur city in Xinjiang has been disrupted by outside forces through history — of which Chinese rebuilding is the latest change. A book of...
Brave Attempt
A new account tells the story of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, and their failures, through four individual lives. But we need more unmediated voices...