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...
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...
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.
Sex Sells
A book on prostitution in China asks sex workers how they see the industry, the state and themselves.
Who Will Be the Next Dalai Lama?
The Dalai Lama, who just turned 90, writes in his memoir that he will reincarnate in the “free world.” But will his political, religious and...
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.