This page lists our editors’ picks of new China books, defined as any English-language book on or from China that was published in the last year, and which we see as having special value that adds to the conversation. We update this list on a monthly basis, based on titles in our New China Books columns. Please note that these editorial selections are not intended as an authoritative judgment, merely as recommendations of titles that readers may enjoy. Blurbs are adapted from publisher copy.
New China books
At the Edge of Empire
A Family’s Reckoning with China
Edward Wong
A dual narrative that tells the story of modern China by braiding an intergenerational family memoir with first-person contemporary reporting by the former New York Times Beijing bureau chief.
Buy
Private Revolutions
Four Women Face China's New Social Order
Yuan Yang
A portrait of modern China told through the lives of four ordinary women striving for a better future in a highly unequal society.
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Other Rivers
A Chinese Education
Peter Hessler
An account of two generations of students in China's heartland, chronicling a country in the midst of tumultuous change through the prism of its education system.
Buy
Sound and Silence
My Experience with China and Literature
Yan Lianke
A collection of reflections on literary censorship in China from renowned author Yan Lianke.
Buy
Granta #169: China
The Magazine of New Writing
Various
Featuring fiction by Yu Hua, Zou Jingzhi, Yan Lianke, Jianan Qian, Shuang Xuetao, Mo Yan, Zhang Yueran, Ban Yu, Yang Zhihan and Wang Zhanhei.
BuyTranslated Chinese Literature
Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise
A Novel
Yi-han Lin (tr. Jenna Tang)
A fictional account of sexual violence, women's vulnerability and victimization in Taiwan.
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Tongueless
Lau Yee-Wa (tr. Jennifer Feeley)
A psychological thriller that sheds light on the current political situation in Hong Kong.
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The Joy of a Left Hand
Liang Wern Fook (tr. Christina Ng)
A collection of stories ranging from the absurd to the comical written with the author's left hand.
Buy
A Past Unearthed
Return of the Condor Heroes Volume 1
Jin Yong (tr. Gigi Chang)
A novel that takes readers on an epic journey filled with ancient legends, kung fu, and a transformative quest.
BuyWhat China's Reading
