Here are 100 books that The Shortest History of China fans have personally recommended if you like
The Shortest History of China.
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I’ve been fascinated by China from a young age, and I have always wanted to go there. In my thirties, after walking into a Daoist temple in Australia, I immediately felt at home. I was initiated into the Daoist tradition, then travelled to China. I spent nearly two decades living and travelling through the country. I married a Chinese national and felt I had married not just a person but a whole family! This propelled me into a deeper understanding of the culture. The books I’ve listed helped me to understand more: I hope you enjoy them too!
Eva Wong manages to make her tales so captivating that I couldn’t put this book down. I learnt about “the dynamic spiritual tradition” of Taoism/Daoism through hermits, revolutionaries, scholars, and mystics in her beautifully told account.
Reading this book, I felt like I was travelling with Eva from the East China sea to the heights of Mt Tai, from north of the Yangtze to the fields of Sichuan, meeting immortals, Daoist cultivators, writers and alchemists as the author made obscure theories and ancient scriptures eminently understandable through her story-telling style.
She brings the soul of China to life through its legends and tales, all firmly placed in their historic context. Famous Daoist figures and semi-mythical emperors all come to life as she crisscrosses China, spatially and temporally.
Here, Taoist practitioner Eva Wong offers a colorful treatment of the history and evolution of Taoism, told through traditional teaching tales. These tales, which Wong first heard as a child growing up in Hong Kong, are gleaned from the local storytellers and the uncensored chronicles known as yeshi—the wild history of China, not monitored by the official imperial scholars and historians. The stories are by turns mysterious and intriguing, passionate and violent, and they are peppered with colorful characters, including hermits, politicians, social activists, revolutionaries, scholars, scientists, and mystics.
Arranged chronologically from prehistory through the early twentieth century, these stories…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’ve been fascinated by China from a young age, and I have always wanted to go there. In my thirties, after walking into a Daoist temple in Australia, I immediately felt at home. I was initiated into the Daoist tradition, then travelled to China. I spent nearly two decades living and travelling through the country. I married a Chinese national and felt I had married not just a person but a whole family! This propelled me into a deeper understanding of the culture. The books I’ve listed helped me to understand more: I hope you enjoy them too!
I love this translation of a long boat trip up the Yangtze River. Phillip Watson’s interpretation makes the journey seem alive, as if you had just finished sailing upriver with Lu You.
Photographs of modern-day places where the Song dynasty poet travelled bring his adventures to life, as he stops at temples and meets Daoist abbots and Buddhist monks. The river itself hasn’t changed much, making the book a reliable travel companion and guide.
I smiled, and sometimes laughed at loud, at the comments Lu You made about people and small shrines he encountered! And the photographs! Did I mention them? They make a translated journal from a thousand years ago seem like they happened just yesterday, capturing the essence of China in poetry and lyrical description.
In July 1170, a Chinese poet, politician and historian made a journey from west to east China. Lu You (pronounced 'loo yo') kept a daily record of his experiences: the people he met, the unfolding landscape and the famous historical sites he visited. What emerges is a detailed panorama of twelfth-century China, an exotic mixture of travelogue, literature and politics. This new modern translation by Philip Watson of the whole of the diary makes the entirety of this fascinating work of literature accessible to the general reader for the first time, and his detailed commentary fills in all the essential…
I’ve been fascinated by China from a young age, and I have always wanted to go there. In my thirties, after walking into a Daoist temple in Australia, I immediately felt at home. I was initiated into the Daoist tradition, then travelled to China. I spent nearly two decades living and travelling through the country. I married a Chinese national and felt I had married not just a person but a whole family! This propelled me into a deeper understanding of the culture. The books I’ve listed helped me to understand more: I hope you enjoy them too!
Daoism is China’s only indigenous religion and is essential to understanding the soul of China. I devoured this easy-to-read book because it is both comprehensive and deeply authentic. I found the format easy to navigate, with handy overviews of each chapter, subheadings, and highlighted areas of interest.
With so many misunderstandings and common myths about Daoism circulating, it was great to find an accurate accounting of this ancient religion. Komjathy’s credentials are both academic and experiential: He is a professor of Theology and Religious Studies and an ordained Daoist.
The handy, detailed map at the beginning allowed me to pinpoint the areas where the various schools, lineages, foundational views, and practices of Daoism had developed, and the comprehensive notes provide depth and context.
Using a historical, textual and ethnographic approach, this is the most comprehensive presentation of Daoism to date. In addition to revealing the historical contours and primary concerns of Chinese Daoists and Daoist communities, The Daoist Tradition provides an account of key themes and defining characteristics of Daoist religiosity, revealing Daoism to be a living and lived religion. Exploring Daoism from a comparative religious studies perspective, this book gives the reader a deeper understanding of religious traditions more broadly. Beginning with an overview of Daoist history, The Daoist Tradition then covers key elements of Daoist worldviews and major Daoist practices. This…
I’ve been fascinated by China from a young age, and I have always wanted to go there. In my thirties, after walking into a Daoist temple in Australia, I immediately felt at home. I was initiated into the Daoist tradition, then travelled to China. I spent nearly two decades living and travelling through the country. I married a Chinese national and felt I had married not just a person but a whole family! This propelled me into a deeper understanding of the culture. The books I’ve listed helped me to understand more: I hope you enjoy them too!
I was so thrilled to discover this new, 2024 translation of Xu Xiake’s Travels.
Xu Xiake was a Ming dynasty traveller who walked across China with the goal of visiting the five sacred mountains. So happy to finally have an English translation of this richly described travel journey, wherein Xu climbed sacred mountains and engaged in discussions with Daoists, locals, officials, and other writers along the way.
Xu Xiake’s Travels is more than just a geographical account; it “is a window into the soul of a nation,” according to the book’s blurb. I concur. It’s a fascinating account made all the richer to me as I discovered this translation after my travels were over, and found, by chance, I had echoed his footsteps into the mountains.
In the annals of travel literature, few works possess the enduring allure and profound cultural significance as "Xu Xiake's Travels." Written by the famed Chinese explorer Xu Xiake during the Ming Dynasty, this masterpiece stands as a testament to human curiosity, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge.As one delves into the pages of this timeless chronicle, they embark on a journey across the vast tapestry of China's landscape, traversing mountains, rivers, and valleys. Through Xu Xiake's meticulous observations and vivid descriptions, readers are transported to a bygone era, where the wonders of nature unfold before their eyes with unparalleled…
I’ve spent all of my adult life writing about American foreign policy, especially Chinese-American relations. My America’s Response to China, the standard text on the subject, has gone through 6 editions. I served as a line officer in the Pacific Fleet, lived in Taipei and Beijing. I also served as chairman of the State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation and have been a consultant on Chinese affairs to various government organizations. And I cook the best mapo toufu outside of Sichuan. (where I negotiated the Michigan-Sichuan sister-state relationship in 1982). It was probably my love of Chinese food that accounts for most of the above.
When this book was published it was a sensation that divided the world of China watchers. Indeed, my wife, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, hated it—and I loved it.
Jim, a close personal friend of ours, was arguing that policies that most in the field endorsed, such as Permanent MFN (most favored nation tariff status), were a mistake; that the theory that as China’s economy developed, as it modernized, it would move toward becoming democratic was nonsense. He was dismissive of the Clinton administration’s policies and of the academics and other analysts who supported it.
His arguments resonated with me based on my time living in China and my contacts with Chinese intellectuals and officials. There’s little doubt today that Jim was right—his experience as the Los Angeles Times Bureau Chief in Beijing and his research for his About Face and Rise of the Vulcans informed his views.
The book that got China right: a prophetic work on how America's policies towards China led it away from liberalization and further towards authoritarianism, from the bestselling author of Rise of the Vulcans
"[The China Fantasy] predicted, China would remain an authoritarian country, and its success would encourage other authoritarian regimes to resist pressures to change . . . Mann’s prediction turned out to be true." -New York Review of Books, October 2017
"From Clinton to Bush to Obama, the prevailing belief was engagement with China would make China more like the West. Instead, as [James] Mann predicted, China has…
My career has given me the chance to travel around China and see parts that most foreigners do not get to see. Having studied Chinese in Oxford and Taiwan, working in China for a metal trading company in the 1980s gave me a chance to travel widely around the country when access to foreigners–especially diplomats and journalists–was highly restricted. Later, I became an early investor in the domestic stock market, focusing on smaller, entrepreneurial companies, which involved a lot of travel. I have now visited nearly every province except Hainan. Planting a vineyard and building a Scottish castle in Shandong introduced me to rural China and the local Communist Party.
Most Western reports about China concentrate on its economic growth or political system. This book is unusual in that it examines religion in China and what the Chinese actually believe (and what they are prepared to suffer to practice those beliefs). The collapse of the traditional ethical frameworks lies behind a number of scandals in modern China.
'Masterfully opens up a little explored realm: how the quest for religion and spirituality drives hundreds of millions of Chinese' Pankaj Mishra
'A fascinating odyssey ... a nuanced group portrait of Chinese citizens striving for non-material answers in an era of frenetic materialism' Julia Lovell, Guardian
'The reappearance and flourishing of religion is perhaps the most surprising aspect of the dramatic changes in China in recent decades...this is a beautiful, moving and insightful book' Michael Szonyi
In no society on Earth was there such a ferocious attempt to eradicate all trace of religion as in modern China. But now, following…
An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroines—a dragon rider and a portal jumper—who fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction.
Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswen’s dream is to…
I’ve spent all of my adult life writing about American foreign policy, especially Chinese-American relations. My America’s Response to China, the standard text on the subject, has gone through 6 editions. I served as a line officer in the Pacific Fleet, lived in Taipei and Beijing. I also served as chairman of the State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation and have been a consultant on Chinese affairs to various government organizations. And I cook the best mapo toufu outside of Sichuan. (where I negotiated the Michigan-Sichuan sister-state relationship in 1982). It was probably my love of Chinese food that accounts for most of the above.
I’ve known Liz since she was a graduate student and have been delighted to see her rise to become one of the leading authorities on the inside workings of the Chinese state.
After years as the Council on Foreign Relations’ China expert, she left for the Hoover Institute for a quieter atmosphere for her research and writing, but she was drafted to serve as China adviser to Gina Raimondo, Biden’s secretary of commerce. There’s no better book on Xi’s China today.
In The Third Revolution, eminent China scholar Elizabeth C. Economy provides an incisive look at the transformative changes underway in China today. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has unleashed a powerful set of political and economic reforms: the centralization of power under Xi, himself, the expansion of the Communist Party's role in Chinese political, social, and economic life, and the construction of a virtual wall of regulations to control more closely the exchange of ideas and capital between China and the outside world. Beyond its borders, Beijing has recast itself as a great power, seeking to reclaim its past glory and…
I have expertise and a passion for this theme, as I happen to have an ease in abstract mathematical thinking and an understanding of Keynesian economics. But in that, I appear to be an exception. Who am I? A normal, now retired businessman, who was reasonably successful. In the economic matters that I now write about, I find that I think “differently.” I therefore have refused any affiliation, so as to avoid indiscreet influence. I do not think I am a great person, but I do think that my writing is unique and worth attention. I tried to write in an easy style, so, dear reader, have a nice read.
This book, so excellent in giving valid arguments and then predicting China’s supposed inevitable economic demise, is a clear example of how most American authors reason about China without taking into account the huge economic differences it has with our economy.
McMahon and all the others forget that a) in the year 2000 there were 600 million cheap laborers in the countryside, and there still are more than 200 million available now, b) the Beijing Communist dictatorship is cruelly keeping wages of production workers at less than half ours, and c) the existing free trade, started by Bill Clinton in 2000, provides a huge yearly income to China that erases all possible financial troubles they may have.
These three elements together make Mr. McMahon’s book an intellectual silliness. Most authors in our Western world make the same error. It is high time this be realized and corrected.
The world has long considered China a juggernaut of economic strength, but since the global financial crisis, the country's economy has ballooned in size, complexity, and risk. Once dominated by four state-owned banks, the nation's financial system is a tangle of shadow banking entities, informal financial institutions, and complex corporate funding arrangements that threaten growth, stability, and reform efforts. The country has accumulated so much debt so quickly that economists increasingly predict a financial crisis that could make 'Brexit' or Greece's economic ruin seem minor, and could undermine China's ascent as a superpower. Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping issued…
I’ve been fascinated by China since 2000, when, as Silicon Valley Bank’s chief banking officer, I led a group of U.S. venture capitalists on a tour of that country. Since then, I’ve read everything I could about it. It’s a country of such contrasts and energy, and we in the West have misread it woefully. The Chinese people are funny, smart, driven, and delightful, while their rulers are bent on making the world safe for autocracy. These books help me understand the differences between these two groups and how they arose.
I both loved and was horrified by this collection of stories about almost 24 people who do not fit Xi’s mold of the Chinese citizen.
A human rights lawyer, members of oppressed minorities, and others all contend with the PRC’s suppression apparatus, the most advanced surveillance system ever known, reinforced by the social credit system. I don’t know the full details of this system, but it involves state surveillance of everything ranging from your driving habits and credit score to whether you listen to Xi Jinping Thought for the required 15 minutes per day.
I’m horrified that your social credit can determine your train seats and job opportunities. I’m humbled by the courage of people who defy this system, as recounted in this book.
A “gripping and scrupulously reported” (The Washington Post) investigation into the battle over identity in China, chronicling the state oppression of those who fail to conform to Xi Jinping’s definition of who is “Chinese,” from an award-winning NPR correspondent.
“Emily Feng’s focus on ordinary people—bravely determined to shape their own lives—captures the mood of the Xi Jinping era more essentially than reams of statistics ever can.”—Evan Osnos, National Book Award winner, author of Age of Ambition
A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
The rise of China and its great power competition with the U.S. will be one of…
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
Yuan, born in a small town in Inner Mongolia, is a researcher and PhD candidate at Rutgers University. He is an expert on Chinese and East Asian studies. Yuan's research interests include Chinese foreign and domestic policy, Sino-US relations, and how the country utilizes its influence and fosters relationships. He received his MS in International Relations from Northeastern University and BA from Centre College. Yuan has written extensively on China and Chinese foreign policy.
This fascinating book explains China from a historical perspective. It presents a detailed look at how China has transformed from its past to today, from the Middle Kingdom to Red Communist. 4,000 years of history is almost impossible to fit in a single-volume book, yet this book did its best and successfully summarized the most fundamental parts of the country’s history, introducing one of the oldest civilizations alive on earth to those who wish to learn more about China.
A single volume history of China, offering a look into the past of the global superpower and its significance today.
Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world’s oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years.
After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world’s second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order…
