Read the World: China

Books by authors from China or set in/about China.

Updated February 16, 2024
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Dragon seed
Buck, Pearl S. (Pearl Sydenstricker), 1892-1973.
Audiobook
One of the more political novels from the pen of Pearl Buck, Dragon Seed brings to light the tragedy of the Japanese invasion and occupation of mainland China during WWII. Centering her story around the fictional family of Ling Tan, Buck recreates the heart wrenching devastation that...
A private life [electronic resource]
Chen, Ran, 1962-
Paper Book
From one of China's most celebrated contemporary novelists comes this riveting tale of a young woman's emotional and sexual awakening. Set in the turbulent decades of the Cultural Revolution and the Tian'anmen Square incident, A Private Life exposes the complex and fantastical inner life of a...
The story of paper
Compestine, Ying Chang.
Paper Book
Learn how the three fun-loving Kang brothers created paper, one of China's most famous inventions! This colorfully redesigned edition features a new bilingual Chinese translation. The three playful and creative Kang brothers (Ting, Pan, and Kùai) discovered four of China...
Homesick my own story
Fritz, Jean
Paper Book
"Fritz draws readers into scenes of her youth in the turbulent China of the mid-twenties. . . . the generous affection of her nurse/companion . . . her mother's grief over losing a second child, the dynamics of asuffering population venting its hostility on foreigners, and most of all, the...
Soul mountain = [Ling shan]
Gao, Xingjian
Paper Book
"If a successful novelist is one who tells us something new about the human spirit and a successful novel transports us to another world, then Gao and Soul Mountain have succeeded spectacularly." -- Washington Post Book World An extraordinary work of immense wisdom and profound...
Celebrated cases of Judge Dee = Dee goong an an authentic eighteenth-century Chinese detective novel
Gulik, Robert Hans van, 1910-1967
Paper Book
Long before Western writers had even conceived the idea of writing detective stories, the Chinese had developed a long tradition of literary works that chronicled the cases of important district magistrates. These judges held a unique position. As "fathers to the people" they...
My Beijing four stories of everyday wonder
Jun, Nie, 1975- author, illustrator.
Paper Book
A 2019 Batchelder Honor Book Yu'er and her grandpa live in a small neighborhood in Beijing--and it's full of big personalities. There's a story around every corner, and each day has a hint of magic. In one tale, Yu'er wants to swim in the...
The piano teacher a novel
Lee, Janice Y. K.
Paper Book
In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, a gripping tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong Kong. In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their love affair...
Yeh-Shen a Cinderella story from China
Louie, Ai-Ling
Paper Book
Told with beauty and grace, this Cinderella story from Ai-Ling Louie is brought vividly to life by Caldecott Medal-winner Ed Young's soft, glowing illustrations. Half-starved and overworked by her stepmother, Yeh-Shen's only friend is a fish with golden eyes. When the stepmother...
The moon in the palace [electronic resource]
Randel, Weina Dai.
Paper Book
A thrilling work of historical fiction, bringing romance, intrigue, and the unexpected rise of an Empress to intoxicating life under the inscrutable moon. In Tang Dynasty China, a concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the Emperor's attention. Many...
Snow flower and the secret fan a novel
See, Lisa.
Paper Book
Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness. In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound...
The kitchen god's wife
Tan, Amy.
Paper Book
With the same narrative skills and evocative powers that made her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, a national bestseller, Tan now tells the story of Winnie Louie, an aging Chinese woman unfolding a life's worth of secrets to her suspicious, Americanized daughter.
Grandmaster of demonic cultivation: mo dao zu shi (the comic / manhua), volume 1 [electronic resource].
Xiu, Mo Xiang Tong.
Paper Book
HAUNTED BY SIN Following the trail of a dismembered corpse, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji arrive at the gates of Yi City: an old, abandoned town shrouded in mist and restless spirits. A fiendish foe awaits them in the shadows, heralding a tale of heartbreak and tragedy. When the...
Love in a fallen city [electronic resource]
Zhang, Ailing.
Paper Book
Masterful short works about passion, family, and human relationships by one of the greatest writers of 20th century China.  A New York Review Books Original   "[A] giant of modern Chinese literature" -The New York Times   ...

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