Job Discussion Forums

[rickinbeijing]

If you're new to China and particulary if you haven't read about this fascinating country, I humbly but fervently recommend the following reads: (please see also my annotated list at Listmania on www.amazon.com Note: the easiest way to access it is to enter a book search as "black snow" and then look over to the right sidebar to click on the list.)

1. Lin Yutang (1935). My Country and My People.
2. Michael Bond (1991). Beyond the Chinese Face
3. Boye de Mente (2000). The Chinese Have a Word for It
4. Pearl S. Buck (1931). The Good Earth: A Novel
5. Mark Salzman (1986). Iron and Silk: A Novel
6. W.J.F. Jenner (1994). The Tyranny of History: The Roots of China's Crisis
7. Peter Hessler (2002). River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze River
8. Ma Jian (2001). Red Dust: A Path Through China
9. Liu Heng (1991). Black Snow: A Novel
10. Li Zhisui (1996). The Private Life of Chairman Mao
11. Anchee Min (1995). Red Azalea: A Novel
12. Vanessa Fong (2004). Only Hope: Coming of Age Under China's One-Child Policy.
13. Geremie Barme (1999). In the Red
14. Ha Jin (2000). Waiting: A Novel
15. Wang Shuo (1998 reprint). Playing for Thrills: A Novel
16. Wang Shuo (2000). Please Don't Call Me Human: A Novel
17. Cao Xueqin (n.d.) Dream of Red Mansions: A Classic Novel 3 Vols
18. Francis Hsu (1981). Americans and Chinese: Passages to Differences.[/b]

[ymmv]

An excellent list of books. I'd only suggest two addenda to your nominated selections:

Anchee Min - Red Azalea is a classic, no doubt. But her lesser known novel "Katherine" is actually about a foreigner (in this case a female foreigner) teaching in China. My advice: Read 'em both.

Ha Jin - "Waiting" did win the Pulitzer Prize. But his collection of short stories, "The Bridegroom" will give you more of a flavor of the everyday life in China you will face, especially if you are living in a small town in the North. Especially check out "Cowboy Chicken", a story about a Jewish guy who opens a fast food, KFC clone in a small Dongbei town. The cultural clashes cut both ways in the story. Also, if you are teaching in a Chinese university here, you may find Ha Jin's later novel, "The Crazed" enlightening as to the relationships between the Chinese student, teacher, and administrator.

[kev7161]

May I suggest Where's the Duck in Peking? by Cliff Schimmels? Small vignettes of a university professor during his time in China. He manages to put a positive spin on almost everything that drives many of us crazy, but his writing is so inoffensive and sometimes you'll read a page and go, "oh yeah! I know where he's coming from!"

I was trying to find an excerpt on the internet, but am not having any luck. Regardless, it is an interesting and light read; informative but not overly so.

[Henry_Cowell]

[Roger]

Yes, Ricki's list is really interesting. I have read a number of other titles that I can recommend:

- Edgar Snow "Red Moon Over China" (if you are interested in
revolutionary China's tumultuous period before 1949);
- Jim Mann: "Beijing Jeep" (for those who are interested in the
economic development of the PR of C and its implications for
Western businessmen)
- Nikolaus S. Lang et al.: Intercultyural Management in China"
(for those who want to get involved with a Chinese business partner).
- Zhang Xianlang: "My Bodhi Tree", for those who want to know about China's forgotten political prisoners and gulag internees as well as about Mao's disastrous policies in the 1960s.


I read a tonne of books on China, in German, French and english, mostly from before the 1980s. There is a sharp contrast between books published in the old days when much of what authors were putting to paper was their personal insight, not necessarily supported by stats.

[Plan B]

Looks like a good list, and I will certainly check some of them out next time I am in Hong Kong.

I would like to add another book - which I am currently reading at the moment - called Asian Mind Game by Chin-ning Chu.

It examines the methods by which the Chinese conduct business through a historical perspective, discussing Sun Tso's "Art of War", the 36 strategies, and a book released in the early 1900's called "Black Heart, Thick Skin".

I am about half way through, and I can't put it down.

[juliexcz]

Great list Rick!

I want to add two books, which are two of my personal favorites:

1) China Wakes - Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn - a bit outdated but valuable information on various aspects of Chinese society and culture.

2) The Good Women of China - Xin Ran - probably more appropriate for women, but still a good read. Very, very sad though.