So it was World book day yesterday. I got a bit confused because of the time difference here and almost missed it entirely which is why this post is late. (For those of you who don’t know, I live in China now)
So here is a list of books on/about China that I have downloaded to read for the year that’s in it:
- Wild Swans: Three daughters of China by Jung Chang – tells the history of three generations of women in a family living through Mao’s rule
- Three Kingdoms by Guanzhong Luo – a historical epic set during the Han dynasty
- Pretty Women Spitting by Leanna Adams – The experiences of an American living in China in 2006
- Tai Chi for Beginners and the 24 forms by Paul Lam and Nancy Kaye – I want to study Tai Chi while I’m here so this illustrated volume should help
- The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo – travelogue and exploration from the 1200s
- Anthology of Chinese Literature by Golgotha Press – This includes titles like Sun Tzu’s the Art of war, the Analects of Confucius, and the Tao and its Characteristics by Lao Tze.
- River Town: Two years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler – the story of a man living in Sichuan in the 90s
- Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en – mythology and folktales
- Lastly but most importantly the Lonely Planet guide to China, it’s been indispensable so far
I’ve provided Amazon links but a lot of these books, especially the older ones, are available for free on project gutenberg and it’s completely legal.
I haven’t read any yet but I’ll try to review them as I do, I think I’ve got a decent selection of fiction, non-fiction, modern and older texts but feel free to leave recommendations in the comments. Hope everyone had a fantastic World Book Day!