China Books Review

Read Yi Liu's newest What China's Thinking column, an interview with Lin Yao on Trump, Chinamaxxing and mutual misunderstandings: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/27/l...

In our new What China's Thinking column, the political scientist Lin Yao explains why some Chinese intellectuals admire Trump, how the meaning of liberalism has shifted, and mutual misunderstandings between China and America. Read Yi Liu's latest Q&A now: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/27/l...

This Friday at Asia Society NYC, join us for a conversation about China’s migrant worker literature, with Xiao Hai, author of “Adrift in the South,” and his translator Tony Hao, moderated by Alec Ash. Use code CBR15 for a $15 discount: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...

Read David Frazier's retrospective profile of Eileen Chang, pegged on two new translations of her stories and essays: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/22/e...

Eileen Chang’s fiction has reached almost mythic status, yet not long ago it was nearly forgotten. The story of her publishing history is almost as interesting as that of her life. Read David Frazier's profile review: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/22/e...

NYT columnist Li Yuan talks at our panel discussion about China's psychological scars, and the personal consequences of political movements in China's living memory. Watch the full video at: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/20/p...

A panel event at Asia Society considered the personal consequences of political movements in China’s living memory. Watch the video: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/20/p...

Read Jen Lin-Liu's review of John Doe Chinaman: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/15/n...

A new history of Chinese in the American West catalogues a multitude of discriminatory laws that restricted their activity and immigration. The impacts are still felt by Asian-Americans today. Read Jen Lin-Liu's review of John Doe Chinaman: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/15/n...

See what books the editors recommended in the latest "New China Books" column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/13/n...

We recommend five titles to deepen understanding of China, from an argument that its economy is in trouble to histories of colonial trade wars and Shanghai. Read the book list: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/13/n...

THE SEPTEMBER BESTSELLERS ARE OUT! Taipei Story by R.F. Kuang leads the list, and headlines two trends: the popularity of diasporic fiction and works on Taiwan. chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...

Read the excerpt from "Our Hearts Burned for Home" by Emily Feng at: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/08/u...

After 14 years of war in Syria, Damascus fell to the rebels in December 2024. Fighting with them was a small but critical cohort of Uyghurs, who had fled China and joined the battle. But once the war was won, could they find a home so far from their homeland? chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/08/u...

Listen to the new podcast episode with our "What China's Reading" columnist Na Zhong, hosted by Alexander Boyd: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/06/3...

Na Zhong, Sally Rooney’s Chinese translator and our own “What China’s Reading” columnist, talks to us about Chinese tastes in literature and her own debut novella. Listen to the new podcast episode, hosted by Alexander Boyd: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/06/3...

Read Paul French's essay about J.G. Ballard's boyhood in Shanghai: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/01/b...

J. G. Ballard’s Dystopian Shanghai: How the English novelist’s boyhood in war-torn Shanghai influenced his darkest fiction. Read Paul French's essay: chinabooksreview.com/2026/10/01/b...

Read Jeremiah Jenne on Shen Fu's "Six Records of a Floating Life": chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/29/s...

A Qing dynasty failson’s memoir of genteel poverty, parties and potting soil was rediscovered in a Suzhou book stall in 1874 and remains one of China’s favorite love stories. Read Jeremiah Jenne on Shen Fu's "Six Records of a Floating Life": chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/29/s...

We've got a stellar line-up of events this fall, from book talks by Jung Chang (Wild Swans) and Emily Feng (Our Hearts Burned for Home) to panel discussions. Click-through to register now, using code CBR15 to save $15 as a China Books Review reader: chinabooksreview.com/events/

Read the excerpt from Orville Schell's new book "Inside China's Secret Prisons": chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/24/i...

In 1991, a CBS investigation into China’s reform-through-labor camps shocked the world, exposing how prison-made goods were being exported to the U.S. Three decades later, camps like it still exist. Read the excerpt: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/24/i...

See what books from China Na Zhong recommended in her latest "What China's Reading" column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/22/w...

We recommend five books from China that deserve more recognition, from an internet novel about the fashion industry to a star reporter’s study of how Germany reckoned with its wartime past. Read Na Zhong's latest "What China's Reading" column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/22/w...

Join us for a panel discussion on Oct 15 at Asia Society with Jianying Zha, Li Yuan and Orville Schell, on occasion of the publication of his book "Inside China's Secret Prisons." Use code CBR15 for half-price tickets, as a China Books Review reader: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...

Read Hannah Borenstein's review of "Immunity on Trial" and "Made in Ethiopia": chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/17/a...

Beijing is investing heavily in Ethiopia, helping to run Special Economic Zones similar to China's own. African workers are questioning whether the costs are worth the development. Read Hannah Borenstein’s review of "Zones of Immunity" and "Made in Ethiopia": chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/17/a...

Read the latest My China Bookshelf column, a conversation with literary translator John Minford: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/15/j...

The veteran literary translator John Minford tells us how his collection ballooned, why his library is called “Three Dog Hall,” and how New Zealand pine is the best shelving material. Read the latest My China Bookshelf column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/15/j...

Emily Feng: Uyghurs in Syria Hear NPR correspondent Emily Feng talk about her new book on the untold story of Uyghur exiles who fled China only to become a pivotal force in the Syrian Civil War, moderated by NYT journalist Michael Forsythe. Register now: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...

Read Jeff Tompkin's profile of the author Bill Porter, better known as "Red Pine": chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/10/r...

Over 50 years and 30 books, the American Bill Porter — better known as “Red Pine” — has followed the trails and trials of China’s classical poets and modern hermits. A new documentary tells his own story. Read Jeff Tompkin's profile of the enigmatic author: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/10/r...

Read Jack Hargreaves' latest column of Translated Chinese Literature recommendations: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/08/t...

Translated Chinese Literature: Hard Work We recommend five new books translated from Chinese, spanning workers’ literature and disaffected youth, all the way to alien landscapes, Tibet and Silicon Valley. Read Jack Hargreaves' latest column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/08/t...

Listen or read along as we discuss food writing with Clarissa Wei, author of Sitting the Month and Made in Taiwan, on the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/01/c...

Clarissa Wei, author of a new book of postpartum recovery recipes, tells us what to eat while “sitting the month,” and how Taiwanese food is distinct from Chinese cuisine. Listen to the latest episode of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2026/09/01/c...

Read Yi Liu's Q&A with the anthropologist Li Mingjie about Chinese folk belief: chinabooksreview.com/2026/08/27/w...

Li Mingjie on Chinese Folk Belief The academic and author walks us through Chinese folk religion today, from paper gods to ancestor worship, and explains how faith in China is fundamentally social. Read Yi Liu's Q&A, in our "What China's Thinking" column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/08/27/w...

Read Mark Leonard's essay on Chinese intellectual discussions of Pax Sinica: chinabooksreview.com/2026/08/20/p...

A New World Order? With Pax Americana crumbling, many countries in the Global South are turning to Pax Sinica as an alternative. So what are Chinese thinkers' vision for its place on the world stage? Read Mark Leonard's essay, excerpted from "The Idea of China" chinabooksreview.com/2026/08/20/p...

Read our latest New China Books column, featuring five picks from the editors: chinabooksreview.com/2026/08/13/n...

From the canine history of Hong Kong to a revisionist history of the Great Leap Forward, we recommend five new China books to add to your list. Read the latest New China Books column from the editors: chinabooksreview.com/2026/08/13/n...

Join the China Books Review book club this September to discuss "Time Tunnel: Stories and Essays" by Eileen Chang, tr. Karen S. Kingsbury, a collection of previously untranslated stories from Eileen Chang's glistening career. Save your spot by RSVPing now! asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...

Listen to the podcast with Heather Salter on "The Shanghai Agents": buff.ly/AZNxNnC

Spies in Shanghai with Heather Salter The author and historian discusses a dramatic Soviet espionage case in interwar Shanghai that rocked the international community and presaged the Cold War. Listen to the podcast: buff.ly/AZNxNnC

Read Yi Liu's interview with the renowned filmmaker Wang Xiaoshuai, the latest installment in the What China's Thinking column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/07/30/w...

The pioneering filmmaker Wang Xiaoshuai discusses the past and future of China’s film industry and what it feels like to be caught between the censors and the market in this latest installment of the What China's Thinking column. Read Yi Liu's interview here: chinabooksreview.com/2026/07/30/w...

Read the poet Zhang Er's cover essay on reading during the Cultural Revolution: chinabooksreview.com/2026/07/23/t...

Sixty years after the Cultural Revolution began, a writer looks back to her childhood in Beijing during its peak, and the banned books that sustained her through the tumult. Read Zhang Er's cover essay now: chinabooksreview.com/2026/07/23/t...