Too often, the story of China is truncated or elongated. Depending on who you ask, it might begin 5,000 years ago, or in 1949, with the Communist victory, or in 1978, with Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms and China’s rise (or return) to pre-eminence.
While the thread from dynastial China to the People’s Republic has not been a continuous one (see The Invention of China below), there is still much to glean from China’s deeper history that is relevant to its latest incarnation. It is useful, in other words, to know the nation’s long past in order to better understand its complex present — not least because its leaders think that way too.
Our top pick this month is a work of history that tells the whole China story, from earliest times to present-day, in an accessible and not overly long way. Together with the other recent releases, it might just inspire some last minute Christmas shopping.
The One to Read
The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream by Michael Wood
Most historical works on China are door-stopping tomes — there is a lot of ground to cover, after all. Very few of them have been able to fit in the whole story between two covers without skimping on key insights and periods. But Michael Wood’s effort, which comes in at a readable 600-odd pages, is thorough without being pedantic, and complete but also flowing. He starts with pre-history and China’s roots in the Yellow River valley, before moving swiftly through the early dynasties and ancient philosophy, lingering on the Song renaissance before getting current with the Yuan, Ming, Qing, and clashes with the West that followed. Incorporating new scholarship and insights, he takes the story right up until Xi Jinping’s new era and does so with engaging prose and narrative detail throughout. Informative and enjoyable, this book will see you through the holidays until next year, when more of China’s history is waiting to be written.
Nov. 17, 2020 | St. Martin’s Press. $32.50. | Buy
The Shortlist
The Invention of China by Bill Hayton
What do we talk about when we talk about China? The mythos pushed by Beijing is of an uninterrupted 5,000 years of civilization, which has reached its apogee with the Communist Party of China restoring the country to its rightful place. Bill Hayton challenges this monolithic notion of the nation — indeed, he challenges the concept of ‘China’ itself — by arguing that the country as such was invented at the end of the nineteenth and outset of the twentieth century, along with its claims over territories in the Pacific and Central Asia. It is a compelling companion to historical works such as Michael Wood’s.
Nov. 10, 2020 | Yale University Press. $30. | Buy
Where Great Powers Meet: America and China in Southeast Asia by David Shambaugh
If we are indeed entering Cold War II, between China and the U.S., then many of the conflicts will — as it was in the last Cold War — be played out in proxy, among nations where America and China vie for influence. In no region is this more true than Southeast Asia, where an American-led order that has held since the 1990s is now being challenged by Beijing. Shambaugh explores how China’s proximity, investment policies and regional diplomacy give it the edge in many respects, even as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) scrambles to respond. Essential reading for a new era of great power competition.
Dec. 11, 2020 | Oxford University Press. $29.95. | Buy
China’s Muslims and Japan’s Empire: Centering Islam in World War II by Kelly A. Hammond
All too often, the historical narratives of modern China — often shaped by Beijing — center on the Communist Party, the Han ethnicity, or more often both. In this work, Hammond does a service to us all by focusing on an overlooked aspect of well-trod territory: the role of Chinese Muslims in World War II. When Japan occupied northeast China, one of their tactics was to try and win over Muslim communities, presenting themselves as friends of Islam. The wartime role of these Muslim minorities in turn has had lasting effects on their place in the modern Chinese state. It is a fascinating, unknown sliver of history.
Nov. 16, 2020 | University of North Carolina Press. $29.95. | Buy
Stories of the Sahara by Sanmao, trans. Mike Fu
We missed the chance to recommend this book when it came out at the beginning of the year, and, until recently, many readers have been missing out on the chance to read Sanmao — one of Taiwan’s most celebrated writers. This long overdue translation by Mike Fu brings into English a collection of stories by Sanmao (Chen Maoping) from her years spent in the Spanish Saharan territory of El Aaiún during the 1970s. Although the era is dated (and the veracity of her nonfiction questionable), the lasting legacy of Sanmao’s writing among Chinese readers makes it an essential addition to any bookshelf.
Jan. 14, 2020 | Bloomsbury. $28. | Buy
In Case You Missed It
Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road by Rob Schmitz
In the midst of all the birds’ eye views of the nation, it’s useful to note that some of the best China books reveal the general through the particular. In this work, radio journalist Rob Schmitz follows a small number of individuals on a single street in his Shanghai neighborhood. Auntie Fu gets involved in pyramid schemes. Café owner CK dreams of a life different from his parents’. Zhao is a former factory hand working her way up. Through these ordinary and extraordinary lives, we are knitted a tapestry of socialist capitalism, and see the ambitions that have driven China’s citizens in its new era.
May 17, 2016 | Crown. $16. | Buy
Alec Ash is the books editor for The Wire. He is the author of Wish Lanterns. His work has also appeared in The Economist, BBC, SupChina, and Foreign Policy. @alecash
As an Amazon Associate, The Wire earns from qualifying purchases of books featured here.
