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A good history. I’d like something of substantial length. A one or muti-volume set which is good introduction to the country.
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A book on China from about the Tiananmen Square revolt until the present.
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A work on current Chinese business practices and companies.
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A book about Hong Kong and the current relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China.
You aren’t involved in Academic Decathlon in any way, are you?
I ask only because China is our theme this year. It’s an academic competition team, in case you don’t know,
No, I’m a stockbroker that is trying to learn about Asia in the next year. I spend a lot of time watching CNBC World. I’m hoping to land a position based in Asia in a year or so.
Can’t help you with the really old stuff, but these have been the most informative, entertaining, and enlightening books that I’ve read about the country (also pre-empting that everyone will tell you to read Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, and I won’t disagree, though it doesn’t cover the subjects you’re looking for):
- Red China Blue, Jan Wong - political disillusionment from the '70s to the present day from the POV of an expatriate Chinese/American returnee.
Red Dust - from the '80s to the '90s through the eyes of a dissident. Travelogue through China, and quite hard-going, albeit rewarding.
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Getting Along with the Chinese: for fun and profit, Fred Schneiter (seems to be out of print but second-hand available) - the best thing I’ve read on the subject. Simple, blunt, and absolutely invaluable advice, entertainingly told.
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East and West - Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong before the '97 handover. He’s a compassionate conservative with a good historical understanding of China and the issues involved in the transition from the patriarchal semi-democracy of British rule to the total patriarchy of Chinese rule. Whether or not his policies hold out is moot: this is a good book nonetheless.
But over and above them all is The Man Who Stayed Behind, which is the autobiography of an American serviceman who defected and became a Chinese Communist in the 1940s, and remained in China (sometimes in jail) until the time of Deng. This is the best book on China I’ve ever read.
As far as the history goes, Jonathan Spence is the big name in the field and his books are commonly used in college classes. The Search for Modern China is pretty good, and covers quite a bit of history (Ming Dynasty through 1989). I found it fairly readable.
I just thought of one that would give you an introduction to the Cultural Revolution as well as how that has affected people and industry today. Chinese Lessons by John Pomfret. He is a journalist that has spent several years in China and recently went back to track down 5 former classmates in order to detail their lives, resulting in this book. It is a fascinating, fast read that covers a wide swath of Chinese culture.
Some books that I would recommend are:
China Wakes by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. This husband and wife team won a pulitzer prize for their reporting of Tiananmen Square. It is over 10 years old, so it won’t address any recent events.
The Wind will not Subside by Nancy and David Milton. This is an account of their time in China during the Cultural Revolution.
Fanshen by William Hinton. How the revolution affects a small village; Long Bow. It was uncomfortable to read at times, but it offers a very good idea of how such radical change can affect a community.
Nixon and Mao by Margaret Macmillan. This has not been published yet, but I enjoyed her last book Paris 1919 , so I am planning on picking this one up when it is out.
For a survey history I’d go with A History of Chinese Civilization* by Jacques Gernet, translated by J.R. Foster and Charles Hartman ( revised edition 1996, Cambridge University Press ). Easily the best of the three I’ve read ( Hucker and Mote being the other two ). Haven’t tried Spence, but if you’re looking for a single volume this would be a better choice simply because of the greater coverage. Looks like Spence would make a good second volume for a more detailed look at recent history.
- Tamerlane
If you want an off-the-wall quick intro, look up Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History of the Universe, especially volumes 2 and 3 (of the published paperback collections, not of the original comics). Gonick’s little experiment in comic-book history is fascinating for a number of reasons, one of them being that he delves into the histories of parts of the wiorld utterly abandoned by your high school (and probably college_ education – India, sub-Saharan Africa, and especially China. I recall saying to my World Cultures teacher in HS that we needed to learn more about China. That class was the only one that gave me anything about Chinese history (and not much at that).
Gonick’s interpretations need tio be taken with a grain of salt – they’re most definitely is own. But if you don’t want your reading to dissolve into a welter of what feel like interchangeable names and dates, Gonick’s book at least gives you a few showy incidents in history. And a few caricatures you could hang those names on.
One of my favorites is Red Star Over China. It’s an excellent piece of reporting by an American reporter who accompanied Mao on much of the Long March, then went back in the late 60’s to report on how things had changed. Snow provides some unique firsthand perspective insight into the first 30 years of Communist China.
The Gate of Heavenly Peace is a 3 hour documentary that starts from the historic beginning to set a context and covers the survivors. Director, Producer, and Interviewer Carma Hinton was born in China to American parents and was raised and educated there until 1971. Chinese is her first language and culture. Since 1971 she has lived in the United States. She received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976, and is a Ph.D. candidate in art history at Harvard University. She has taught at Swarthmore, Middlebury, and Wellesley Colleges. For her work in film, she was awarded a Rockefeller Intercultural Film/Video Fellowship in 1988.
Yep it’s a documentary rather than a book, but the treatment of the subject is really first rate.
Carma Hinton is coincidentally the daughter of William Hinton, author of Fanshen listed elsewhere.
I second the Jonathan Spence books on modern china. classics.
Anything by Simon Leys. He’s pre internet, but if you really want some insights into China of the 60’s and 70’s, he is the MAN.