Historical fiction books from China
Recommended historical fiction books (29)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you are into historical fiction here are some historical fiction books from China for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge.
11.
Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin EN
Description:
The Chia family experiences a decline in fortune during the Ch'ing dynasty.
12.
English: A Novel by Wang Gang EN
Description:
"I loved this book and can't stop talking about it. . . . Transcendent." —Carolyn See, The Washington Post In the tradition of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Wang Gang's English is a captivating coming-of-age novel about the power of language to launch a journey of self-discovery. When a new teacher—a tall, elegantly dressed man from Shanghai carrying an English dictionary under his arm—comes to Urumqi, the capital of China's far west region of Xinjiang, twelve-year-old Love Liu turns away from Chairman Mao's little red book and toward the teacher's big blue book for answers to his ... continue
13.
14.
Golden Age : A Novel by Wang Xiaobo EN
Description:
"At the time Wang was writing, novels about the Cultural Revolution tended to be fairly conventional tales of how good people suffered nobly during this decade of madness. The system itself was rarely called into question. Wang’s book was radically different . . . The idea of how to stand up to power underlies Golden Age." —Ian Johnson, The New York Times Book Review Like Gary Shteyngart or Michel Houellebecq, Wang Xiaobo is a Chinese literary icon whose satire forces us to reconsider the ironies of history. “Apparently, there was a rumour that Chen Qingyang and I were having an affair. She wa... continue
15.
Hard Like Water by Yan Lianke EN
Description:
“Yan is one of those rare geniuses who finds in the peculiar absurdities of his own culture the absurdities that infect all cultures.” —The Washington Post From the Kafka Prize winner and two-time Booker Prize finalist, this is a gripping and bitingly satirical story of ambition and betrayal, following two young communist revolutionaries whose forbidden love sets them apart from their traditionally minded village as the Cultural Revolution sweeps China. Gao Aijun is a son of the soil of Henan’s Balou Mountains, and after his Army service, he is on his way back to his ancestral village, feeling... continue
16.
Description:
Gao Jialin, a stubborn, idealistic and ambitious young man from a small country village, life is upended when corrupt local politics cost him his beloved job as a schoolteacher, prompting him to reject rural life and try to make it in the big city.
17.
Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan EN
Description:
One of the Nobel Prize Winners in Literature Ideal for fans of Chinese Playground, We Are Party People, Death of Me, Skate with Me, A Farmer’s Life for Me, and similar works Written by today’s most revered, controversial, and feared Chinese novelist Mo Yan’s Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out is a remarkable story. The absurd, real, comical, and tragic are combined into a fantastic read. The hero—or antihero—is Ximen Nao, a landowner known for his kindness to his peasants. His tale is a heart-wrenching and unique journey and completely riveting tale that shares the author’s love of a homeland c... continue
18.
Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang EN
Description:
In 1940s Shanghai, beautiful young Jiazhi spends her days playing mahjong and drinking tea with high society ladies. But China is occupied by invading Japanese forces and things are not always what they seem in wartime. Jiazhi’s life is a front. A patriotic student radical, her mission is to seduce a powerful employee of the occupying government and lead him to the assassin’s bullet. Yet as she waits for him to arrive at their liaison, Jiazhi begins to wonder if she is cut out to be a femme fatale and coldly take Mr Yi to his death. Or is she beginning to fall in love with him? A passionate ta... continue
19.
Lust, Caution by Ailing Zhang EN
Description:
An espionage thriller set against the backdrop of World War II Shanghai recounts the relationship between Mr. Yee, a powerful political figure, and Wang Jiazhi, a young woman who is swept up in a perilous game of emotional intrigue with Mr. Yee, in a volume that is accompanied by the screenplay for the film, an essay on the making of the film, and film stills. Simultaneous. (A Focus Features film, written by James Schamus & Wang Hui-Ling, directed by Ang Lee, releasing September 2007) (Performing Arts)
20.
Description:
From the author of 'The Good Women of China' comes the uplifting story of three sisters who, like so many migrant workers in today's China, leave their peasant community to seek their fortune in the big city.