Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1339)
China202.
Records of the Historian; Chapters from the Shih Chi by Sima Qian EN
Description:
"To 18 chapters and a brief excerpt dealing with the Han dynasty and published earlier in Records of the Grand Historian of China (2 vols., 1961) are here added five chapters pertaining to the preceding Chou and Ch'in dynasties. The purpose of the selection is to suggest to the reader something of the form and content of the first great Chinese historical work, to indicate the type of material Ssu-ma Ch'ien presents and his methods of presentation, and to allow the reader to enjoy some of the more famous and highly praised passages in a book dear to many generations of Chinese readers."--Publi... continue
203.
Red Rose, White Rose by Ailing Zhang, Eileen Chang EN
Description:
There were two women in Zhenbao�s life: one he called his white rose, the other his red rose. One was a spotless wife, the other a passionate mistress. Isn�t that just how the average man describe a chaste widow�s devotion to her husband�s memory � as spotless, and passionate too? Maybe every man has had two such women � at least two. Marry a red rose and eventually she�ll be a mosquito-blood streak smeared on the wall, while the white one is �moonlight in front of my bed.� Marry a white rose, and before long she�ll be a grain of sticky rice that�s gotten stuck to your clothes; the red one, by... continue
204.
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)
205.
China in Ten Words by Hua Yu, Yu Hua EN
Description:
Uses a framework of ten common phrases in the Chinese vernacular to offer insight into China's modern economic gaps, cultural transformations, and ubiquitous practices of deception.
206.
Rouge Street : Three Novellas by Shuang Xuetao EN
Description:
"'Moses on the plain' ... was orignally published in the short story collection with the same title by Thinkingdom/Baihua Literature and Arts Publishing House, 2016"--Title page verso.
207.
Taipei People by Pai Hsien-yung EN
Description:
The stories in this book appeared some thirty years ago over a period of time in the magazine Hsien-tai wen hsueh (Modern Literature), which Pai Hsien-yung, the author, and other young writers founded, edited and wrote for in Taiwan.
208.
Thunderstorm : A Play by Cao Yu EN
Description:
Thunderstorm, a four-act play by China's leading playwright Tsao Yu, has held the stage since it was first produced in 1933, and is a classic of 20th-century drama. Its wide human appeal has drawn audiences from every walk of life. The setting is the home of an industrialist in northern China, where a family has come together with the inexorable fatality of a Greek drama. This is a play of tensions, and in the 24 hours in which the action takes place, we watch these tensions mount as the climax swiftly approaches. The emotional conflicts and stresses, which Tsao Yu handles with remarkable fine... continue
209.
Tombstone : The Untold Story of Mao's Great Famine by Yang Jisheng EN
Description:
I call this book Tombstone. It is a tombstone for my foster father who died of hunger in 1959, for the 36 million Chinese who also died of hunger, for the system that caused their death, and perhaps for myself for writing this book.' The most powerful and important Chinese work of recent years, Yang Jisheng's Tombstone is a passionate, moving and angry account of one of the 20th century's most nightmarish events: the killing of an estimated 36 million Chinese in 1958-1961 by starvation or physical abuse. More people died in Mao's Great Famine than in the entire First World War and yet their st... continue
210.
Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother : Stories of Loss and Love by Xinran EN
Description:
The stories of Chinese mothers whose daughters have been wrenched from them, and also brings us the voices of some adoptive mothers from different parts of the world. These are stories which Xinran could not bring herself to tell previously - because they were too painful and close to home.