English books on society and politics of modern China

[Jan Finster]

What are good English books you can recommend on society and/or politics of modern China.

 

Ideally, I am looking for "balanced" books, so neither written by panda huggers, nor by China-haters.

 

 

(I just started "The Hundred-Year Marathon" and cannot say if it falls into any of those extremes)

[jannesan]

If by modern you mean to include Ming and Qing dynasties, have a look at "The Search for Modern China" by Jonathan Spence.

It's a history book that goes up to the 1980s, but it reads like a novel, I really loved it and it sparked my interest in China when in read it 5 years ago.

 

 

 

[Insectosaurus]

My advice would be to scan different university press sites, their books are generally of high quality and by professionals. (Cambridge UP, Oxford UP, Harvard UP, Yale UP etc.)

[杰.克]

I honestly think it would be difficult to find a book that could articulate modern Chinese politics very well. Ultimately, noone really has access at any level to policy making over the last 7 years or so. The Party by Richard Mcgregor is always held up as the standard bearer, but when i read it a few years ago it felt DEEPLY outdated.

 

Any Western journalist writing a book about Chinese politics under Xi Jinping I think is kinda selling snake oil. They have literally zero access, and are themselves going on hearsay, rumour, and other peoples reporting.

[Guest realmayo]

This is a great, eye-opening, short (certainly not comprehensive) e-book from someone who did appear to have a decent amount of access:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/193/193743/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-house-of-bo/9780241966136.html

 

[Jim]

Getting on a bit now, but theres not been much better written than Maurice Meisner's Mao's China and After

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Maos-China-and-After/Maurice-Meisner/9780684856353

[abcdefg]

I liked this one: "The Search for Modern China" by Johnathan D. Spence. Several years since I read it, and it is slightly dated (1990.) Admittedly, a whole lot has happened since then.

 

Here's a link to a description: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/spence-search.html 

 

Amazon carries it: https://www.amazon.com/Search-Modern-China-Jonathan-Spence/dp/0393307808 

 

From a review: 

 

Quote

To understand the burdens and opportunities embedded in China's past there is no better place to start than Jonathan D. Spence's excellent new book. ''The Search for Modern China,'' a comprehensive explanation of four centuries from the decline of the Ming dynasty in 1600 through the demise of the democracy movement in June 1989, will enlighten both general readers and students of Chinese history. Other books have attempted to cover the political and social history of China from imperial to Communist times. But they lack the narrative technique, the wealth of illustrations and the thematic focus of this work.

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Oops! Sorry. I see @jannesanalready recommended this one, above. 

[robertcslim]

Five Books is a good site (for all sort of topics) with great subject matte experts as well as authors.

Here is the link on books about China including reviews by the experts

https://fivebooks.com/category/world/asia/best-books-china/

[aprilz]

Another way of understanding politics and society of China is to read books about famous Chinese people. I recommend to start with

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China  (By Ezra F. Vogel)

This book is well written, and touches upon so many sensitive spots.

 

A couple of other recommendations are listed here.

https://mslmaster.com/index.php/teaching-learning-resources/10-resources/133-books-about-famous-chinese-people 

[roddy]

Do you have any books to recommend that aren't listed on your website, April?

[aprilz]

? Yes. Another good source is to read Chinese novels which have been translated into English. I recommend Gao Xingjian’s book The Soul Mountain. It covers a wide range of modern political events and social encounters. A very nice read.

 

[abcdefg]

On 11/22/2021 at 9:29 PM, aprilz said:

I recommend to start with Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China  (By Ezra F. Vogel)

This book is well written, and touches upon so many sensitive spots.

 

Thanks. Reviews of this one are very positive. I have ordered a copy.