A selection of books offering fresh perspectives on Chinese society, culture and the human experience.
What’s worth reading from China as we begin the new year? To mark the debut of our monthly book recommendations, we have chosen five titles that reveal the extraordinary breadth of modern Chinese life. Each book offers insight into different facets of society, history, imagination, and human experience.
The Prosperous Generation 《富足一代》
Born between 1995 and 2005, China’s Generation Z has grown up amid material comfort and constant digital connection. They now navigate a world that is very different from that of their parents. In this poignant work of non-fiction, Yi Xianfeng and Yang Ying explore the friction between these ‘well-to-do’ youngsters and the generations that paved their way. They trace conflicts over education, success, values, and what a ‘good life’ should look like.
Through in-depth and candid interviews with both children and their parents, the authors reveal how family tensions, online culture, and a rapidly changing society shape this generation’s sense of self and its view of the world. The book captures the private ‘wars’ fought across dinner tables. It also examines how inherited privilege, societal expectations, and digital life influence identity, choices, and the widening divides that define a society in rapid transition. Thoughtful, grounded, and sharply observed, it illuminates the challenges of understanding difference in an era of unprecedented opportunity.
Our Land, Our Nation 《吾国吾土》
How did a single settlement evolve over three millennia into a vast, unified civilisation spanning nearly ten million square kilometres? In Our Land, Our Nation, the distinguished historian Professor Ge Jianxiong offers a masterful introduction to the historical geography of China. Rather than presenting a dry timeline of emperors, Ge uses ‘space’ as his primary lens. He traces how mountain ranges, shifting rivers, and ancient migration routes carved out the historical boundaries of Chinese identity.
The prose is elegantly restrained. It moves effortlessly from grand geopolitical shifts to the intimate details of daily life in forgotten administrative districts. The book is illustrated with high-quality photographs of the Qin Great Wall, alongside historical maps, including the grain transport routes of the Qing Dynasty. It is a thoughtful exploration of how geography shapes destiny. Above all, it reminds us that to understand ‘China’ today, one must first grasp the soil from which it grew.
Salty Jokes 《咸的玩笑》
In his latest work, the acclaimed Maodun Literature Prize winner Liu Zhenyun returns to his signature preoccupation: the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Salty Jokes follows Du Taibai, a man whose life is a restless montage of roles—from schoolteacher and market vendor to master of ceremonies at local weddings and funerals. Through Du’s eyes, Liu explores the ‘jokes’ life plays on us. These are moments of sudden, bitter absurdity that leave a salty sting.
The novel suggests that humour is not merely a distraction. It is also a vital survival strategy. Du Taibai is a character who understands the rules of the world but refuses to be bound by them. He meets hardship with quiet, resilient laughter. It is a poignant, beautifully observed story. It reminds us that while many of life’s jokes must be finished through tears, there is a profound dignity in playing the game to the very end.
Settling Minds 《安定此心》
Since 1993, Dr Jiang Tao has worked at Beijing Anding Hospital for more than three decades, witnessing the profound transformation of Chinese psychiatry. Part clinical memoir and part social observation, Settling Minds offers a glimpse into the ‘shadowed corners’ of human experience. Through the stories of a diverse cast—from a young man from a remote village struggling with a family legacy of depression to a daughter suffocated by the complexities of maternal love—Dr Jiang illustrates that a psychiatric ward is less a place of confinement than a window into society itself.
The book is not a dry medical treatise. It is a gentle, deeply humane reflection on the universal themes of grief, isolation, and the search for inner peace. Dr Jiang writes with the authority of thirty years’ experience. He argues that mental illness is not a source of shame, but a condition requiring the same care and recognition as any physical ailment. It is a stirring reminder that true healing begins with the courage to see the pain of others. Even in the most turbulent lives, a sense of ‘settledness’ remains within reach.
The Path of Revelation 《启示路》
G.E.M. (Gloria Tang), the Hong Kong singer-songwriter once described by the BBC as ‘China’s Taylor Swift’, released her debut science fiction novel, The Path of Revelation, in 2025. The work has seen significant commercial success, with the deluxe edition alone selling over 200,000 copies. On 1st January 2026, the novel was shortlisted for Best Original Book at the Galaxy Awards, China’s most prestigious science fiction prize.
The novel reads as a modern-day Frankenstein tale. Set in an alternate 2025 where technology has far outpaced our own, Stanford graduate Ivan creates Elysium. This virtual world allows users to experience realistic sensations such as taste and touch. He falls in love with Gloria, the digital avatar of Qiu Chenxi, a fashion designer left disabled after a car accident. When a crisis of confidence leads Chenxi to delete her account, Ivan refuses to let go. He retrieves Gloria’s consciousness from the system and transfers it into a humanoid robot…
Written by Estelle Tang, illustrated by Yuma Zhao.
If you liked this article, why not read: Why the Ancestral Hall is the ‘Church’ of Chinese Life
