Memoir books from China
Recommended memoir books (16)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you are into memoir here are some memoir books from China for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge.
1.
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows : A Memoir by Ai Weiwei EN
Description:
The “intimate and expansive” (Time) memoir of “one of the most important artists working in the world today” (Financial Times), telling a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process “Poignant . . . An illuminating through-line emerges in the many parallels Ai traces between his life and his father’s.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, BookPage, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation’s most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing, was brande... continue
2.
A Daughter of Han; the Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman by Ida Pruitt, from the story told her by Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai EN
Description:
2011 Reprint of 1945 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In "A Daughter of Han" author Ida Pruitt presents the autobiography of a Chinese working woman. Through this story the reader gains insight into the China of the poor, of women, and of the provinces. The subject of the autobiography, Ning Lao Tai-Tai, is also interesting as she lived in the period, the late 19th to mid 20th century, during which China underwent its most dramatic changes. This is a genuine, warm-blooded, dramatic chronicle of a woman's life, of the life of one... continue
3.
Beautiful Country : A Memoir of an Undocumented Childhood by Qian Julie Wang EN
Description:
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The moving story of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world—an incandescent debut from an astonishing new talent • A TODAY SHOW #READWITHJENNA PICK In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country.” Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian’s parents were professors; in America, her family is “illegal” and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive. In C... continue
4.
China Cry : The Nora Lam Story by Nora Lam, Richard H. Schneider EN
Description:
Tells the true story of the love, courage, and struggles of one woman, Nora Lam, whose Christian faith led her to make the ultimate choice between life and death
5.
China Witness : Voices from a Silent Generation by Xinran EN
Description:
In 1912, 5000 years of feudal rule ended in China. In 1949, Mao Zedong came to power. This book is a personal testimony from a normally silent generation, a huge major work of oral history which sums up, in their own words, the vast changes which have overtaken China and its people over a century.
6.
Everything Is Beautiful, and I'm Not Afraid : A Baopu Collection by Yao Xiao EN
Description:
Everything Is Beautiful, and I'm Not Afraid perfectly captures the feelings of a young sojourner in America as she explores the nuances in searching for a place to belong. Baopu is a monthly serialized comic on Autostraddle, and this book includes beloved fan favorites plus new, never-before-seen comics. This one-of-a-kind graphic novel explores the poetics of searching for connection, belonging, and identity through the fictional life of a young, queer immigrant. Inspired by the creator's own experiences as a queer, China-born illustrator living in the United States, Everything Is Beautiful, ... continue
7.
Falling Leaves : The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah EN
Description:
The emotionally wrenching yet ultimately uplifting memoir of a Chinese woman struggling to win the love and acceptance of her family. Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she... continue
8.
Kroongetuige : een ooggetuigenverslag uit de hel van de Chinese concentratiekampen by Sayragul Sauytbay, Alexandra Cavelius NL
Description:
Persoonlijk relaas van een mensenrechtenactiviste die een van China's 'heropvoedingskampen' in Xinjiang overleefde.
9.
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin EN
Description:
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AND BASIS FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE The extraordinary memoir of a peasant boy raised in rural Maoist China who was plucked from his village to study ballet and went on to become one of the greatest dancers of his generation. From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao’s cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America-and with an American woman... continue
10.
Once Upon a Time in the East : A Chronicle of Growing Up by Xiaolu Guo EN
Description:
'This generation's Wild Swans' Daily Telegraph 'One of the most startling and fascinating memoirs I've read in recent years...a story of China' Libby Purves 'Impressive...moving...exhilarating' Financial Times 'Guo is rebellious, flamboyant and fundamentally optimistic...fascinating' Scotland on Sunday 'This stunning memoir picks up where Jung Chang's 1991 bestseller Wild Swans left off...This book will make your jaw drop, then clench in anger' Five stars, Sunday Telegraph 'Riveting...Guo is a bolder, angrier and more ambitious figure than her forebears' The Times Xiaolu Guo meets her parents ... continue