{"id":8250,"date":"2021-05-14T15:31:49","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T12:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/?p=8250"},"modified":"2021-05-14T15:31:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T12:31:49","slug":"book-recommendations-from-east-asian-literature-101-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/book-recommendations-from-east-asian-literature-101-china\/","title":{"rendered":"BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM EAST ASIAN LITERATURE 101: CHINA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book recommendations from East Asian literature are from China this week. China is one of the East Asian countries which has an enormously rich culture. From its delicious noodles to its long history, it is known to be an one of a kind country that has an influence on all around the world. Therefore, at least people can get acquainted with its literature so that East Asian countries may be understood in a comprehensive way. So, in this article, some books from Chinese literature will be introduced.<\/p>\n

\"RedSorghum.jpg\"<\/a>
Credit (Yan, M. (1986). The first edition cover of Red Sorghum [Photograph ])<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>1. Red Sorghum by Mo Yan<\/strong><\/p>\n

This novel was published in 1986 (Wikipedia, 2000). Then, the author of the book, Mo Yan, won Nobel Prize in 2012 thanks to his classic family novel Red Sorghum (McCormack, 2017). The story begins in 1923 and ends in 1976 which follows three generations of the Shandong family (McCormack, 2017). At first, the family start as winegrower, and then they gradually become resistance fighters. This book mentions the Cultural Revolution of China and shifting relationships between China and Japan (McCormack, 2017).<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"File:Waiting<\/a>
Credit (Jin, H. (2017). Front cover of Waiting [Photograph])<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>2<\/strong>. Waiting by Ha Jin<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Waiting was written by Ha Jin who won the National Book Award (McCormack, 2017). It concerns a doctor torn between two women who are in a metaphorical relationship, one of them is associated with the New China and the other is associated with the ancient traditions of his people (McCormack, 2017). The novel is definitely a must-read book because its universal conflict between society and the values of each individual tackle Chinese history from a different angle (McCormack, 2017).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Hongloumeng2.jpg\"<\/a>
Credit (Baozhuan, X. (1791). A scene from Dream of the Red Chamber[Photograph])<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>3. Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDream of the Red Chamber”, also known as \u201cThe Story of the Stone\u201d, was written by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century (Wikipedia, 2021). It mentions a romantic rivalry and a friendship among three characters against their families’ regressing conditions (Wikipedia, 2021). Apart from that, the novel also involves multiple social and political issues such as the feudal law, patriarchal system, women, ethics and marriage (China Whisper, 2015). Dream of the Red Chamber is regarded as the encyclopedia of the social life of the late feudal society in China (China Whisper, 2015).<\/p>\n

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\"Beijing<\/a>
Credit (Sue, C. (2002). The cover of Beijing Doll [Photograph])<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>4. Beijing Doll by Chun Sue\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n
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This book was banned in China due to its exploration of a young girl\u2019s sexual awakening, yet, it is universally praised as being the first novel of \u2018tough youth\u2019 in China\u201d (Penguin Random House Editors, n.d.). Beijing Doll drew on the diaries that she kept throughout her teenage years (Penguin Random House Editors, n.d). She takes readers to the streets of Beijing in which a disaffected generation ignores traditions for self-expression, passion and freedom. Chun Sue\u2019s explicit sensuality, brave attitude towards sex, and raw, lyrical style blaze a trail in contemporary Chinese literature (Penguin Random House Editors, n.d).<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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5. Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang<\/strong><\/strong>
\"Factory<\/a>
Credit (Chang, L. (2008). The cover of Factory Girls by Leslie Chang [Photograph])<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
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China has 130 million migrant workers and this situation makes the country host the largest migration in human history. Those workers, who leave their rural towns to find jobs in China’s cities, are the driving force behind China’s growing economy but little is known about their daily lives or the sociological importance of this giant movement (Spiegel & Grau, 2008). Factory Girls was written by Leslie T. Chang, and it refers to a story of migrant workers primarily through the lives of two women. The author keeps track of their way of achieving things and getting promoted during 3 years in Dongguan which is an industrial city in China\u2019s Pearl River Delta (Penguin Random House Editors, n.d.).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In conclusion, China has an influence regionally and globally. Thus, its culture definitely needs to be explored in a closer way so that East Asian countries and their interstate relations can be understood better. So, people can have a look at these book recommendations that belong to Chinese literature, and this may help readers find out the actions of China towards the world in a comprehensive way.<\/p>\n

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WORK CITED<\/p>\n

McCormack, J. W. (2017). “These Are the Best Modern Chinese Novels Available in English” Culture Trip<\/em>. Available at https:\/\/theculturetrip.com\/north-america\/usa\/articles\/these-are-the-best-modern-chinese-novels-available-in-english\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Wikipedia (2021). “Red Sorghum<\/i> (novel)” Wikipedia. <\/em>Available at https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Red_Sorghum_(novel)#cite_ref-2<\/a><\/p>\n

China Whisper Editors (2015). \u201c10 Best Chinese Classic Novels of All Time\u201d. China Whisper<\/em>. Available at www.chinawhisper.com\/10-best-chinese-classic-novels-of-all-time\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Wikipedia (2021). “Dream of the Red Chamber” Wikipedia<\/em>. Available at https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber<\/a><\/p>\n

Penguin Random House Editors (n.d). “10 Books to Understand China” Penguin Random House<\/em>. Available at https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/the-read-down\/books-to-understand-china<\/a><\/p>\n

Spiegel & Grau (2008). “Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China” Good Reads<\/em>. Available at https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/2635587-factory-girls<\/a><\/p>\n

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Book recommendations from East Asian literature are from China this week. China is one of the East Asian countries which has an enormously rich culture. From its delicious noodles to its long history, it is known to be an one of a kind country that has an influence on all around the world. Therefore, at<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":8312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,289],"tags":[841,1560,1667,1302,1668],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-8250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-literature","tag-books","tag-chinese-culture","tag-chinese-literature","tag-east-asian-countries","tag-recommendation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8250"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8314,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8250\/revisions\/8314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8250"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=8250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}