Favorite Chinese Historical Fiction

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cpivie
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Favorite Chinese Historical Fiction

Post by cpivie »

I'm interested in learning more about Chinese culture throughout its history, and my avenue of choice would be through reading historical fiction. What are your favorite books that take place in China or are an excellent read when it comes to learning and immersion in the culture?
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book_worm 101
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Post by book_worm 101 »

Pearlof China by Anchee Min
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heliz_t
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Post by heliz_t »

Off the top of my head, and in no particular order:
Pretty much anything by Amy Tan.
Check out Lisa See. I particularly like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.
WIld Swans by Jung Chang.
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian.
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thaservices1
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Post by thaservices1 »

Pearl S Buck is a writer you might enjoy as well. Her works mostly revolve around the time of western influence coming into China. She grew up a missionary's daughter during that time and her insights are very interesting. Her novel The Good Earth is even required reading in some schools.
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Kai_Raine
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Post by Kai_Raine »

I mostly think of the Judge Dee mysteries, translated by van Gulik. They're quick and easy reads, but really enjoyable!
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Mallory Porshnev
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Post by Mallory Porshnev »

Try reading some of Pearl S. Buck.
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Julie Green
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Post by Julie Green »

Empress Orchid by Anchee Minn is a fascinating story about life as one of the Emperor's concubines. Well worth a read.
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CinWin
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Post by CinWin »

Wow this is amazing. I didn't even know there was such a genre. I know of Peal Buck but I did know there was a vast array of authors. This is very cool! Thanks.
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blackbery123
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Post by blackbery123 »

I mostly think of the Judge Dee mysteries, translated by van Gulik. They're quick and easy reads, but really enjoyable!
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gen_g
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Post by gen_g »

cpivie wrote: 31 May 2018, 12:57 I'm interested in learning more about Chinese culture throughout its history, and my avenue of choice would be through reading historical fiction. What are your favorite books that take place in China or are an excellent read when it comes to learning and immersion in the culture?
If you are able to get your hands on the translations, the "Four Great Classical Novels" would help a lot as well! (Mainly Journey to the West, Water Margin, The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.) These stories are mostly set in the past, and they were published in approximately the 1500s.

Also, I do agree that anything by Amy Tan would be a good read.
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AndrewZachariah
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Post by AndrewZachariah »

If you like reading Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, she also has another book called Mao: The Unknown Story. These books aren't historical fiction, per se, but the author does an excellent job of discussing the truly amazing circumstances of her family's lives while living through Mao's leadership. I highly recommend any of her work.
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