20 Best Chinese Non-Fiction Books of the 20th Century
This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
Time Out Beijing , 20 Books
Time Out Beijing's best Chinese non-fiction books of all time, as voted for by 24 Chinese literature experts, novelists, literary agents, publishers, editors, critics and journalists for their top book picks from the last 100 years, based on the following criteria:
- Available in English
- Published after 1900
- A book that illuminates some interesting aspect of Chinese society; historical or modern, observational or analytical, playful or scholarly; poignant and relevant to readers today".
This list was originally published in 2015 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.
| Rank | Book | Authors | Year | Country | Language | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4619 | The Opium War | Julia Lovell | 2011 | British | English | |
| 3082 | Factory Girls | Leslie T. Chang | 2008 | American | English | |
| 5143 | Midnight In Peking | Paul French | 2012 | British | English | |
| 3070 | River Town | Peter Hessler | 2001 | American | English | |
| 8206 | Tombstone | Yang Jisheng | 2008 | Chinese | Chinese | |
| 901 | Wild Swans | Jung Chang | 1991 | Chinese | English | |
| 8803 | China In Ten Words | Yu Hua | 2011 | Chinese | Chinese | |
| 2193 | The Gate of Heavenly Peace | Jonathan Spence | 1981 | American | English | |
| 8357 | Shanghai Style | Lynn Pan | 2008 | Unknown | English | |
| 4183 | Age of Ambition | Evan Osnos | 2014 | American | English | |
| 4154 | China To Me | Emily Hahn | 1944 | American | English | |
| 8443 | The Age Of Openness | Frank Dikötter | 2008 | Unknown | English | |
| 8195 | China Shakes The World | James Kynge | 2006 | British | English | |
| 4257 | The Importance Of Living | Lin Yutang | 1937 | Chinese | English | |
| 4615 | The Party | Richard McGregor | 2010 | Unknown | English | |
| 8336 | China Road | Rob Gifford | 2007 | British | English | |
| 7918 | Mr. China | Tim Clissold | 2004 | British | English | |
| 3540 | The Good Women Of China | Xinran | 2002 | Chinese | Chinese | |
| 5449 | Forgotten Ally | Rana Mitter | 2013 | British | English | |
| 6453 | Red Azalea | Anchee Min | 1993 | Chinese | English |