Read Tong Zhao's review-essay on three new books on China's nuclear weapons program, past and present: chinabooksreview.com/2026/05/07/t...

The myth of Chinese nuclear exceptionalism obscures our understanding of China’s weapons program. A trio of recent books take us from the bomb’s origins to the present arms race — and illuminate the limits of restraint. Read Tong Zhao's review-essay: chinabooksreview.com/2026/05/07/t...

Listen to our podcast with Daniel A. Bell on his new book "Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters": chinabooksreview.com/2026/05/05/d...

Ancient Chinese Politics with Daniel Bell The Legalists and Confucians still run the show in today’s China, argues a scholar of classical Chinese thought — but the Mohists and Daoists still have a voice in the debate. Listen to the podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2026/05/05/d...

Congratulations to Yiyun Li for winning the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Memoir, for her book "Things in Nature Merely Grow": www.pulitzer.org/winners/yiyu... Take the chance to re-read Taili Ni's profile of Li, back in 2024 (before that winning book was conceived): chinabooksreview.com/2024/03/21/y...

50 years have passed since Mao's death. The memoirs of his personal physician, Li Zhisui, tell a life of fatty pork and Daoist sex magic — and explain how to embalm your boss. Read Jeremiah Jenne's latest Archive pick: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/30/m...

Five new books deal with efforts to transform China: from the conquests of the Warring States to nationalist internet fantasies, all the way to campaigns against superstition. Read Alexander Boyd's new book list: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/28/n...

We are delighted to share the two winners of the Baifang Schell Book Prize: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/23/2...

For #WorldBookDay, we want to share some top China book picks 📚 Swipe to see our recommendations! 📕Alec Ash — “I Deliver Parcels in Beijing” by Hu Anyan, tr. Jack Hargreaves 📘Alexander Boyd — “Hunter” by Shuang Xuetao, tr. Jeremy Tiang 📗Yi Liu — “Soft Burial” by Fang Fang, tr. Michael Berry

We're thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize, our awards for nonfiction and literature from or on China and the Sinophone world published in 2025. See the winners and honorable mentions: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/23/2...

Watch and read a transcript of Jonathan Cheng's book talk at Asia Society on "Korean Messiah": chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/21/j...

The Wall Street Journal's China bureau chief, and author of a new biography of Kim Il Sung, spoke at Asia Society about the DPRK's ruling dynasty, and the state of China reporting today. Watch Jonathan Cheng's conversation with Julian Gewirtz: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/21/j...

Read Thomas Bird's review of A Murder in Yunnan by David Leffman: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/16/y...

When a British diplomat was found murdered in southwest China in 1875, near the Burmese border, a political spat was triggered that would have wide-ranging ramifications. Read Thomas Bird's review of A Murder in Yunnan by David Leffman: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/16/y...

Read Yi Liu's interview with Xiang Biao, our latest in the What China's Thinking column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/14/w...

An anthropologist with a wide youth following and a knack for popularizing academic terms explains how China’s stratified society led to social malaise amid economic prosperity in our What China's Thinking column. Read Yi Liu's full interview with Xiang Biao: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/14/w...

Read Andrew J. Nathan's review-essay: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/09/t...

A Chinese invasion or blockade of Taiwan is a constant, if not imminent, risk. Three new books consider Beijing’s options for force, Taiwan’s fractured politics, and how America is stuck in the middle of a zero-sum game. Read Andrew J. Nathan's review-essay: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/09/t...

Listen to the new podcast episode with Erin Cline on the status of women in The Analects: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/07/e...

New episode! Confucius and Women, with Erin Cline Misogyny and patriarchy are a later misreading of The Analects, argues the author of a new translation of the Confucian classic. Listen to the podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/07/e...

Our latest crop of bestsellers reveal an America wary — and perhaps envious? — of China's tech prowess. To see all 15 books on the March 2026 bestseller rankings, visit: chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...

We're delighted to share the shortlist for the 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize in the nonfiction category: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/02/s...

On Tuesday, we announced the shortlist for our Baifang Schell Book Prize’s literature award. Today, we are delighted to present the shortlist for our nonfiction category, the 2025 Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Book on China or the Sinophone World: chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/02/s...

We're delighted to share the shortlist for the 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize in literature: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/31/s...

We're pleased to announce a shortlist of five books for the Baifang Schell Book Prize in literature: the 2025 Award for Outstanding Literature from or on China or the Sinophone World — selected by an independent jury. Read the shortlist: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/31/s...

Read Martin Laflamme's review essay on Hua Guofeng, the oft-maligned successor to Mao Zedong: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/19/h...

A French biography shows how Hua Guofeng, the oft-maligned successor to Mao, was pivotal in bridging the Party from the madness of the Cultural Revolution to the prosperity of the Reform era. Read Martin Laflamme's review essay on Hua Guofeng: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/19/h...

In the latest installation of his Translated Chinese Literature column, Jack Hargreaves introduces five new books that ask us what it means to be human: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/17/t...

Looking for Chinese literature in translation? In the age of artificial intelligence, with publishers turning to AI translation tools, it is more meaningful than ever to read human translations. Here are five: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/17/t...

Book Club is back! Come join us for evenings of spirited discussion about the latest translations of Chinese literature. NYC: Wed March 18, 5:30-7pm (Asia Society) D.C.: April 14 6-7:30pm (Calico) SIGN UP: chinabooksreview.com/club/

Read Paul French's essay on the Chinese intellectual in Oxford Chiang Yee: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/12/c...

"A Chinese Intellectual in Oxford" In the 1930s Chiang Yee, a Chinese writer and artist, moved to England. His work, and that of his wartime circle of Chinese literati, deserve to be remembered. Read Paul French's essay: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/12/c...

Read Yi Liu's Q&A with Liang Hong in the latest installment of What China's Thinking: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/10/w...

Liang Hong, an author famous for her observations on village life, has turned her attention to the mental health of China’s adolescents. In our latest What China's Thinking column, we interviewed her: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/10/w...

Our February bestsellers list is out, and we've got a new leader: "Killed to Order." Top buzzwords across our 15 bestsellers: America (3x), Beast (2x), Red (2x), War (2x), Quest (2x), World (2x) and Daughters/Brothers (1x/1x). See the full list for yourself: chinabooksreview.com/bestselling-...

Read Jonathan Chatwin's review essay on Frank Dikötter's Red Dawn Over China: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/05/h...

The CCP presents its victory in 1949 as historical inevitability. A new book suggests it had more to do with the Soviets, luck and brutal tactics — but overlooks some other key context. Read Jonathan Chatwin's review of Red Dawn Over China: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/05/h...

Listen to Jesse Appell discuss his memoir, This Was Funnier in China, on the China Books Podcast with Alec Ash: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/03/j...

The bilingual comedian Jesse Appell talks us through the traditional “xiangsheng” form of Chinese comic repartee, and explains whether Beijing can take a joke on the latest episode of the China Books podcast. Listen now: chinabooksreview.com/2026/03/03/j...

RESCHEDULED. Book Talk: Red Dawn Over China with Frank Dikötter In-person at Asia Society NYC Tue 02 Jun 2026 6:30 - 8 p.m. 725 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021 Buy tickets now: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch...

Read Minxin Pei's review of "Institutional Genes" by Xu Chenggang: chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/26/t...

A new theory of China’s political DNA advances a dark thesis: that totalitarianism is institutionally encoded in the nation-state, and cannot be reformed. Read Minxin Pei's review of "Institutional Genes" by Xu Chenggang: chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/26/t...

From Tibet to Taiwan, Yunnan to yonder, we recommend five Spring Festival reads with a focus on the periphery. 马年大吉! Read Na Zhong's new What China's Reading column: chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/24/w...

Due to the snow blizzard in New York and grounded flights, we've had to postpone tomorrow night's event with Frank Dikötter on his new book "Red Dawn Over China." We hope to announce a new date for this talk in the spring. Refunds will be issued automatically to ticket holders.

Looking for something to watch this spring? Check out Asia Society NYC's retrospective of Wang Xiaoshuai's films, from "The Days" (1994) to "Chinese Portrait" (2019), and of course "Beijing Bicycle" (2001). Screening Mar 5-8, get your ticket now: asiasociety.org/new-york/chi...

Read Joseph Torigian's review-essay on "Peng Zhen" by Yen-Lin Chung 鍾延麟: chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/19/p...

Did Peng Zhen Rebel Against Mao? A startling Chinese-language biography of Mao’s one-time enforcer reveals the folly of hoping that Party officials will break ranks — and the importance of revisionist histories. Read Joseph Torigian's review-essay: chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/19/p...

Read Jeremiah Jenne's review of the inventive "Décadence Mandchoue," our latest Archive pick: chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/17/d...

Historical witnessing or salacious slash fiction? The memoirs of an English eccentric in Beijing during the last days of the Qing remain controversial, but are hard to put down. Read Jeremiah Jenne's latest Archive pick, a review of "Décadence Mandchoue": chinabooksreview.com/2026/02/17/d...

Register now to hear historian Frank Dikötter discuss his new book, "Red Dawn Over China," with Orville Schell at Asia Society in New York. Tickets: asiasociety.org/center-us-ch... Feb 24, 6:30-8pm $25 Nonmembers / $15 Members