A Peking love story first published in 1935, The Maker of Heavenly Trousers tells the story of an unnamed foreign bachelor who lives in a courtyard dwelling alone but for the Five Virtues, the nickname for a family of mischievous Chinese servants who run his household as they please.

The Maker of Heavenly Trousers

Varè, Daniele

Romance

Penguin Books China

<p>Mr. Ma and his son Ma Wei run an antiques shop nestled in a quiet street by St Paul's Cathedral in London, where, far from their native Peking, they struggle to navigate the bustling pavements and myriad social conventions of 1920s English society. From their well-meaning landlady Mrs. Wedderburn and her carefree daughter Mary, to the old China hands the Reverend Ely and his formidable wife, the Mas encounter all sorts in this story of unexpected love, crossed wires, and antipathy. A major contribution to the early 20th-century conversation on Sino-British relations, <i>Mr Ma and Son </i>is a compelling, witty tale of cultural give-and-take from one of China's best-loved authors.</p>

Mr Ma & Son

Literature & Fiction

She, Lao

Literary

<b>Lao She's only work of science fiction is both a dark, dystopian tale of one man's close encounter with the feline kind and a scathing indictment of a country gone awry</b><br><br>When a traveler from China crash-lands on Mars, he finds himself in a country inhabited entirely by Cat People. Befriended by a local cat-man, he becomes acquainted in all aspects of cat-life: he learns to speak Felinese, masters cat-poetry, and appreciates the narcotic effects of the reverie leaf—their food staple. But curiosity turns to despair when he ventures further into the heart of the country and the culture, and realizes that he is witnessing the bleak decline of a civilization.

Cat Country

Science Fiction & Fantasy

老舍

Science Fiction

<br>Devious plots, seduction, blackmail, and bribery are all on the table in a no-holds-barred scramble for political prestige and personal gain. At the center of it all is a notebook, a humble witness to events, but one whose pages contain information they shouldn't. Penned by a former insider, <i>The Civil Servant's Notebook </i>offers a glimpse into the distorted psyches of those who roam the guarded halls of Chinese political power. "Serve the people" is just about the last thing on their minds.<br>

The Civil Servant's Notebook

Xiaofang, Wang

Genre Fiction

In 2009, on the outskirts of the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, Xian villagers secretly prepared for the Dragon Boat Festival. For them, the commemoration of the 221 BC poet Qu Yuan, who threw himself into a river to protest official corruption, held particular resonance. Guangzhou’s drive to become a ‘National Model City’ ahead of the 2010 Asia Games accelerated a voracious demand for land, turning the ground beneath the villagers’ feet into a commodity as valuable as diamonds, a treasure too rich for local officials to ignore. Dragons in Diamond Village is about the courage of individuals: Huang Minpeng, a semi-literate farmer turned self-taught rights defender; He Jieling, a suburban housewife who just wanted to open a hair salon; Xian villagers like Lu Zhaohui who refuse to give up the land their families have cultivated for generations. Theirs is a community bound by shared history and a belief in the necessity of change, a band of unlikely activists fighting for their place in China’s new cities.

Dragons in Diamond Village: And Other Tales from the Back Alleys of Urbanising China

History

Bandurski, David

Asia

<p><div>Jie Fang,a boy whose name is synonymous with "liberation," has a peculiar fascination with gunpowder. He accidentally brings trouble upon his family one day when he asks his father to paint a picture of his favorite war hero, Dong Cunrui, below the portrait of Chairman Mao. Despite his father's loyal devotion to the Party, the newly-drawn painting of the famous bomber who sacrificed himself for his country is interpreted as an attempt to blow up the chairman in a counter-revolutionary act. When his father is taken away, Jie Fang faces bullying from a clique of classmates. As the feud between them escalates, Jie Fang's unexpected discovery of a bomb leads him to continue exploring his unusual affinity for gunpowder, and what it means to truly be a "hero."</div></p>

The Road Home (Penguin Specials)

AI WEI

<p><div>Professor Su Jing'an is a respected academic and a man of habit. He follows his routine to the tick of the clocks in his study and nothing can stop him from having his afternoon coffee. Nothing that is, but old age. When a young academic caretaker is sent to look after Su Jing'an, he is barely the man everyone remembers. Questioning his identity, Professor Su questions all of us--who are we, and where do we belong?</div></p>

Professor Su Jing’an in His Later Years (Penguin Specials)

Dong, Jun

<p><div>In a town where everyone has secrets, Wang Wuxian is the original conman. With a huge heart and a house full of strays, he scams everyone on Xinhe Street by getting them to invest in the One Plus One Guarantee Company. Hu Weidong is a fool that bites the bait, leaving his shoe business at risk of ruin while his wife Jiang Lina tries to pick up the pieces. Chen Naixing is the brains behind the whole operation and has the most at stake when things turn sour. All the while, Ai Mengya is the only one that has a handle on the situation. There is no easy way for anyone to run away from the trouble on Xinhe Street.</div></p>

Fleeing Xinhe Street (Penguin Specials)

Zhe, Gui

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