Resources on China
Jian Li
August, 2007
Recommended Books on China – Touring, Working and Living
In the Know In China- An Indispensable Cross-Cultural Guide to Working and Living in China, by Jennifer Phillips, 2003,
JL Comment
Well organized, informative, the book covers Chinese culture, language, political system, business environment, as well as tips for making plans to tour, work or live in China. It also comes with a Mandarin/Chinese learning CD.
Lonely Planet China by Damian Harperm, Andrew Burke and Julie Grundvig, 2007
JL Comment
Update, detailed information for what to see and do in China as a tourist. The book provides readers with excellent tips, texts, pictures and maps.
Recommended Books on China – History and Culture
China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power, by Bob Gifford, 2007, Random House
JL Comment
A highly readable and informative book on what is happening in China . The author, Rob Gifford, a National Public Radio China correspondent from 1999 to 2005, wrote this book after journeying six weeks, 3000 miles, talked with the Chinese of all walks of life, from "truckers to hookers". "As vicarious enjoyment goes, this one’s a ten", said Ted Keoppel.
China – A New History by John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman, 2006. Harvard Press
JL Comment
John Fairbank is one of the most respected scholars of Chinese history and culture. The main text is written by Fairbank covering the Chinese history from pre-history to 1976. The last chapter, “the Post-Mao Reform Era”, is written by Merle Goldman, a student of Fairbank’s and a China expert. With a comparative perspective and an excellent bibliography, it is a good introduction to the Chinese history and culture and can be served both as a textbook and a general reference book on China.
The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, by Patricia Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated Histories, 1999
JL Comment
Ebrey's Illustrated History is an attractive, accessible, and scholarly general history of China. Her approach is chronological covering 3000 years of the Chinese history. The book is beautifully illustrated with color photographs of art and artifacts and contemporary photographs from the different periods. There is a companion sourcebook, Chinese Civilizations, by the same author, and a reference website, A Visual Source Book of Chinese Civilization to complement the text.
From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History (The Great Courses Lectures) (Audio CD), by Kenneth J. Hammond, 2004
JL Comment
It you like books on tape, this is an excellent audio lessons on the history of China from Professor Kenneth Hammond. It covers 36 lessons from geography and archeology to what is happening in China in the early 2000s.
The Genius of China, Robert Temple and Joseph Needham, 1987
JL Comment
Needham, the foremost Western historian of Chinese science, has written 15 volumes of Science and Civilization in China. Temple impressively distilled Needham’s immense work of 3,000 years of Chinese scholarship and invention, from agriculture and medicine to warfare into a highly readable 254 pages texts with 190 photos and illustrations.
Recommended Books on the World History in Comparative Perspectives
The Lessons of History, Durant, Will & Durant, Ariel, 1968. New York: Simon and Schuster.
JL Comment
Durant, an eminent scholar of world history, distilled his wisdom in a highly readable 100- page book. It puts world history in philosophical and comparative perspectives.
Guns, Germs, Steel, The Fates of Human Society, pp.322-333, 1999, by Jared Diamond, W.W. Norton & Company
JL Comment
This is a highly original and provocative book of a history of the world. It is hailed as “one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years”, Diamond demonstrates how challenges of the environment impact social development in different parts of the world. Chapter 16, pp.322-333, is entitled “How China Became Chinese”
A Concise History of the World by J.M. Roberts, 1995, Oxford University Press
JL Comment
A scholarly yet highly readable history of the world for those who want to pursue a balanced and comprehensive overview of the world history.
Recommended Books on China – Economy, Business and Culture
The China Executive: Marrying Western and Chinese Strengths to Generate Profitability from Your Investment in China, by Wei Wang, 2006
JL Comment
Having studied and worked both in China and the West, Wang is one of the few truly bi-cultural persons who understands how and why the Chinese think and behave differently from the Westerners. The book offers practical guide to solve the cultural divide between China and the West. This is an outstanding book that combines theories with practical solutions to do business in China and beyond.
One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, by James McGregor, 2005
JL Comment
McGregor has spent nearly two decades as a journalist and business executive in China. This book provides many useful case studies to illustrate the challenges, opportunities, and tips of doing business in China. It paints a slightly dark picture of the Chinese political and social system.
Cowboys and Dragons - Shattering Cultural Myths to Advance Chinese-American Business. Charles Lee, 2003.
JL Comment
Being brought up in China, Taiwan, educated and worked in the United States, Lee is truly a bicultural person who has been advising and guiding the formation of Chinese-American joint ventures since 1977. This book is an effort to bridge the differences between the two cultures for the business reader. It paints a more positive picture of the Chinese culture and business traditions than most of the books in the Western media.
Chinese Business Etiquette: A Guide to Protocol, Manners, and Culture in the People's Republic of China, by Scott D. Seligman, 1999.
JL Comment
Although slightly out of date, this is still one of the best guides to social and business protocol in the PeoplesRepublic of China, and many of the tips are also applicable to Hong Kong. The book is informative and written with sensitivity, clarity and humor.
China Streetsmart: What You MUST Know to be Effective and Profitable in China, by John Chen, 2003
JL Comment
Written in a conversation tone, China Streetsmart offers excellent case studies and practical advice on how to navigate China’s bureaucracy, negotiations managements and more.
Recommended Web Resources on China – from both the Chinese and Western Sources
Official Website of the People's Republic of China:
http://english.gov.cn
CIA Factbook on People's Republic of China:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html
Chinese Culture Website:
http://www.chinaculture.org
AVisual Source Book of Chinese Civilization:
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/index.htm
Recommended Online TV and Radio Programs on China from NPR and PRI
Young China from PRI’s The World radio program
·http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/11455
·http://www.theworld.org/audio/0717076.wma
Faces of a New Era
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/red/ordinary/faces.html
China in the Red 1998-2001
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/red/etc/synopsis.html
