20 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books Set in China

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong

If you’re looking to heavy dive into Chinese humanities fiction, wherefore not commencement astatine the beginning? Available successful some abridged versions and the full, four-volume set, this caller follows the machinations of feudal lords successful the dwindling days of the Han dynasty. Though it was written centuries ago, this communicative of courtly intrigue volition entreaty to modern fans of Hilary Mantel and Shan Sa. 

Water Margins by Shi Nai’An (Also Translated arsenic Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men Are Brothers)

This Chinese classical was translated arsenic aboriginal arsenic the mid-1700s and became truthful fashionable successful Japan aft its 1805 translation that the Suikoden role-playing games it inspired are inactive enjoyed today. One of the archetypal examples of Chinese vernacular penning successful the caller form, this publication was besides popularized by Pearl S. Buck, who translated a mentation titled All Men are Brothers and brought the publication to American readers successful 1933 (albeit with errors successful translation). Written successful the 14th century, it depicts beingness successful the 12th period Song dynasty utilizing interconnected tales successful the exemplary of accepted storytelling. 

A Hero Born by Jin Yong

This humanities fiction/fantasy mashup takes spot successful China during the Jin Dynasty. After his begetter is murdered for his loyalty to the Song, Guo Jing and his parent fly to the plains, presently ruled implicit by Ghenghis Khan and his troops. Knowing that helium volition yet person to instrumentality and look his destiny, Guo Jing studies subject strategy and defence nether Ghenghis Khan and The Seven Heroes of the South. This is the archetypal successful a four-book bid astir Guo Jing. 

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Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Raised successful the imperial palace princess, Hesina of Yan watched her begetter exemplary however to regularisation successful a just mode and debar the infighting of the courts earlier him. But present her begetter is dead, and adjacent though the royal doctors find helium died of earthy causes, Hesina believes helium was murdered. Desperate to avenge her father’s decease and find his assassin, Hesina dives into a satellite of politics, intrigue, and secrets among the imperial families of China.

Empress by Shan Sa

Empress is 1 of the best-known examples of well-written humanities fabrication to beryllium published successful the past 20 years. Empress Wu was China’s first, and only, empress and remains a arguable fig successful its history. In this book, Shan Sa uses her acquisition for capturing the interior affectional scenery of characters to make a spellbinding humanities communicative that weaves unneurotic power, love, and past to research a analyzable figure. 

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

Tzu Hsi was a Chinese noblewoman and concubine who became the effectual ruler of the Chinese authorities and Empress Dowager erstwhile her young lad was crowned emperor. This publication imagines her life, from her beginnings arsenic a concubine successful the Forbidden City to the dangers she faced arsenic she sought to consolidate powerfulness and support her regularisation against the courtiers who wished to overthrow her. 

Peony successful Love by Lisa See

From existent events successful 17th period China, Lisa See (author of galore humanities fabrication books acceptable successful China) weaves unneurotic the stories of 3 generations of women. Peony, our main character, has been raised successful a sumptuous villa connected the shores of Hangzhou’s West Lake, but her beingness is simply a sheltered one. One night, she catches show of a handsome antheral during a show successful the family’s garden, and a concatenation of events is acceptable into motion. Eventually, Peony volition find herself formed retired of the beingness she knew and confronting the secrets and loves that person been hidden successful her household for generations. 

Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart

This is the archetypal publication successful the Li Du novels, a bid astir an exiled imperial librarian turned detective. Li Du knows that the powerfulness of an empire relies connected the stories it tin tell, and erstwhile helium arrives successful the borderline municipality of Dayan, helium finds a populace awaiting a star eclipse commanded by the emperor himself. When a Jesuit astronomer is recovered murdered, Li Du suspects that the transgression was committed by 1 of the galore radical who came to Dayan to witnesser the eclipse. Facing the prime of leaving China oregon staying and bringing astir justice, Li Du has to face his ain past arsenic good arsenic the execution successful Dayan’s midst. 

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Just earlier the Opium Wars, a vessel known arsenic the Ibis makes its mode crossed the Indian Ocean and toward China. Onboard is simply a divers unit of colonizers, orphans, Indians, and freedmen, each looking to summation wealthiness and information done trade. This intricately plotted escapade communicative takes readers crossed China, conjuring up the sights and sounds of the clip arsenic good arsenic the unreserved of the country’s ports. Touching connected colonialism, taste syncretism, and the accelerated changes of the satellite successful the 1800s, this humanities fabrication epic is simply a dainty for readers looking to immerse themselves. 

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

Amy Tan is simply a prolific writer possibly champion known for The Joy Luck Club. In The Valley of Amazement, she brings readers from the past days of imperial China up to the borderline of World War II successful a sweeping, humanities novel. The publication opens with the communicative of Violet, who is increasing up astatine Hidden Jade Path, a courtesan location successful Shanghai tally by her American mother. When the Qing dynasty falls successful 1912, Violet and her parent are separated and Violet is sold to a rival courtesan location wherever she yet marries and has a child. As the publication moves guardant crossed a 40-year span, we larn astir what Violet’s beingness has been like, arsenic good arsenic find retired much astir her mother’s story, each against the backdrop of a rapidly changing country.

Pearl of China by Anchee Min

For American audiences successful the 20th century, Pearl S. Buck was perchance the astir well-known writer of English connection humanities fabrication acceptable successful China. Anchee Min’s Pearl of China fictionalizes the beingness of Pearl, the kid of American missionaries surviving successful China, and her person Willow, a young miss from Chin-kiang (Zhenjiang). Amidst the Boxer Rebellion, Pearl’s household leaves and the 2 friends are separated but support successful touch. Their relationship provides a glimpse into some their idiosyncratic struggles and the changes brought astir successful China implicit the people of the 20th century. 

Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang

In 1908, 7-year-old Jialing is abandoned successful the courtyard of a decaying Shanghai estate. As a Eurasian child, Jialing knows she is an outcast and that her lone anticipation is that the Yangs, who ain the estate, volition instrumentality her successful arsenic a servant. Over time, Jialing bonds with Yang’s oldest girl Anjuin arsenic good arsenic Fox, an carnal tone who haunts the estate. As China becomes progressively tumultuous successful the modulation to a Republic and the extremity of the Qing dynasty, Jialing witnesses a politically driven execution that threatens her narration with Anjuin and each the stableness she has worked to physique for herself. 

Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

In 1920s agrarian China, women enactment agelong hours successful dusty factories that churn retired silk for anxious customers. As they get to cognize each other, the women moving astatine the silk mill travel unneurotic to imagination of lives of state and yet determine to spell connected strike. This publication is simply a model into some the labour of the silk women successful 1920s China and the beingness of women successful Chinese villages astatine the opening of the 20th century. 

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel

In the Japanese-occupied Shanghai of 1940, Aiyi Shao is an heiress and proprietor of a formerly glamorous nightclub that has fallen connected hard times. Ernest Reismann is simply a Jewish exile from Germany who has fled to Shanghai successful hopes of safety. When helium and Aiyi meet, they enslaved implicit a communal emotion of jazz and she hires him to play soft astatine her club. Soon, Aiyi’s nine is erstwhile again a hotspot, acknowledgment to Ernest’s music, and the 2 of them person fallen successful love. However, they can’t debar the encroaching war, nor the information that Aiyi is engaged to different man. 

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, this caller follows 2 teenage boys: “genius storyteller” Luo and the narrator, who has a endowment for playing the violin. After their doc parents are declared enemies of the state, the boys are sent to the mountains of agrarian China for reeducation. There, they toil successful ember mines portion besides sharing their stories and talents with the section villagers, including their cognition of forbidden novels and films. Both boys besides autumn successful emotion with Little Seamstress, the beauteous girl of the section tailor, and their relationships with her and with different members of the colony soon go analyzable and dangerous. 

War Trash by Ha Jin

A presumption of a small written-about facet of Chinese history, this publication tells the communicative of Yu Yuan, a Chinese worker being held successful a U.S. POW campy during the Korean War. A unpaid with Mao’s army, Yu Yuan is captured and past becomes the intermediary betwixt his chap prisoners and the guards, owed to his quality to talk English. A vivid relationship of cruelty, loss, and hope, this is simply a searing publication astir Chinese engagement successful the Korean War. 

Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua

Sixteen-year-old Mei is simply a zealous follower of Mao who aims to beryllium a exemplary national during the Cultural Revolution. When the section Communist Party comes to enlistee young women for a concealed work successful the capital, she eagerly signs up and finds herself assigned to a unit of dancers whose occupation is to entertain enactment elites. Driven by her fervor, Mei sets her sights connected the Chairman himself and is soon his confidant and paramour. However, her chap recruits, and the Chairman’s wife, resent the powerfulness Mei holds. When the Chairman gives her a caller assignment, Mei is forced to face the truths of the gyration beyond the walls of the capital.

Bury What We Cannot Take by Kirstin Chen

When Ah Liam and his sister San San drawback his grandma taking a hammer to a representation of Chairman Mao, 12-year-old Ah Liam reports her to the Communist Party to beryllium his loyalty. By doing so, helium sets successful question a concatenation of events that thrust the household from their location connected Drum Wave Islet, conscionable disconnected mainland China. Ah Liam’s parent frantically procures visas to Hong Kong, but it comes astatine a cost: she indispensable take a kid to permission down successful bid to guarantee the authorities she volition return. 

Beijing Coma by Ma Jian

After being deed by a soldier’s slug successful Tiananmen Square successful June 1989, Dai Wei has been successful a coma for astir a decade. Forced to attraction for him astatine location aft the infirmary recovered retired helium was an activist, his parent sold his urine and kidney to money attraction by a subordinate of the outlawed Falun Gong sect, Master Yao, and fell successful emotion with Yao arsenic well. When Dai Wei awakes astatine the crook of the millennium, helium finds a radically antithetic China afloat of contradictions, caller technologies, and a rising relation connected the satellite stage. This is simply a darkly comic and poetic publication astir China’s ascendancy astatine the opening of the 21st century. 

Frog by Mo Yan

When a playwright decides to constitute a play astir his aunt Gugu’s life, helium hears a communicative of China’s past and its one-child policy. As a young woman, Gugu was a revered midwife turned agrarian obstetrician and the girl of a staunch Communist, but erstwhile her person defected from the Party, she came nether suspicion. To beryllium her devotion, Gugu dedicated herself to strictly enforcing the one-child argumentation by keeping tabs connected the children families had and performing abortions connected unwilling women. This publication shows the hopeless world of families surviving done this clip successful Chinese history. Mo Yan is simply a pen sanction for the writer Guan Moye, victor of the 2012 Nobel Prize successful Literature.