China in Ten Words: Essays [Paperback]

From one of China’s most acclaimed writers: a unique, intimate look at the Chinese experience over the last several decades.
 
Framed by ten phrases common in the Chinese vernacular,China in Ten Wordsuses personal stories and astute analysis to reveal as never before the world’s most populous yet oft-misunderstood nation. In Disparity, for example, Yu Hua illustrates the expanding gaps that separate citizens of the country. In Copycat, he depicts the escalating trend of piracy and imitation as a creative new form of revolutionary action. And in Bamboozle, he describes the increasingly brazen practices of trickery, fraud, and chicanery that are, he suggests, becoming a way of life at every level of society. Witty, insightful, and courageous, this is a refreshingly candid vision of the Chinese miracle and all of its consequences.
 

“Captures the heart of the Chinese. . . . If you think you know China, you will be challenged to think again. If you don't know China, you will be introduced to a country that is unlike anything you have heard from travelers or read about in the news.” —The Wall Street Journal

“An outstanding set of essays on the general topic of why modern China is the way it is, each essay centered on a Chinese word or phrase. . . . Very much worth reading.” —James Fallows,The Atlantic

“Yu has a fiction writer’s nose for the perfect detail, the everyday stuff that conveys more understanding than a thousand Op-Eds. . . . Perhaps the most bewitching aspect of this book is how funny it is. . . . He comes across as an Asian fusion of David Sedaris and Charles Kuralt.” —Laura Miller,Salon

 
“This is a tale told by a raconteur, not an academic. . . . The most powerful and vivid sections reach back to Yu Hua's childhood during the Cultural Revolution. . . . It is a cautionary tale about the rislãÚ