amazon.com/Untrue-lying-book … X2G81MM8PY
My favourite is number two. The writer refers to Jung Chang as “he.”
Why China Will Never Rule the World did not make the list. Tsk, tsk.
Enjoy. 
Ed
Could you elaborate a bit more or is this post merely propaganda ?
I like the anti-blurb for no. 7: “Leslie Chang tries to make the factory worker seem abused and looked unhappy, but the reality is that girls have a worse life in their villages.”
That’s an interesting approach: Defending the PRC by saying basically the equivalent of “You think the factory workers have it bad? Ha! Take a look at the miserable lives of peasants who are stuck in the middle of nowhere.” Of course, at least that blurb is much closer to being accurate than the others.
Liao Yiwu’s The Corpse Walker is a terrific book. I’m glad he was able to escape, though it cost him greatly.
Yes, I suppose it’s not such a stretch to say women (and men) are happier working in factories for peanuts than they are doing nothing in the village.
The Corpse Walker, just checked it on Amazon, does indeed look interesting. I like China books written by Chinese. They provide such a complementary perspective. Though I have to say, after 4 years back in the West, my China interest is waning.
I wonder if the guy who made that list is a govn’t troll or just a rabid nationalist. Must be the former, based on the list. The Party is ranked no. 1 and it’s pretty tame by China-book standards.
Ed
It’s a bit weird isn’t it, that list? He actually ends up promoting the books and its a useful resource. Surely what he should do is provide a list of those edifying tomes that enlighten us as to the glories of being a Chinese.
“Why Jasper Becker said that Chinese people eat one another. What really believe that? And Americans do the same in the old days.”
It’s a lie and anyway you guys used to do it too. :roflmao:
My new favourite is this one:
“Another example of the American love of Chinese Cultural Revolution. Why is this book so popular? Just because you want to read bad things.”
I suppose there’s a third possibility. It could be a gov’t troll, or a nationalist, but it could also be a joke. Perhaps an ESL teacher with a sense of humour?
Ed
What’s sad is that the list author sees things in terms of only good or bad. His/her thinking is so stunted that he doesn’t comprehend that - for example - the Corpse Walker is basically a positive book, or at least paints a more subtle picture than he/she can cope with. I’ve read Factory Girls and the author does attempt to present many different sides of a complex story - but again, the list compiler doesn’t seem to understand that peasants having a shittier life than put-upon factory workers does NOT support his/her theory that “China is the greatest country in the world”.
Most likely, the list author hasn’t actually read any of those books.
Party shills generally don’t have the time nor the inclination to read. They’re too busy polishing Mao’s turd.
Well, yeah, I think from the bad English, etc., it’s evident the list writer didn’t read the books and couldn’t read English-language books.
Factory Girls any good, fin? I saw the author on YouTube and thought her talk was boring. But then I’m boring on YouTube, too, so…
Ed
Well, I wouldn’t recommend it for cliffhanger suspense and thrills, but it was a pretty solid, sensible description of what goes on in Chinese factories and what the workers think about it.
I would say, because it’s not a sensationalist book, but simply a case study of (IIRC) four of five representative, ordinary people, it definitely doesn’t belong in this list of “bad books about China”.
Yes, well, none of them really belong, but I know what you’re saying. Same thing with The Party, the numero uno selection. That book is pretty straight forward; a well researched and objective volume on how the CCP functions. It’s the kind of book that would be soberly dicussed on, say, Charlie Rose.
Still waiting for the TRUE lying books…
- 1421: The Year China Discovered the World
- When China Rules the World
Well, the first one is a pack of nonsense, at least after page 100 or so. The second one is just speculative codswallop.
That list has made my evening. Truly a thing of beauty!