Reading List

Books

  • Some to Talk to (一句顶一万句)
    by Liu, Zhenyun
    Life goes on, loneliness lingers on. The book is true masterpiece.

  • Chimera: Portrait of Manchukuo (キメラ - 満洲国の肖像) .
    by Shinichi Yamamuro
    Interesting to learn about the history of early infancy China from the Japanese side documentary record and analysis.

  • On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
    by Ocean Vuong
    The war, the rusted youth, the homosexuality, the shattered family, the memory flashbacks mixed with imaginations. Beautiful language took me to the cruel yet warmest journey of this young Vietnamese American boy.

  • 「史记-高祖本纪 & 项羽本纪」
    by 司马迁
    项羽不足为谋,骁勇善战,刚愎自用,范增事此主,实属悲哀。舜之后重瞳子又如何,垓下一战,实早晚定局。非天之亡羽,人事不尽,落得江前自刎。而刘邦小人做尽,终成大业。鉴古观今,仍难掩唏嘘。

  • L’Étranger
    by Albert Camus
    Saddened yet peaceful while reading this short story, same as the summer night before Meursault was sent to Guillotine. Being an outsider is even tougher at this time, I guess.

  • Cien años de soledad (百年孤独)
    by Gabriel García Márquez
    Read this legendary masterwork at the age of 26. Living for three or four times through the whole century is what I feel when each chapter went through my mind. At the end of the time, nothing escapes fate and reincarnation.

  • The Making of the Modern Chinese State: 1600–1950
    by Huaiyin Li
    Very informative, with many detailed discussion and analyses, and yet still in a compact structure.

  • Education
    by Tara Westover
    Always reminds me the essence of getting eduacated which is probably the only chance to get to know the world and the only thing I never regret in my life for once.

Ariticles

  • A Letter from a Tehran Prison
    by Mahsa, Jan. 23, 2023
    Deeply sad for Mahsa and her country. All the good wishes to Iranian people, with all my heart.

  • 「孔子世家」读后感
    by Wenqian Zhao, Jan. 11, 2024
    Have some questions about the essence of Confucianism and the worship of Confucius.

  • ‘Democracy’ by and for the Elites
    by Emily B. Finley, from WSJ Sept. 25, 2022
    A commentary on the idealogy of democracy and how such a pervasive concept is blurred and being used by the reigning power in the US. Surely a good reflection for us too.

  • Working with Idiots Can Kill You !
    Read from a joke selection of a respected professor. In memory of our dearest ex-PM Keqiang Li and his effort ever made to keep our once-advancing country hanging longer to the civilization.