historical non-fiction books by chinese authors

Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang

Summary: In this revisionist biography, Jung Chang presents Empress Dowager Cixi as a visionary leader who defied tradition, modernized a crumbling empire, and shaped the trajectory of modern China.

Themes: Women and power, politics, feminism, modernization vs. tradition

Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia

Summary: Through the lives of four real individuals, Zia chronicles the mass exodus from Shanghai in the 1940s as China fell to communism, shedding light on the global refugee crisis and the trauma of displacement.

Themes: War, politics, immigration, family, survival, identity, history

Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury

Summary: This biography reclaims the legacy of Hollywood’s first Chinese American movie star, Anna May Wong, examining her struggles against racism, typecasting, and erasure in an industry that exoticized and marginalized her.

Themes: Racial stereotypes, representation, feminism, art, legacy

Strangers in the Land: Searching for Family and Truth in a New America by Michael Luo

Summary: Journalist Michael Luo blends memoir and investigative reporting as he traces his Chinese American family history while confronting the legacy of racism and exclusion faced by Chinese immigrants in the United States.

Themes: Identity, racism, family, belonging, culture