Amazon.com: Naughty CHINA | "Spiritual Pollution" Essential Reading List

Naughty CHINA \| "Spiritual Pollution" Essential Reading List
A Listmania! list by Thomas Carter "CHINA: Portrait of a People" (Beijing, China)	Share with Friends
The list author says: "As China opens its venerable doors to the world with a welcoming Han bow, and her market surges as the world's fastest-growing economy, globalization is swiftly superseding tradition, subconsciously yet incontrovertibly influencing (some say �poisoning�) the sons and daughters of Han. From Beijing punks to Shanghai socialites, the face of the now-clich�d �New China� is evolving after 5,000 years of cultural homogeneity, and so is its literature. China is notorious for its state-controlled propaganda media, and its strict censorship laws � including book burnings, imprisonment of journalists and bloggers, and executing pornographers. But defiance remains. Resisting the threat of incarceration or ostracization, a brave few �rebel writers� have dared put on paper their stories of non-conformity, sexual deviance and/or drug abuse. The conservative CPC�s knee-jerk government response is to publicly ban these books while branding them with deliciously affronting labels such as �Spiritual Pollution.� Proving Communist China still has much to learn about market-driven economics, such attention only helps fuel international publicity, resulting in millions of sales for a book that might have otherwise been tossed into the gutters of Huangpu. Some are forgettable, others are true literary works of art deserving of their acclaim and longevity. But no matter their contents, it is their NOTORIETY that we western readers revel in. Prurience is nothing new to United States of Iniquity, yet hearing it come from a Chinese author intrigues, nay, enraptures us. This list, compiled by photojournalist Tom Carter, author of CHINA: Portrait of a People, highlights the most notorious works of Chinese controversial or banned literature from the PRC�s most fearless authors."

1. La la la. by Mianmian

The list author says:
	"La la la is a collection of short stories (translated into German) preceding Mian Mian's best-selling Candy (English): tales of the P.R.C.'s disaffected youth who grew up on the cusp of old and new China. Candy was banned by the Communist government as "spiritual pollution," inspiring an entire genre of "bad girl" imitators. Candy eternally leads this list as the most profoundly disturbing."

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2. Shanghai Baby: A Novel by Wei Hui

The list author says:
	"While droves of young Chinese netizens decry Shanghai Baby as "plagiarism" of Mian Mian's published stories, the undeniably attractive Wei Hui reaped the international spotlight, fashioning herself as the new face of sexually liberated China. A public book burning by the Communists also fueled sales. Shallow yet mildly amusing; requisite reading simply for its notoriety."

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3. Beijing Doll by Chunshu

The list author says:

"Raw and brooding to Shanghai Baby's gloss and glitter, Beijing Doll is the delinquent little sister of the �naughty Chinese girl� genre. Written as a teenager, Chun Sue�s pubescent confessional reads more like a diary then a novel, with pages dedicated to dying her hair and checking out garage bands. Banned in China, Sue made the cover of Time and has since become a fixture in the Beijing scene."

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4. Wild Ginger: A Novel by Anchee Min

The list author says:
	"Giving a voice to female empowerment in China, Anchee Min remains the undisputed empress of Chinese literature. Often overshadowed by her seminal Red Azalea, Wild Ginger also explores coming-of-age during the Cultural Revolution. Two young girls discover friendship and sexuality while withstanding the rigors of living in an era of fear and persecution."

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5. Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

The list author says:

"Nien Cheng IS China�s original �bad girl.� Life and Death in Shanghai is an autobiographical novel of Cheng�s imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution for her involvement in an �imperialist� foreign company. Repeatedly tortured into giving false confessions of espionage, Cheng resists for 6 brutal years. Upon her release, learns that her daughter is murdered by the Red Guard as punishment."

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6. Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas by Su Tong

The list author says:
	"Initially entitled Wives & Concubines before being made into a hit film, Su Tong's disturbing story of catty concubines and the deceit, betrayal and shame they must engage in to survive in their household has become the stuff of Chinese literature legend. Tong is unabashed in his descriptions of sex and vulgarities, and shocks readers with one of the most depressing endings ever written."

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7. Please Don't Call Me Human by Shuo Wang

The list author says:

"China�s only rebel writer NOT to be banned or publicly denounced by the Communists, iconic Wang Shuo is one of the P.R.C.�s most prolific and best-selling authors. Please Don�t Call Me Human, unfortunately, is only his second novel to be translated into English, a deliriously ribald adventure weaving politics, sports and crass Chinese-style mischief into a complex yet entertaining storyline."

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8. Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China by Rowena Cooper

The list author says:
	"Jung Chang seems to ONLY write books that will be banned in China, but we also admire her for her poetic prose and epic story-telling. Wild Swans is a family autobiography of three generation of strong Chang woman facing off against the hardships of Communism. Censored in China not for its feminism but for its politics, Wild Swans is an excellent read banned or not."

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9. Bound Feet & Western Dress: A Memoir by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang

The list author says:
	"Chinese-American author Pang-Mei Chang writes the true-life biography of a truly brave woman in early 1900's China who defies the ancient traditions of arranged marriage, abortions and abuse � all the while devotedly saving the �face� of her family. The protagonist, Chang�s great aunt Yu-I, is more famously known as China�s first lady of divorce."

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10. Lili: A Novel of Tiananmen by Rui Wang

The list author says:

"Annie Wang�s debut novel Lily covers economic disparity, patriotism and forbidden love in pre-Tiananmen China. A young �hooligan� girl released from a Communist rehabilitation prison seeks employment and stability but finds eye-opening romance in the form of a foreign devil. Wang�s follow-up, The People's Republic of Desire, was dismissed by literati as a Chinese knockoff of Sex and the City."

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11. Opening Up: Youth Sex Culture and Market Reform in Shanghai by James Farrer

The list author says:

"James Farrer offers a westerner's perspective on China's new attitudes towards sex, drugs & rock�n�roll with his new study Opening Up. In this sociological discourse, Farrer analyzes that market reform and globalization are the causes for Shanghai�s pervading progressive sexuality. Fusing scholarly theories with an expat�s curiosity, Farrer�s work is at once an academic text and a how-to guide."

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12. Whispers and Moans: Interviews with the men and women of Hong Kong's sex industry by Yeeshan Yang

The list author says:
	"Yeeshan Yang penetrates Hong Kong's sordid world of prostitution, befriending male and female sex workers and turning their respective stories into an eye-opening psychoanalysis of insecurities, insolvency and dependency. Perhaps the most unique content to come out of Whispers and Moans is in uncovering the rivalries between Mainland Chinese prostitutes and those born in HK. Also a movie."

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