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I can’t even remember how I came across this book but I have had a nascent curiosity about China for a while now. It has always seemed such an enigmatic and baffling country and culture, so removed from our Western history yet so influential in the modern world.

China in Ten Words, by Yu Hua takes ten aspects of Chinese history or culture and, through each ‘word’ (one per Chapter), embellishes these areas through personal, anecdotal and national events, cleverly interweaving the parochial and the cosmopolitan. Yu makes an excellent tour guide though Chinese modern history, having experienced the brutal and bonkers Cultural Revolution first hand, as well as the impact of Chairman Mao, both man and myth, on the psyche of a small boy. He is searingly honest about times when he personally gets dragged along by the unhealthy Zeitgeist of revolution and counter revolution, which, through the prevailing mob mentality, all too often ruins lives.

The last few ‘words’ detail a more scathing commentary on how China has moved from Communism to Capatilism in the last 30 years. It has been carried out in a surprisingly haphazard way that has confused many Chinese, often seems to have very little logic or forethought from those in charge and has left a country searching for an identity that currently struggles to reach beyond the facade of modern globalisation as we also know it in the West.

Whilst the book as a whole offers a largely pessimistic view of China and the often dysfunctional way it is run, it is also interlaced with some really heart warming stories about the poor and downtrodden and how they sometimes make good, often through discovering creative ways to surf the latest Zeitgeist. The chapter on bamboozling particularly tells of some delightful methods that the common man and woman can buck the system to their advantage, Not everyone fares so well on this journey but you can’t help feeling that, behind all the damning indictments of inefficient bureaucracy and brutality, Yu rather loves his country and certainly some of those who find success despite so many obstacles in their path. He also still lives in Beijing when not on public speaking duties around the World.

Whilst I largely found the book an utterly fascinating and informative read, I guess the only slight downside is that it is slightly out of date now, having been first published 13 years ago, in 2010. The effect of Xi Jinping’s rule is therefore not really discussed. Otherwise I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about this important country that features so often in our day to day news headlines with often very little explanation.