Lijia Zhang's Blog, page 24
August 21, 2020
finally published in the UK
Finally got published in the UK! One of my short stories – yes I do write short stories – has been published by Wasafiri, a magazine of international contemporary writing. I hope it’ll be step closer to get a book published in the country I am living in.
https://www.wasafiri.org/product/wasafiri-issue-103-pre-order/
August 9, 2020
July 11, 2020
China Remembers as an ebook
Friends, I need your support!
China Remembers is an oral history book of China’s first 50 years that I co-authored with my ex Calum MacLeod. A Germany based publisher has just published it as an ebook. See the link below.
https://www.wandtigerverlag.de/en/latest-publication/
People say that to understand China, you need to understand its past. I’d like to think so. Please take a look and spread the good word.
China Remembers
The PRC’s first 50 years, told through extraordinary personal journeys
Making history not only comprehensible, but also a reading experience that gets under the skin: this is the art that the two authors Zhang Lijia and Calum MacLeod have mastered impressively. China Remembers recounts the first fifty years of the People’s Republic of China (1949-1999) in 33 interviews with contemporary witnesses from all walks of life: From the founding of the state by Mao Zedong and the mass movements of the 1950s and 1960s to Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening policy and China’s rise to become a great economic power in the 1990s. Each of the historical sections as well as each individual interview is expertly introduced, and so one does not have to be a an expert on China to follow the moving memories of the interviewees, who include soldiers, farmers, street vendors, priests, teachers, singers, interpreters, business people, architects, refuse collectors and many other professions.
China Remembers offers authentic voices of a group of remarkable raconteurs for those who are willing to listen as well as for those whose ears are attuned to subtle cultural messages from the ancient and ever vibrant civilization. (Du Weiming, Professor Emeritus of Asia Center, Harvard University)
(eBook) – ca. 290 pages – € 9,99 
Press reviews
June 7, 2020
Is English useless now in China
My latest oped in South China Morning Post, arguing downgrading English in China is unwise right now. https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3087565/why-downgrading-english-boost-chinas-cultural-confidence-bad-idea
May 23, 2020
Being quoted in New Yorker
After all these years, I am still pleased to myself being quoted, especially in a publication such as New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/china-declares-victory-over-both-the-coronavirus-and-critics-of-the-communist-party-at-the-biggest-political-event-of-the-year
April 18, 2020
Taoism, nature and C-19
A commentary piece in today’s SCMP about the lessons we can learn from China’s indigenous Daoism, co-authored by me and my good friend Chen Xia, a top expert on Daoism.
March 6, 2020
Iwd
At panel discussion to mark International Women’s Day last night at China Exchange, with the theme ‘collective individualism’. It was a joint event involving IoD City, Women in the Livery section of the City Livery Club, Women Icebreakers of The 48 Group Club , ASEAN UK Business Forum ( AUBF ) and Mulan Foundation Network. I was honored to share a stage with outstanding women such as economist Vicky Pryce and digital strategist Francine Beleyi and a wonderful man talking from a male perspective.
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February 28, 2020
Book fair on Lithuania
I’ve just returned from attending the book fair in Vilnius. My novel Lotus has just been published in Lithuanian. I am pleased to report the trip was both enjoyable and successful. My event, introduced by the Lithuanian ambassador to China, the fabulous Ina Marciulionyte, was packed. And according to my publisher, the queue for my book singing was among the longest, together with the one for the president’s book, as well as a best-selling self-help book by a charismatic, long-haired priest about how to make peace with oneself. I am flattered. I was so impressed that so many people braved the cold weather to attend the book fair. The Lithuanians obviously love books and buy a lot of them, despite their modest pay.
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