People, Leader, Reading, Writing, Lu Xun, Disparity, Revolution, Grassroots, Copycat, Bamboozle
Framed by ten phrases common in the Chinese vernacular China in Ten Words reveals as never before the world's most populous yet most often misunderstood nation. In 'Disparity' Yu Hua illustrates the mind-boggling economic gaps that separate citizens of the country. In 'Copycat' he depicts the escalating trend of piracy and imitation as a creative new form of revolutionary action. And in 'Bamboozle' he describes the increasingly brazen practices of trickery, fraud and chicanery that are, he suggests, becoming a way of life at every level of society. With Yu Hua's characteristic wit, insight and courage, China in Ten Words is a refreshingly candid vision of the 'Chinese miracle' and all its consequences, from the singularly invaluable perspective of a writer living in China today.
