Reading List

From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi (我的前半生)

Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi

爱新觉罗·溥仪，清朝末代皇帝，2岁幼年登极，6岁被迫退位，11岁受拥戴复辟，18岁被逐出紫禁城，26岁投靠日本，28岁第三次称帝，39岁被俘成为战犯，53岁被特赦成为普通公民。他跌宕起伏的一生经历了满清灭亡、民国军阀混战、日本侵华、共和国建立的巨大转折。他的一生就是一部鲜活的中国近代史。

自从被慈禧太后选为皇位继承人，溥仪的一生就注定与真正的自由无缘。童年时，他受困于森严的宫规家训；少年时，又处处受太妃们管束；结婚后，他终于成为皇室名义上的主人，却连太监盗窃宫中珍宝也无力制止。青年时，他被逐出紫禁城，又辗转于各路虎视眈眈的军阀和外国势力之间，极力维持皇室家族的优待条件。后来，他以为投靠日本人可以恢复祖业重振大清，却被关东军欺骗利用，沦为日本殖民的遮羞布。即使后来一度在满洲重新践祚成为康德皇帝，他依旧是日本人的提线木偶，他日常生活受到严密监控，政治上更几乎没有真正的自主权。到了中年，他又成为战犯接受了十余年的改造。

即使最终获得特赦，我想，此后接踵而至的社会运动，也未必给了他自由表达的空间。这一点，从他的自传最后一章或许也可见一斑，他的忏悔不断扩大，将远超他个人责任范围的苦难也归结到自己身上。这种彻底的忏悔，究竟出自真心，还是为了适应特定的生存环境，恐怕难断。

2026.09.19

中国在梁庄

Hong Liang

初读此书感觉无聊，没什么跌宕的情节，也没什么华丽的词藻。深入读下去，逐渐察觉这正是中国乡村的底色，没有浓墨重彩和惊世骇俗，更多的是平静压抑下的暗潮涌动。梁鸿用平实质朴的语言精准贴切地描写出故乡梁庄的变迁。

在中国广袤的农村土地上发生的故事，从梁庄的细枝末节可见一斑：农村对于现代化和城镇化的不计代价盲目追求，国家发展过程中农村居民和城市居民权益不平等，传统礼义教条和朴素价值观与宗教信仰的碰撞，工业发展对于农民生存环境和自然生态的破坏，青壮年农民出走务工导致的农村人口结构性变化，中流砥柱缺位造成的农村社会价值观空洞，人情世故对系统化现代政治的阻力，以及对命运的无望和对未来的迷茫。

梁鸿并未空谈这些问题的解决之道，而是以观察者的视角勾勒出农村生活的轮廓。农村民生问题错综复杂，想要解决谈何容易，而普通农民生活的生活样貌才是多数关注农村与农民的读者首先最需要了解的内容。

2026.7.12

Kan Jian (看见)

Jing Chai

柴静在书中记录了她作为记者初出茅庐时感性怜悯，逐渐在新闻行业摸爬滚打中练就出铜唇铁舌，时常问得被采访人哑然，再到后来真正领悟到采访的意义不在于把看似邪恶的一方逼到墙角，另一方就大获全胜了。只有冷静地倾听和理解任何声音，才得以客观地拆解一个尖锐的社会矛盾，并讨论其背后隐藏的错综复杂的灰色地带。

书中调查过的被多次贩卖的贩毒卖淫女，常年忍受家暴的犯罪妇女，捍卫宪法权利的普通人民，虐杀动物的灰色产业，煤矿过度开采，从上至下被编造的假华南虎，农村留守儿童的成长，自然灾难中的人情，打压教育下长大的杀人高材生……这些一次次刺痛社会的新闻至今仍然屡见不鲜。

柴静说，我们都是时代的患者，做新闻就是病友间的相互探问。她记录下的不仅是特定时代下才长出的症结，而是寻求真理的过程，独立思考的能力，和记录真实的勇气。

这是一名中国记者的成长史，更是中国社会的一剂良药。良药苦口。

2026.05.22

Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City

Fang Fang

Wuhan Diary is a quiet yet piercing record of life under lockdown that reminded me how truth, dignity, and small acts of care matter most in a crisis.

法制的细节

Xiang Luo

It made me realize that justice is built through countless small procedures and boundaries—and it pushed me to value due process as much as outcomes.

The Vegetarian (素食者)

Han Kang

It is an unsettling, poetic story that made me reflect on autonomy and silence—and how refusing to conform can become both a rebellion and a tragedy.

Big River, Big Sea — Untold Stories of 1949 (大江大海一九四九)

Ying-tai Lung

Ying-tai Lung reframed history for me as a collection of ordinary lives caught in extraordinary upheaval, leaving me with a deeper empathy for those who carried the cost of that era.

The Three-Body Problem (三体)

Cixin Liu

The Three-Body Problem expanded my imagination about civilization and survival, and it left me thinking that the most terrifying distance in the universe is often the gap in trust between intelligent beings.

The Crescent Moon

Rabindranath Tagore

The Crescent Moon captures a quiet, lyrical longing that made me reflect on how faith, love, and everyday resilience can coexist within uncertainty.

Stray Birds

Rabindranath Tagore

Stray Birds is a collection of tiny, luminous thoughts that reminded me to slow down and notice how the smallest moments can carry the deepest meaning.

Fang Si-Chi's First Love Paradise (房思琪的初恋乐园)

Yi-han Lin

Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise is a devastating read that forced me to confront how power can distort “love,” and it left me with a lasting commitment to listen, believe, and protect.

North Kanto Serial Kidnappings and Murders (足利女童连续失踪事件)

Kiyoshi Shimizu

This is a chilling reminder that a society’s safety depends not only on solving crimes, but on protecting the vulnerable and insisting on truth and accountability.

Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure (蛤蟆先生去看心理医生)

Robert de Board

Counselling for Toads is a warm, accessible introduction to therapy that reminded me healing starts with naming feelings honestly—and that growth often comes from gentle self-understanding rather than self-blame.

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince reminded me that what truly matters is often invisible at first glance, and it encouraged me to protect curiosity, tenderness, and responsibility in adult life.

A Thousand Splendid Suns (灿烂千阳)

Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a heartbreaking yet hopeful story that deepened my empathy for women’s resilience, and it left me believing that love and solidarity can survive even the harshest injustice.

The Kite Runner (追风筝的人)

Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner made me reflect on how guilt and loyalty shape a life, and it reminded me that redemption begins when we choose to face the past with courage and responsibility.