What books do Chinese leaders read?
Thomas Friedman’s 2005 work "The World Is Flat" is the only foreign title on the top 10 list
A top 10 reading list published by the State Organs Work Committee of CPC Central Committee offers a rare glimpse into one of the intellectual pursuits of China’s ruling elite..
The books voted to the top 10 list were chosen from among 103 titles, mostly non-fiction, recommended to party leaders and high government officials by the State Organs Work Committee over the past five years, a Beijing News report revealed on Thursday.
The top 10 list is dominated by domestic authors discussing Chinese history, economics and politics. The only book by a foreign author to make the top 10 was American journalist and writer Thomas Friedman’s international bestseller . Published in 2005, it was ranked seventh.
Among the newest batch of books recommended to leaders this year that seem to be gaining popularity are those on new technology, such the new international bestsellers by Oxford professor Viktor Mayer-Schnberger and by Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman.
Some present and former Chinese leaders, including Mao Zedong, are known to have been or be avid readers. Former Premier Wen Jiabao once said he had read Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ over 100 times. The book became a national bestseller after his comment.
His successor and current Premier Li Keqiang has recommended by American economist Jeremy Rifkin to top officials in Beijing. Li, according to Chinese media, prefers to read books by English-language authors in English.
The top 10 list:
The World is Flat, A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas Friedman
History of the Communist Party of China 1949-1978, book 2, by CPC Central Committee party history research centre
China Shock: The Rise of a “Civilized Country”, by Zhang Weiwei
The Track of History, Why is Communist Party Capable of Success?, by Xie Chuntao
