Out of Mao’s Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China — Favourite Stories and Quotes

Out of Mao’s Shadow is a collection of stories about individuals fighting for change in modern China, written by Philip P. Pan, then a China-based correspondent for The Washington Post.

I loved this book and learnt so much about modern China. For context: while I’m ethnically Chinese, I was born in Singapore. So, I knew a little about the significant events in China, but not that much.

This book was a real eye-opener.

I’ve been struggling with how to write a summary of this book, and I finally decided not to. I don’t think I’ll be able to do the book justice by trying to create one, and I’ll encourage anyone who’s interested in China to pick up this book.

It’ll be worth your time.

Instead, I’ll be sharing my favourite quotes and stories from the book.

In the three decades since Mao’s death, China has undergone a dizzying transformation. A backwater economy has become a powerhouse of manufacturing and trade, with growth rates that are the envy of the world. Skyscrapers have sprouted from rice paddies, gleaming cities from fishing villages…