Start with high-confidence chinese history books, then narrow by subgenre or adjacent topics.
China in Ten Words
Yu Hua, Allan H. Barr
The Last Kings of Shanghai
Jonathan Kaufman
Changing Stories in the Chinese World
Mark Elvin
Written in the Ruins
Paul Chiasson
The Poetry and Prose of Wang Wei
Paul Rouzer, Christopher Nugent
Chinese Myths & Legends
J.K. Jackson, Hin Ming Frankie Chik
