There is a new confidence among China’s public intellectuals. Prominent thinkers Yan Xuetong and Zhang Weiwei write about China’s global rise in terms of a new civilisation that draws on Confucian tradition.

But other Chinese writers see a rather more precarious future for their country. “Behind all the glorious statistics in China today,” warns novelist Yu Hua, “crises tend to lurk.” Yu Hua explores this lurking crisis by taking 10 Chinese words or phrases – “revolution”, “writing”, “grassroots” – and linking them to his own experiences, which span the highs and lows of China’s past four decades.

attached to: Yu Hua