San Antonio College Library

"A Cheng was born in Beijing in 1949. A self-taught painter and writer, he emerged from the ruins of the Cultural Revolution in 1979 by joining the Stars artists in their pioneering avant-garde exhibitions. His novella, "The Chess Master," published in 1984, was an instant success. It is now considered by many to be his tour de force and a masterpiece of modern Chinese fiction." ""The Chess Master" is a tale of the dramatic transformation of the protagonist...

Just as Gui, a bicycle messenger, makes his final payment for the silver mountain bike loaned by his company, he finds it stolen. After endless searching, Gui discovers his bicycle is now in the hands of Jian who bought the bicycle with stolen money. Though Gui and Jian finally work out a deal, they find themselves on an unexpected journey of self-discovery.

"In less than thirty years, China has become a major force in the global economy. One feature of its rapid ascent has been an enormous expansion of the country's science and technology capabilities, leading to the emergence of a large and increasingly well-educated talent pool. Yet China finds itself engaged in an internal debate as to whether its full potential can be realised. At the heart of this debate lie a number of uncertainties surrounding...