“But utopias always lead to dystopias, and dictators invariably become gods who demand daily worship.”
China Dream | Ma Jian
Keywords: Chinese literature, Chinese fiction, dystopia, political commentary
Genre: Fiction
Length: short medium long
Country: China
Review .
The “China Dream” is a political slogan introduced by Xi Jinping in 2012, often described as a vision for national renewal, prosperity, and a stronger global presence. A sort of American Dream but make it a lot more extra on loyalty to the state and collective good over individual well-being leading to deeper efforts to shape public memory and national identity. For those unfamiliar with how this vision plays out in practice, it’s worth exploring further — the story behind the slogan is complex, and understanding it is key to grasping modern China’s direction.
Ma Jian’s China Dream is a blistering, dystopian satire that rips through the glossy facade of Xi Jinping’s modern China and exposes the rot festering beneath. At just under 200 pages, it’s a lean, feral novel with claws, written by a dissident who has been banned from publishing in his own country. It’s angry, urgent, and deliberately grotesque — and it’s all the more powerful for it. Think 1984, A Brave New World, but bleaker.
“Decades of indoctrination, propaganda, violence and untruths have left the Chinese people so numb and confused, they have lost the ability to tell fact from fiction. They have swallowed the lie that the Party leaders are responsible for the country’s economic miracle, rather than the vast army of low-paid workers. The rabid consumerism encouraged in the last thirty years and which, along with inflated nationalism, lies at the heart of the China Dream is turning the Chinese into overgrown children who are fed, clothed and entertained, but have no right to remember the past or ask questions.”
China Dream | Ma Jian
The story centers on Ma Daode, a corrupt Party official tasked with implementing the regime’s new “China Dream” program, an Orwellian nightmare where citizens will have their memories of the past — particularly the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square — wiped clean. Ma Daode is not just a bureaucratic cog; he’s a gluttonous, hypocritical pig of a man, indulging in bribes, affairs, and delusions of grandeur. He preaches communist purity while wallowing in capitalist excess. His mind, riddled with guilt, lust, and a festering sense of doom, becomes the battleground for a nightmarish, often surreal unraveling.
The book swings between the absurd and the horrific. One minute you’re reading about Ma Daode’s sexual depravity, the next you’re reliving his childhood traumas during the Cultural Revolution. There is no relief. No redemption. Just a relentless peeling back of the lies propping up modern China’s authoritarian capitalism.
What’s more, China Dream doesn’t just condemn the Chinese Communist Party. It also confronts the apathy and amnesia of ordinary citizens, those who have traded truth for comfort, history for silence. Just take a look at current news and events. This book is a warning siren. It shows us what happens when a state monopolises truth, when history becomes a tool of control, and when dreams are dictated from above. It’s not just about China. It’s about everywhere sleepwalking into the same nightmare.
Read this book. Not because it’s comfortable — but because it’s necessary.
“From now on, every individual, irrespective of rank, must submit their dreams and nightmares to me for examination and approval. If they fail to comply, every dream they have ever had, and every dream they ever will have, will be deemed an illegal dream!”
China Dream | Ma Jian
Musings of a reading addict 
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