Why the Chicken Crossed the World: 18 Surprising Secrets from China on Success, Wealth, and Happiness

A brilliant collection of hilariously poignant true stories illustrate what China teaches us about happiness, wealth, love, power, and getting what you want. Based on a successful, witty blog by a Chinese-American expatriate in Shanghai, these impactful insights loved by worldwide readers illuminate how China changes your world at home.

Experience this amusingly honest resident’s view of the most influential country in our lifetime. Peek into an entertaining and thought-provoking world that you won’t find described in newspapers or textbooks. China: where is all that money coming from, and will it really rule the world?

Only in China could you fall into the glamorous expat life of having a personal driver, maid, and private Mandarin tutor—only to quickly learn that your “help” are all richer and more financially savvy than you.

Enter a realm of wild possibilities, and the twisted ironies of the world’s fastest-growing emerging market. A 50-year-old maid’s family was so poor during the communist Mao era, they bought their son a wife in exchange for a watch. Decades later, that same maid bought her daughter a nose job, and accidentally turned her into a model. In China today, a new luxury mall magically appears the week you go on vacation. Weekends are spent at fabulous pool parties. Yet this authoritarian state is still far from democratic—just ask Chinese mothers who create “dating resumes” to pimp their children out at marriage fairs.

Learn the tricks of life success, seen through the twinkling eyes of a mischievous humorist. Follow the sassy and smart Funky Chicken—shameless enough to nearly do a TED talk in a chicken suit, but wise enough to create a pen name in authoring this tell-all tale about the world’s most powerful communist country. Flirting with China is fun; getting arrested is not.

What can you learn from China, and how will it change your life? See for yourself.