2020 is the year that two big, looming issues came to the surface in America: China and technology. We were aware of both, but the ramifications and immediacy only hit the mainstream recently. The two are delicately intertwined. The widespread fear of an American irrelevance is based on what we see as China’s technological and economic arc. When antitrust actions hit monopolies like Facebook, the CEO’s excuses will heavily feature China: that we need dominant companies to compete with China’s Alibaba and WeChat.
Blockchain Chicken Farm is a collection of stories that elegantly enrich your understanding of China, globalism, technology, and people. It does this through intimate conversations, local knowledge, and infrequent but always perceptive analyses. There are no sweeping generalizations in this book. There isn’t a preferred worldview that Wang is pitching. Reading it will answer some questions and leave others ringing in your head.
Xiaowei Wang is uniquely qualified to tell this story: they speak Chinese, write beautiful English, know technology, and think deeply about society. The result is a concise, caring, and compelling read.