"Now we don't have any drinking water or power, " Longquan villager Yang Yiyun, 58, told The Associated Press.

NPR: China Rushes Relief After Sichuan Quake Kills 180

The British literary critic and scholar was joined on the judging panel by authors Elif Batuman, Aminatta Forna, Yiyun Li and Tim Parks.

BBC: Man Booker International prize goes to Lydia Davis

Many of these changes mirror what has taken place in other developing countries, but Chen Yiyun, a professor at China's Academy of Social Sciences, points to one factor unique to China: its one-child policy, which is still widely observed in cities.

ECONOMIST: China rediscovers the joy of sex