Xi Jinping has revealed he sought out banned works as a youth by Shakespeare

President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic visits overseas often give clues about the head of state’s interests and passions. His trip to the UK has been no exception.

During his trip to the United States in September Xi talked passionately about the American writer Ernest Hemingway. Now in the UK he has revealed his love for the works of arguably the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare.

READ MORE: Hemingway, mojito and living in poverty: China's Xi Jinping reaches out to US with personal anecdotes

“Hamlet said ‘To be or not to be: that is the question.’ His words left a deep impression on me,” Xi told an audience of financial dignitaries in the City of London during his four-day stay in Britain. 

“When I was just shy of 16, I left Beijing for a small village in northwestern China to become a peasant for seven years. During that time, I was desperately looking for Shakespeare’s works. I read A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth,” he said.

Xi also mentioned four classics written by the Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, or “eastern Shakespeare”, who lived in the same age as the English writer and the 400th anniversary of his death will also be marked next year. 

This is not the first time that Xi, who has previously said his biggest hobby is reading, has disclosed his reading list from his youth.