遭遇深圳 By Bruce Humes “You’ll have to excuse us, Bruce. We’ve always looked after you as a guest,” said longtime friend Liu Jie, pausing delicately. “But yesterday we treated you like one of our own.” Indeed. My reception the previous night at the emergency room of this People’s Hospital in Shenzhen, just north of Hong … Continue reading One of the People
As Xi Jinping’s maritime Silk Road initiative reaches its tentacles further West into Africa, it’s not just accumulating alarming rates of China-driven debt and sucking up the continent’s mineral exports. Publishers in the People’s Paradise are now showing modest interest in importing what the authorities label “cultural products.” In this case, contemporary African writing. According to … Continue reading African Writing in Chinese Translation: 2020 Round-up and a Peek at 2021
In a recently published essay at The Paper (澎湃新闻) two Chinese academics — one studying in Germany and another in South Africa — ask how a Chinese should go about getting acquainted with contemporary African literature. One suggestion, in case you can’t read indigenous languages such as Swahili, Hausa, Amharic or Shona, or colonial languages such … Continue reading Chinese Academics Ask: 非洲文学离我们有多远？
As your year-end holiday lockdown fast approaches, it’s worth noting a new series of books by non-Han writers launched this year by one of China’s best-known publishers, Yilin Press — lit., “translation forest” — that is normally associated with marketing popular foreign-language fiction in Mandarin for Chinese readers. The name of the series itself, Library … Continue reading “Multi-ethnic” Literature: Yilin’s 2020 Cache of Fiction by non-Han Writers
Angus Stewart recently interviewed me about translating Chi Zijian's novel that chronicles the tragic twilight of the reindeer-herding, Tungusic-speaking Evenki of northeastern China. The tale has since been translated into several languages, including French, Japanese and Swedish. You can find the podcast here: Episode 42 of the Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast https://trchfic.podbean.com/e/ep-42-chi-zijian-and-last-quarter-of-the-moon-with-bruce-humes/ 如果你正在中国，这链接可能更合适: Episode 42 … Continue reading Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast: Q & A with Translator of “Last Quarter of the Moon”
Chimamanda Adichie is leading the rise of an African literature wave in China (Quartz China) African fiction in Chinese translation * Popularity of diaspora writers A Glimpse into a Different World: The Millions Interviews Bruce Humes Translating Confessions of a Jade Lord, a novel by Uyghur author Alat Asem set in Xinjiang How a writer gives voice … Continue reading Interviews with Chinese-to-English Literary Translator Bruce Humes
Chi Zijian's Last Quarter of the Moon 《额尔古纳河右岸》(迟子建著) A Multilingual List of Translations, Book Reviews, Interviews, Academic Papers & Related Info 《额尔古纳河右岸》: Translations of the Novel Arabic (الربع الأخير من القمر); Dutch (Het laatste kwartier van de maan, translated direct from my English version); English (LastQuarter of the Moon); Finnish (Poulikku); French (Le dernier quartier … Continue reading Guide to Related Links: Chi Zijian’s “Last Quarter of the Moon” (额尔古纳河右岸)
Aug 23, 2020 Update: Bainuu, the only Mongolian-language social media application available in China, which hosted about 400,000 Southern Mongolians users, reportedly shut down by Chinese authorities. A few years back I posted a piece entitled A Resounding "Yes" to Mother-tongue Literature -- but for Whom and about What? In this context, “mother-tongue” … Continue reading Contemporary Fiction from China: Must it Be Penned in Mandarin?
My latest translation for Taiwan Panorama (台灣光華), a bilingual monthly: A member of Taitung’s Pinuyumayan (台東卑南族) community, Sangpuy Katatepan (桑布伊) has been deeply attracted to the ancient melodies of his tribe since childhood. He composes the lyrics for each song on his albums in the Aboriginal language of his people. This love for the land … Continue reading Sangpuy (桑布伊): Profile of Taiwan’s Aboriginal Musician
With sales of several million copies, Funeral of a Muslim, Huo Da’s tale about three generations of a Hui family in Beijing, is quite possibly the most popular ethnic-themed novel ever published in China. It spans the turbulent years of the Japanese invasion, World War II and part of the Cultural Revolution. If the novel is … Continue reading “Funeral of a Muslim” (穆斯林的葬礼): Tale of Three Generations of a 20th Century Hui Family
Ethnic ChinaLit 