“Le Dernier Quartier de Lune”: French version of Chi Zijian’s ode to the Evenki to launch in September

In September 2016, the French rendition of Chi Zijian’s 《额尔古纳河右岸》will join several previously published foreign language editions including Dutch (Het laatste kwartier van de maan); English (Last Quarter of the Moon); Italian (Ultimo quarto di Luna); Japanese (アルグン川の右岸) , and Spanish (A la orilla derecha del Río Argún). Le Dernier Quartier de Lune is co-translated … Continue reading “Le Dernier Quartier de Lune”: French version of Chi Zijian’s ode to the Evenki to launch in September →

Sakharov Prize for Uyghur Intellectual Ilham Tohti?

In an open letter entitled Donnons le prix Sakharov à un intellectuel ouïghour published in the French newspaper Libération on July 14, 2016, three prominent French citizens propose awarding the Sakharov Prize to Ilham Tohti: Il est temps que l’opinion publique francophone s’empare de son cas : à force d’évoquer les méfaits de Daech, d’Isis ou de Boko Haram, … Continue reading Sakharov Prize for Uyghur Intellectual Ilham Tohti? →

Quote of the Week: Wei Hui’s “Shanghai Baby,” Zhang Chengzhi’s “History of the Soul” and the end of an era

这个时代，正好就是我生活着并将继续生活着的时代，这个时代曾经以《上海宝贝》的方式戏剧性地与我调情，而现在，通过《心灵史》，我将我自己治愈。尼采曾经说过瓦格纳是他的疾病，对我来说，以《上海宝贝》为代表的那种 “小资想家”就是我的疾病，我曾经如此并入高膏 ---- 万幸的是，我遇到了《心灵史》这一味时代的良药。杨庆祥 (Yang Qingxiang) writing "通向真实的世界" for 三联生活周刊 (2016.7.11) about the two books that initiated and terminated the 90s for him.

Elif Şafak on Writing in Today’s Turkey

[Hürriyet Daily News] Would it have been difficult for you to write this book if you were living permanently in Turkey? [Elif Şafak] Words are heavy in Turkey. Every journalist, every writer, every poet, every academic knows this. Because of words we can be sued overnight, put on trial, demonized in newspapers, attacked on social … Continue reading Elif Şafak on Writing in Today’s Turkey →

Wei Hui’s “Shanghai Baby”: Multilingual Guide to Related Links

Wei Hui’s Shanghai Baby 《上海宝贝》(卫慧著) A Multilingual List of Translations, Book Reviews, Academic Papers & Related Info Translations of the Novel Shanghai Baby (Catalan); Shanghai Baby (English); Shanghai Baby (French); Shanghai Baby (German); Shanghai Baby (Italian); Shanghai Baby (Spanish) Academic Papers Packaging a Chinese “Beauty Writer”: Re-reading Shanghai Baby in a Web Context … Continue reading Wei Hui’s “Shanghai Baby”: Multilingual Guide to Related Links →

May 2016: Altaic Storytelling Newsbriefs

走进中国少数民族丛书·蒙古族 (lit., Up Close with the Mongols) the latest volume in a series of Chinese-language books that will eventually profile each of China's 55 officially designated minority ethnicities, has been launched. It is published by Liaoning Ethnic Publishing House. To date, 8 books featuring peoples of northeast China are out: Daur, Evenki, Hezhen, Korean (Chaoxian), … Continue reading May 2016: Altaic Storytelling Newsbriefs →

April 2016: Altaic Storytelling Newsbriefs

As of May 1, 2016, the controversial, so-called Biànmín Liánxì Kǎ (便民联系卡) will cease to be in use in Xinjiang, according to the authorities (不再使用). The card (pictured here), which lists contact info for the card-holder's hometown authorities, was supposedly intended to facilitate a variety of services when the Xinjiang resident was away from his or … Continue reading April 2016: Altaic Storytelling Newsbriefs →

Reclaiming the Evenki Narrative: Last Shaman’s Daughter Tells her People’s 20th-century Tale

There are only 30,000 or so Evenki (鄂温克族) on the Chinese side of the Sino-Russian border. But this Tungusic-speaking, reindeer-herding people — particularly the group known as the Aoluguya Evenki — has been the subject of several award-winning documentaries and even a novel that won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2008. According to an … Continue reading Reclaiming the Evenki Narrative: Last Shaman’s Daughter Tells her People’s 20th-century Tale →

Altaic Storytelling: What We’re Reading Now (2016.4.12)

Just started 冬牧场 (lit, winter pasture) by Li Juan. In 2010, she was commissioned to live with a Kazakh family as they herded their camels, sheep and horses deep into the desert of southern Altay where they traditionally graze during the bitterly cold winter. Her job: To document the little known, semi-nomadic lifestyle of Xinjiang's Kazakh … Continue reading Altaic Storytelling: What We’re Reading Now (2016.4.12) →

“阿尔泰古今讲故事” 本周精彩语录: 母语文本的纪录

我国学者数十年来致力于少数民族民间故事、诗歌谣谚、宗教口诵经典等的收集翻译整理，出版了大量翻译作品，取得了举世瞩目的成就，但其中也存在着一些遗憾和失误，这就是忽略了对少数民族民间作品母语文本的记录，有相当多的翻译整理本没有母语原本，没有逐字逐句的直译。这样的直接后果是，丧失了作品多方面的科学价值，而且由于没有母语的承载，这些文本也难以作为相关民族后代传承文化的文本来使用。此外，由于缺乏语音记录和直译，相关民族特有的文化、社会和宗教概念难以在汉文文本中全面正确地反映。鉴于此，今后在搜集整理少数民族民间文学作品时，应保留用国际音标记录或用本民族文字书写的严谨客观的母语文本。 (杨福泉，纳西族学者，中国民族报)