Filling a Void: Five Contemporary Tibetan Novelists Published in Tibetan

In Mother-tongue Literature, I posed these questions about one Han scholar’s call for celebrating writing in China’s indigenous languages: Who is going to write in their native language — or read what is written for that matter — if they cannot receive a decent education in it? Those weighty questions remain unanswered, but happily, some … Continue reading Filling a Void: Five Contemporary Tibetan Novelists Published in Tibetan →

2015 Mao Dun Prize: Who Will Snare Award for Unofficial “Ethnic-themed” Category?

The longlist for what is arguably China’s most prestigious award for novels has just been published (第九届茅盾文学奖参评作品目录). I write “arguably” because, like virtually every literary competition in the PRC of late, even the reputation of the Mao Dun Literature Prize --- sponsored by the very official Chinese Writers Association --- has been questioned. See 2014: Year of … Continue reading 2015 Mao Dun Prize: Who Will Snare Award for Unofficial “Ethnic-themed” Category? →

Quote of the Week: Human Rights Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang Uses Taboo “C” Word about Xinjiang

“If you say Xinjiang belongs to China, then don’t treat it as a colony,” Mr. Pu wrote in May 2014. “Don’t act as conquerors and plunderers, striking out against any and all before and after, turning them into the enemy.” 浦志强在 2014 年 5 月时曾写道，“说新疆是中国的，就别把它当殖民地说新疆是中国的，别当征服者和掠夺者，先发制人后发制人都为制人，都是把对方当敌人。” (Tweet by Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强), a human rights lawyer now facing … Continue reading Quote of the Week: Human Rights Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang Uses Taboo “C” Word about Xinjiang →

“Last Quarter of the Moon”: Evenki Place Names behind the Hànzì

I grew up in places with names like "Winnetka" and "Sewickley," spellings no doubt based on mangled transliterations of old, even ancient Native American words. I vaguely recall that Sewickley meant "sweet water," but no one seemed sure. How many cities, mountains and rivers in China, I wondered, hide their non-Han origins? Evenki Mountain Name … Continue reading “Last Quarter of the Moon”: Evenki Place Names behind the Hànzì →

Mo Yan’s “Frog” Reviewed: Call for Diversity among Chinese-to-English Translators

In Literary Prowess Lost, we have one of the first coherent --- and highly critical --- reviews of a modern novel translated from the Chinese in which the reviewer knows the source language and doesn't shirk from calling out the translator on several points: Without multiple translations of the same work, it’s impossible to adequately … Continue reading Mo Yan’s “Frog” Reviewed: Call for Diversity among Chinese-to-English Translators →

Altaic Storytelling Quote of the Week: Turkish Hikâye as Performance Art

. . . every performance [of a Hikâye] is a unique social event; no aşık can expect the same performance context twice. The text of a performance can be written down or recorded. But a recording, no matter what the means used, cannot represent a three-dimensional performance that includes verbal expression, poetry, music, physical movement, … Continue reading Altaic Storytelling Quote of the Week: Turkish Hikâye as Performance Art →

Covering China Best-seller “Kite Runner”: Taking Translator Invisibility to the Extreme

In How to Top China’s Best-seller List Without Really Trying, Alexa Olesen reports on a recent upsurge in sales of the Chinese edition of Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner (追风筝的人)： Over the last nine years, The Kite Runner has sold more than 3 million copies in China. Nearly a third of that total comes from sales … Continue reading Covering China Best-seller “Kite Runner”: Taking Translator Invisibility to the Extreme →

“Last Quarter of the Moon” among Time Out Beijing’s Top 20 Chinese Novels since 1900

It’s nice to find your work on the same list as Qian Zhongshu’s Fortress Besieged and Lu Xün’s Real Story of Ah Q. I happily report that Last Quarter of the Moon, my rendition of Chi Zijian’s tragic novel about the twilight of the reindeer-herding Evenki of northeast China, ranks a modest sixth on Time … Continue reading “Last Quarter of the Moon” among Time Out Beijing’s Top 20 Chinese Novels since 1900 →

Peter Hessler on the China Translator and “Defensive Censorship”

In Travels with My Censor: A Book Tour, author Peter Hessler decides the best way to understand censorship in China is to spend some quality time with the humans --- they aren't machines or faceless apparatchiks --- who practice it. Very educational for him and us, I'd say. This piece in The New Yorker also … Continue reading Peter Hessler on the China Translator and “Defensive Censorship” →

Yi Creation Epic Published in Korean, Based on “Reconstructed” Mandarin Version

The creation epic of the Yi people, Meige (梅葛), was translated and published in Korean in 2014 by Seoul-based 民俗苑, according to a news item from the bimonthly Forum on Folk Culture (彝族创世史诗《梅葛》在韩国出版). There are some 8 million Yi (彝族) living in China, Vietnam and Thailand, of which over 4.5 million reside in Yunnan Province. As … Continue reading Yi Creation Epic Published in Korean, Based on “Reconstructed” Mandarin Version →