Rahile Dawut: Defining the Uyghur Meshrep

The following description is excerpted from Uyghur Meshrep Culture and Its Social Function, by Sawut Pawan, Rahile Dawut, and Saadet Kurban, College of Humanities, Xinjiang University. Rahile Dawut (راھىلە داۋۇت, 热依拉 · 达吾提) a renowned expert in Uyghur folklore, was disappeared by the Chinese government in 2017 and has not been seen since. Uyghur Meshrep Culture A Meshrep is a traditional male … Continue reading Rahile Dawut: Defining the Uyghur Meshrep →

Meshrep Under the Moon has Morphed into Variety Shows under the Klieg Lights

In Historic Uyghur Culture is under Existential Threat, co-authored by Rian Thum and Musapir, we learn how the traditional meshrep has been transmogrified into a large-scale tourist spectacle rather than a community event: In Emet’s village of Tashmiliq, a typical meshrep began under the guidance of a local notable. Guests danced to an orchestra of two-stringed lutes, the banjo-like rabap, … Continue reading Meshrep Under the Moon has Morphed into Variety Shows under the Klieg Lights →

Multilingual Links: Turkic Oral Epics, Hikâye and Folk Songs

Turkish Hikâye & Aşık Hikâye: Turkish Folk Romance as Performance Art A list of 20th-century Aşık Based in Turkey The Epic of Manas (玛纳斯史诗) 《玛纳斯》史诗歌手研究 A Telling Tradition: Preliminary Comments on the Epic of Manas (1856-2018) Manas recitations (video) & transcripts in Kyrgyz Talantaaly Bakchiev Doolot Sydykov Legend of Manas (prose translation) Manasqi Jusup Mamay … Continue reading Multilingual Links: Turkic Oral Epics, Hikâye and Folk Songs →

Confessions of a Jade Lord (excerpt): ‘Marry your mother to the villain who killed your father’

(Posted: Feb 2, 2022) This short excerpt from Alat Asem's Confessions of a Jade Lord (时间悄悄的嘴脸, 阿拉提·阿斯木著) intriguingly captures several key aspects of Uyghur culture, modern and ancient. To get his greedy hands on nine hefty chunks of priceless creamy-white, "mutton-fat" jade, Eysa and his gang administer a deadly beating to Xali, a fellow trader. Fearing arrest, Eysa flees … Continue reading Confessions of a Jade Lord (excerpt): ‘Marry your mother to the villain who killed your father’ →

A list of 20th-century Aşık Based in Turkey

Below is a list of 20th-century Aşık cited by Ilhan Basgöz in his seminal work, Hikâye: Turkish Folk Romance as Performance Art. Aşık Aziz Aydın Ilhami Demir (1932-87) Adem Efkari (1898-1980) Ishak Kemali (1913-77) Behçet Mahir Sabit Müdami (1918-68) Ali Izzet Özkan Üzeyir Pünhani (1917-98) Yaşar Reyhani (1930-) Mevlüt Ihsani Şafak (1928-) Davut Sutlari Aşık Sümmani Şerif Taşlıova … Continue reading A list of 20th-century Aşık Based in Turkey →

African Writing in Chinese Translation: 2021 Round-up + A Peek at 2022

By Bruce Humes "This has been a great year for African writing," said South Africa's Damon Galgut upon receiving the 2021 Booker Prize for his novel, The Promise. As reported in From the Booker to the Nobel, several other African authors also snagged prestigious European literary prizes during 2021. They include Abdulrazak Gurnah (Nobel), David Diop (International Booker), Mohamed Mbougar … Continue reading African Writing in Chinese Translation: 2021 Round-up + A Peek at 2022 →

Desmond Tutu: Speaking Truth to Power

“Mr. Zuma, you and your government don’t represent me. You represent your own interests. I am warning you out of love, one day we will start praying for the defeat of the A.N.C. government. You are disgraceful.” (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speaking in 2011 during Jacob Zuma's period as President of South Africa, as quoted in … Continue reading Desmond Tutu: Speaking Truth to Power →

Growing up Uyghur in Xinjiang: “Setting Sail in a Chinese-language World”

(Posted Dec 22, 2021) In China's Minority Fiction, Sabina Knight notes how China is pushing its ethnic minorities --- particularly the Uyghur in Xinjiang --- to master Mandarin: "The question of cultural survival haunts Patigül’s Bloodline《百年血脉》(2015). The novel situates the narrator—who, like the author, is half-Uyghur and half-Hui—within the matrix of the Han majority’s aggressive promotion … Continue reading Growing up Uyghur in Xinjiang: “Setting Sail in a Chinese-language World” →

Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Nobel Speech: “A kind of beauty”

. . . writing cannot be just about battling and polemics, however invigorating and comforting that can be. Writing is not about one thing, not about this issue or that, or this concern or another, and since its concern is human life in one way or another, sooner or later cruelty and love and weakness … Continue reading Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Nobel Speech: “A kind of beauty” →

Nobel Laureate Gurnah’s Tales of Exile and Migration Set to Launch in China within 2nd Half 2022

By Bruce Humes Recent press reports in the English-speaking world note that the new Nobel Laureate for Literature, Abdulrazak Gurnah, is relatively unknown in his native Zanzibar and Africa in general, but none of his novels have ever appeared in Chinese. This looks set to change. "We aim to publish five of Gurnah's full-length novels within the second … Continue reading Nobel Laureate Gurnah’s Tales of Exile and Migration Set to Launch in China within 2nd Half 2022 →