Le chamanisme a été interdit en Mongolie durant la période socialiste au même titre que l’écriture et les costumes traditionnels. Il était alors perçu comme une pratique arriérée, néfaste et manipulatrice. Quand j'ai lu La Légende du Chaman pour la première fois au tournant des années 2010, il connaissait un regain d'intérêt important dans un … Continue reading Ethnic ChinaLit: What We’re Reading Now — “La Légende du Chaman”
After completing a record-breaking 151 sell-out performances at the Mongolian State Academic Theatre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a planned run of performances in Inner Mongolia's Hohhot were abruptly cancelled by the Chinese authorities in September 2023. Not to be deterred, the stage production, entitled The Mongol Khan for British audiences, began a two–week run at the … Continue reading “Tamgagui Tur”: Mongolian Theatrical Production Abruptly Cancelled in China
The desire of the Chinese authorities to control the narrative regarding its borderland peoples has been dealt a blow with the opening of the exhibition, Genghis Khan: Comment les Mongols ont changé le monde at the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, France. In Blockbuster show on Genghis Khan opens in France after row with China, the Guardian reports: … Continue reading France Offers Fresh Look at Genghis Khan and the Mongols
《蒙古里亚》郭雪波著 Original novel in Chinese by Guo Xuebo Synopsis by Bruce Humes A tale of ruthless ecological exploitation, a 20th-century European explorer’s fascination with Altaic culture & epiphany in today’s Inner Mongolia This semi-autobiographical novel comprises three parallel narratives that eventually intersect in 21st-century Inner Mongolia: A spiritual journey, in which the author — ostensibly … Continue reading Synopsis: Moŋgoliya by Guo Xuebo
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?
February 17, 2019 Author's Bio Although he writes in Chinese, Guo Xuebo (郭雪波) is fiercely proud of his Mongolian heritage and was raised in Inner Mongolia’s Khorchin Grasslands (Hure Banner). Now 71 and bilingual, he spoke Mongolian at home and school until he was 13. He graduated from Beijing’s prestigious Central Academy of Drama (Department … Continue reading Backgrounder: Mongolian author Guo Xuebo
Asia-Pacific Journal has published an excerpt I selected and translated from Guo Xuebo's contemporary work, Moŋgoliya《蒙古里亚》: Set in China’s 21st-century Inner Mongolia, the novel is a semi-autobiographical tale by Guo Xuebo, a Mongol who grew up speaking the language of his people. It comprises three distinct but intertwined narratives: a spiritual journey, in which the author — … Continue reading Borderland Fiction: “The Mongol Would-be Self-Immolator,” Excerpted from Guo Xuebo’s “Moŋgoliya”
February 18, 2019 By Bruce Humes Guo Xuebo’s “Moŋgoliya” 《蒙古里亚》(郭雪波著) A tale of ruthless ecological exploitation, a 20th-century European explorer’s fascination with Altaic culture & epiphany in today’s Inner Mongolia Backgrounder Author’s Bio + Major Works + Foreign Editions Présentation: Guo Xuebo (in French) Writer of the Month: Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing Synopsis “Moŋgoliya,” A Contemporary … Continue reading Guo Xuebo’s “Moŋgoliya”: Guide to Related Links
In 蒙古音乐地图计划：如何面对外界错位的蒙古文化想象？Thepaper.cn reports on a young Chinese citizen of Mongolian heritage, Odon Tuya (敖登托雅) who has initiated her own “Mongolian Music Map Project” (蒙古音乐地图计划). Her aim: To document the current indie Mongolian music scene – including traditional musicians in places like Xinjiang – via published interviews and, eventually, to capture it on film. A writer … Continue reading Mapping Mongolian Music
So now the escapee nightjar and I were conspirators. I had to stay patient and play my part in its plot. We stood a while longer, though of course the urgent call did not sound. But the boy stood there motionless, gazing up at the spot where the bird had once perched. He already had … Continue reading Excerpt of the Week: The Nightjar at Dusk (黄昏夜莺)
Ethnic ChinaLit 