Excerpt of the Week: The Nightjar at Dusk (黄昏夜莺)

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) →

Pathlight Spring 2015: A Handful of Pieces by Mongolian and Xinjiang-based Writers

The new issue of Pathlight (Spring 2015) Chinese literature in translation is out. Its theme is Nature, and you can download the PDF for free here.A quick look at the contents reveals four pieces that fall at least loosely into the "ethnic-themed" fiction category:Two pieces by Mongolian writers:Wolves Walk Atwain (p 18) Deng Yiguang (邓一光) … Continue reading Pathlight Spring 2015: A Handful of Pieces by Mongolian and Xinjiang-based Writers →

Baidu Encyclopedia First? Uyghur Author’s Name Noted in Uyghur Script

An entry I read today in Baidu Encyclopedia (百度百科), a domestic site which serves as a (politically correct) Wikipedia for mainland Chinese — the latter is often firewalled — may signal a change in the policy of referring to members of minority ethnicities by Chinese name only. Qurbanjan Semet, author/photographer of the recently launched I … Continue reading Baidu Encyclopedia First? Uyghur Author’s Name Noted in Uyghur Script →

Kurdish Dengbêjî and the ‘Nostalgia Industry’

Building the dengbêj ‘tradition’ . . . must also be considered in a wider context. Interest in memory is rapidly spreading in contemporary Turkey and is helping people explore personal and collective histories. These memories are also — within certain limits — fostered by official narratives that ‘rediscover,’ for instance, an Ottoman and multicultural past. … Continue reading Kurdish Dengbêjî and the ‘Nostalgia Industry’ →

Kurdish Storytellers Congregate in Southeastern Turkey’s Diyarbakır

In Few Dengbejs Remain to Sing Kurdish Stories, Mat Nashed reports from Turkey’s Diyarbakır on the “House of Dengbej,” established to provide a venue for performances by traditional Kurdish storytellers: “We sing stories of love and war,” [Mehmet] Ince told Al-Monitor while lighting a cigarette in the house of the dengbej. “We express our history through … Continue reading Kurdish Storytellers Congregate in Southeastern Turkey’s Diyarbakır →

Mongolian Shaman Songs of Praise Rendered in Chinese

Two poets have collaborated to publish a book containing 29 renditions of songs of praise traditionally chanted by shaman. The original odes in Mongolian were first translated into Mandarin by Mongolian scholar Ni Ma (尼玛), and then polished by Xi Murong (席慕蓉), who also knows Mongolian but was educated in Taiwan. The book is published … Continue reading Mongolian Shaman Songs of Praise Rendered in Chinese →

Profile of Octogenarian Orochen: Folk Song Singer, Folk Tale and Dictionary Compiler

Among one of the first batches of young Orochen (鄂伦春) chosen to receive a formal Chinese-language education in Zhalantun in 1948, E’erdenggua (额尔登挂) was just 17 at the time. She had never been outside her village on the banks of Chuo’er River (绰尔河畔) in Inner Mongolia, and didn’t speak a word of Chinese. Now 84, … Continue reading Profile of Octogenarian Orochen: Folk Song Singer, Folk Tale and Dictionary Compiler →

Inner Mongolian Artists Speak Up as Mining and Logging Encroach on Traditional Grazing Lands

Protests over land have occurred in several herding communities in Inner Mongolia during May and early June, according to RFA (Grassland Protests Spread). Ethnic Mongolian herders say access to traditional grazing land is increasingly being curtailed or permanently denied in favor of mining and logging projects, or highway construction. Inadequate or total lack of compensation … Continue reading Inner Mongolian Artists Speak Up as Mining and Logging Encroach on Traditional Grazing Lands →

Interrupted Traditions of “Altishahr,” Oasis Towns Ringing the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang

In Wall Street Journal’s interview with Rian Thum, author of The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History, we learn that a century ago Uyghur in the Altishahr region (lit. “six cities”) traditionally visited shrines where the history of a local Islamic saint was read out loud to visitors. Question posed by Wall Street Journal is bolded, … Continue reading Interrupted Traditions of “Altishahr,” Oasis Towns Ringing the Taklimakan Desert in 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 →