The Fine Art of Selective News Translation

In Lost in Translation, veteran journalist Nailene Chou Wiest comments on how airbrushing foreign news articles in the name of China boosterism prevents serious discussion of real issues: Translators in China are not neutral message conveyors but active censor-oriented rewriting hacks. Their job requires the sensitivity of knowing the parameter. Foreign news is not used as a … Continue reading The Fine Art of Selective News Translation →

Osnos, Vogel and China Censorship Percentage Stats

In what a publicist would judge a savvy approach to pre-launch marketing of one’s book, Evan Osnos recently wrote a much-discussed NY Times Op-ed in which he explained why he won’t be releasing his new Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China in Chinese in the People’s Republic any time … Continue reading Osnos, Vogel and China Censorship Percentage Stats →

Chen Zhongshi’s “White Deer Plain”: Censored to Win Coveted Mao Dun Literary Prize

White Deer Plain, a newly launched movie based on Chen Zhongshi's novel of the same name (白鹿原, 陈忠实著), has aroused controversy both as a book and as a film. The novel tells the tale of two families, Bai and Lu, living through the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the beginning of the Republic and the rise of … Continue reading Chen Zhongshi’s “White Deer Plain”: Censored to Win Coveted Mao Dun Literary Prize →

“Mosuo Culture Bonfire Parties”: Hamming it up for the Tourists, Attendance Required

Canada's Globe and Mail recently ran a piece on the impact of modernity and tourism on the Mosuo (摩梭族), a matriarchal tribe that resides around Yunnan's Luguhu Lake (泸沽湖). In China, a Matriarchy under Threat has now been translated, edited and published as 《云南摩梭人遭遇现代化挑战》in the August 17, 2011 edition of Cankao Xiaoxi (参考消息). Cankao is a respected … Continue reading “Mosuo Culture Bonfire Parties”: Hamming it up for the Tourists, Attendance Required →

Hakka and Minnan “tulou”: Former Residents Emigrate, Opt for Indoor Plumbing

The New York Times has just published Monuments to Clan Life Are Losing their Appeal, a marvelous look at the state of tulou (土楼) built by Hakka and Minnan in Fujian. These communal structures, usually but not always round, housed dozens of families from the same clan: Yongding, China---The gargantuan buildings are so iconic that … Continue reading Hakka and Minnan “tulou”: Former Residents Emigrate, Opt for Indoor Plumbing →

“Chinese Book Publishing Industry Liberalizes”: But Where are Pederasty, Passion and the Dalai Lama?

It's always good fun to observe how the Chinese media exercises censorship even as it seeks to use the foreign press to trumpet the PRC's modernity and openness. An article in today's Cankao Xiaoxi (参考消息), China's Book Publishing Industry Gradually Liberalizes (中国图书产业逐渐变的开放), is a marvelous case in point. It is an edited translation of an … Continue reading “Chinese Book Publishing Industry Liberalizes”: But Where are Pederasty, Passion and the Dalai Lama? →

Zhang Ling’s “Aftershock”: The Movie, the Screenwriter and the Part-time Censor

Director Feng Xiaogang’s gaze graces the cover of several publications this week, and indeed, the “disaster movie” genre in China may never be the same again thanks to him. His adaptation of Zhang Ling’s Aftershock (张翎的 "余震") is mesmerizing the nation’s moviegoers, and this tale of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that killed over 200,000 leaves … Continue reading Zhang Ling’s “Aftershock”: The Movie, the Screenwriter and the Part-time Censor →

Ethnic China Chic: “Minority” Theme Parks in the Middle Kingdom

The instant I saw the New York Times' piece on China's "minority theme parks"---Disneyland-like affairs highlighting the culture of China's 55 "ethnic minorities"---I knew it would soon appear in the Chinese press. But how would it be reshaped to render it politically correct for the masses, I wondered? Quite differently than I expected, frankly. The report has … Continue reading Ethnic China Chic: “Minority” Theme Parks in the Middle Kingdom →

Newsweek via Cankao Xiaoxi: The Tibetans Have Never Had it So Good

In the run-up to Obama's White House meeting with the Dalai Lama, Isaac Stone Fish (Newsweek's Beijing correspondent) penned an interesting piece that argues that China's rule has indeed brought indisputable benefits to the Tibetans. It's all part of a grand "bargain": It's true that, so far, all the money has failed to buy Tibetan … Continue reading Newsweek via Cankao Xiaoxi: The Tibetans Have Never Had it So Good →

China Censorship Primer: Just Say “No” to Female Orgasms

Don’t let media in the West fool you—talking about sex in China is not taboo. But apparently references to female genitalia and orgasms are still big no-nos. To see how such touchy subjects are handled in Chinese media, let’s take a look at what happened to the Guardian’s “China to Open First Sex Theme Park” … Continue reading China Censorship Primer: Just Say “No” to Female Orgasms →