My translation of Chi Zijian’s Last Quarter of the Moon (额尔古纳河右岸) can be ordered — e-book, hard cover and paperback — online at various places, including Amazon. Read the opening for free here (click on the cover), or the author’s Afterword. For information on other editions, see: Dutch (Het laatste kwartier van de maan), French, Italian … Continue reading “Last Quarter of the Moon”: Evenki Odyssey Captured in Chinese Novel Set in the Greater Khingan Mountains
Category: China’s Ethnic-themed Fiction in Translation (中国民族题材文学的外译)
Extract: “Back Quarters at Number 7” by Manchu Writer Ye Guangqin
In Back Quarters at Number 7, Ye Guangqin recreates what it was like growing up Manchu in a traditional Beijing hutong during the early years of the New China. Once part of a prince’s stately residence, the Big Courtyard now belongs to the masses and serves as a venue for collective activities such as neighborhood … Continue reading Extract: “Back Quarters at Number 7” by Manchu Writer Ye Guangqin
“The Creation Story”: An Excerpt from “Canticle to the Land,” the Third Novel in Fan Wen’s Yunnan-Tibet Trilogy
The Story of Creation Long, long ago Sky and earth not yet distinct Water and soil not yet formed Darkness shrouding all. No sun, ho! No moon, Neither flower nor beast, ho! And no love. No Tashi Gyatso, Tibetan minstrel, For his wings of passion had yet to unfurl. --- Tashi Gyatso’s Creation Ballad The … Continue reading “The Creation Story”: An Excerpt from “Canticle to the Land,” the Third Novel in Fan Wen’s Yunnan-Tibet Trilogy
Çin Edebiyatından Kültür Devrimine Ergen Gözüyle Bakış: Wang Gang’ın İngilizce Romanı
Ayşe Ünal Ersönmez (for English version, click here) Çin edebiyatının son birkaç yılda hem kendi ülkesinde hem de dünyada en ilgi görmüş örneklerinden Wang Gang’ın İngilizce adlı romanı, 2013 yılında Kalkedon Yayınları tarafından Nil Demir çevirisiyle Türkçe’ye kazandırıldı. Roman, Çin’in kuzeybatısındaki Sincan Uygur Özerk Bölgesinde yaşayan Çinli genç “Aşk Liu”nun delikanlılık dönemini konu alıyor. Aşk … Continue reading Çin Edebiyatından Kültür Devrimine Ergen Gözüyle Bakış: Wang Gang’ın İngilizce Romanı
“Champa the Driver”: Tibetan Dreamer in an Alien Land
Original Chinese novel: 《裸命》 English title: The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver Author: Chan Koonchung (陈冠中) Translator: Nicky Harman Reviewer: Bruce Humes “Dreams are so good. Why do we have to make them a reality? ” What’s a young Tibetan stud to do for a living nowadays in a tourist hotspot like Lhasa? And what … Continue reading “Champa the Driver”: Tibetan Dreamer in an Alien Land
Wang Gang’s “Ingilizce” : Intriguing look at the Cultural Revolution for Turkish Readers
As China’s fiction “exports” pick up, it will be interesting to watch which novels and themes win an Exit Permit to foreign lands, and how they are received there. Take Wang Gang’s 《英格力士》, for instance. This semi-autobiographical novel set in Xinjiang during the Cultural Revolution was snapped up by Penguin, and rendered in English by … Continue reading Wang Gang’s “Ingilizce” : Intriguing look at the Cultural Revolution for Turkish Readers
Author’s Afterword: “Last Quarter of the Moon”
Afterword: From the Mountains to the Sea The birth of a literary work resembles the growth of a tree. It requires favorable circumstances. Firstly, there must be a seed, the Mother of All Things. Secondly, it cannot lack for soil, nor can it make do without the sunlight’s warmth, the rain’s moisture or the … Continue reading Author’s Afterword: “Last Quarter of the Moon”
Chinese Fiction in Translation: Novels/Novellas with “Ethnic” Theme
Over the last few months a number of reporters have e-mailed to ask about the state of Chinese literature in translation, particularly in light of Mo Yan's winning the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. But most cite just a handful of authors and works in their questions--- and Shanghai Baby, translated by yours truly over a … Continue reading Chinese Fiction in Translation: Novels/Novellas with “Ethnic” Theme
“The Shepherd’s Dream”: An Excerpt from Alai’s “King Gesar”
Several years ago, UK publisher Canongate commissioned contemporary ethnic Tibetan writer Alai to pen his own creative version of the King Gesar saga. The plan: to launch Alai's King Gesar (格萨尔王, 阿来著) as part of its global Myth Series, joining other creatively re-told tales including The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood’s take on Penelope of The Odyssey), Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Baba Yaga as … Continue reading “The Shepherd’s Dream”: An Excerpt from Alai’s “King Gesar”
AfroLit4China 