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”
Category: China’s Ethnic-themed Fiction (中国民族题材文学)
Chutzpah!: Latest Issue Devoted to Writers of non-Han Descent
Good news from the bimonthly Chinese literary magazine Chutzpah! (天南): the latest edition (Issue 14) is devoted entirely to writing by authors of non-Han descent. Several languages are involved here—most are published in Chinese, but some were written in other tongues and then translated into Chinese, while one has been rendered in English. The latter … Continue reading Chutzpah!: Latest Issue Devoted to Writers of non-Han Descent
Au Tibet, les conflits sanglants entre Christ et Bouddha
Dans Au Tibet, les conflits sanglants entre Christ et Bouddha, Bertrand Mialaret nous signale un roman et un événement actuels qui traitent sur l'histoire des religions au tibet du XIXe siècle: Un livre et une exposition sont centrés sur les conflits sanglants entre le Christ et Bouddha à la frontière du Yunnan chinois et du Tibet. Deux … Continue reading Au Tibet, les conflits sanglants entre Christ et Bouddha
Caixin’s “Day in the Life of a Beijing Black Guard”: Straight out of “Champa the Driver”
In January 2013, Beijing-based Chan Koonchung’s novel The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver (《裸 命》, 陈冠中) was published in Chinese in Hong Kong. The closing chapter recounts how a young, naïve Tibetan chauffeur from Lhasa proudly takes his first job in the capital, working in what he refers to as “Preserving Stability Hotel” (维稳宾馆). … Continue reading Caixin’s “Day in the Life of a Beijing Black Guard”: Straight out of “Champa the Driver”
Tibetan Epic “King Gesar” Published in 8-volume Chinese-language Edition
A comprehensive 8-volume, 2-million word translation of the Tibetan classic “King Gesar” (格萨尔王传) has just been published in Chinese by Higher Education Press (高等教育出版社), according to a report carried on China Ethnic Literature Network (中国民族文学网). The traditional Epic of King Gesar (Tibetan: གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོ), believed to date from the 12th century, relates the heroic deeds of Gesar, … Continue reading Tibetan Epic “King Gesar” Published in 8-volume Chinese-language Edition
“Sons of Heaven, Brothers of Nature: The Naxi of Southwest China”
Writes author Pedro Ceinos Arcones in his introduction to this new work on the Naxi, renowned for their Dongba pictographic language: Every year thousands of travelers from all around the world visit the Naxi region [of Yunnan], turning their former isolation into a permanent exhibition of their land and homes. During their stay in Lijiang … Continue reading “Sons of Heaven, Brothers of Nature: The Naxi of Southwest China”
Scholar Critiques Media Coverage of Newly Published Miao Classic “King Yalu”
China media’s recent high-profile reportage of the launch of volume one of the first-ever bilingual version of King Yalu (亚鲁王), a Miao historical epic passed down orally, has been labelled “unscientific” (媒体对 《亚鲁王》报道不科学) by an academic whose views carry weight. Traditionally sung over several days at a funeral, King Yalu is the story of war, defeat … Continue reading Scholar Critiques Media Coverage of Newly Published Miao Classic “King Yalu”
Tsering Norbu’s “Amerika”: Village Life in 21st Century Tibet – with a Twist
Only a handful of Tibetans who write fiction in Chinese have seen their work published in English, but Tsering Norbu has recently joined this elite. Here’s a brief intro to his Amerika (阿米日嘎，次仁罗布著): A farmer in rural Tibet invests his life savings and more to purchase a breeding bull imported all the way from “Amerika” … Continue reading Tsering Norbu’s “Amerika”: Village Life in 21st Century Tibet – with a Twist
Seediq Bale, the Novel: Out now in French as “Les Survivants”
One of just 9 films to be shortlisted for this year's Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, Seediq Bale (《賽德克·巴萊》) is a 4.5-hour epic about one Taiwanese aboriginal tribe’s war of resistance against the Japanese in the 1930s, shot entirely in the Seediq language. As is often the case with contemporary Chinese literature, … Continue reading Seediq Bale, the Novel: Out now in French as “Les Survivants”
“Butterfly Mother” and “Dragon-Eagles”: Processing Folklore in Southwest China
In the latest edition of Oral Tradition (Processing Epics), Mark Bender explores—via highly readable notes on his field-work—how the Miao myth-epic Mai Bang (Butterfly Mother) and the Nuosu’s creation-epic Dragon-Eagles have gradually been rendered in written form: My title also contains the word “processing”—and by that I mean the process through which traditional texts are performed … Continue reading “Butterfly Mother” and “Dragon-Eagles”: Processing Folklore in Southwest China
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