China: Surviving the Camps, adapted from Zha Jianying's introduction to The Cowshed: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, just launched in 2016: At the center of the book is the cowshed [牛棚], the popular term for makeshift detention centers that had sprung up in many Chinese cities at the time [of the Cultural Revolution]. This one was … Continue reading “This is our Auschwitz”: Introduction to the “The Cowshed”
2016 Awards: Winning Taiwan Aboriginal Works
Taiwan Today reports (Awards): The winners of Taiwan Aboriginal Literary Awards organized by Taiwan's Ministry of Education were honored in a ceremony Jan. 20 at Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park. The 36 recipients are from the indigenous tribes of Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kahabu, Paiwan, Pazeh, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sediq, Truku and Tsou. They finished atop … Continue reading 2016 Awards: Winning Taiwan Aboriginal Works
Behind the Bamboo Curtain: At Last the World Is Paying Attention to How Foreign Works Are Translated into Chinese
Jan 12 Update: Indiatoday's Interview with Feng Tang * * * * * January 7 Post Feng Tang, a well known Chinese author — and occasional translator — will reportedly not be among a group of Chinese writers attending the World Book Fair in New Delhi next week (Jan 9-17). He had previously been scheduled … Continue reading Behind the Bamboo Curtain: At Last the World Is Paying Attention to How Foreign Works Are Translated into Chinese
“Last Quarter of the Moon”: Readers Speak Out
An admittedly quirky collection — selected by me — of unedited online reviews of my translation of Chi Zijian's 额尔古纳河右岸 (Last Quarter of the Moon). Not to worry. They aren't all glowing recommendations. . . * * * Beautifully written, but depressing as fuck. (full text) * * * It is an atmospheric modern folk-tale, … Continue reading “Last Quarter of the Moon”: Readers Speak Out
Excerpt: Hong Ke’s Xinjiang novel, “Urho”
Hong Ke's novel, Urho (乌尔禾, 红柯著), is set during the 1960s in the Zungharian Basin at the edge of the Gurbantünggüt Desert. This remote and rugged area of Xinjiang was once a favored hunting ground for the Mongol Khans when they ruled Cathay. A Han soldier back from the Korean front --- dubbed “Hailibu” by … Continue reading Excerpt: Hong Ke’s Xinjiang novel, “Urho”
Language Policies Impede Tibetan Literacy in Tibetan Majority Regions
In Tibetans Fight to Salvage Fading Culture in China, Edward Wong explores how recent changes to China's language policy in areas populated mainly by speakers of Tibetan are --- intentionally, it appears --- making it much more difficult for many students to attain basic literacy in their mother tongue: When officials forced an informal school … Continue reading Language Policies Impede Tibetan Literacy in Tibetan Majority Regions
Fiction Collections from Daur, Evenki and Oroqen Writers Launched
Three separate volumes of fiction in Chinese have just been published featuring the works of writers of three ethnic groups that have traditionally inhabited northeastern China and even further north in Siberia: the Daur, Evenki and Oroqen (Elunchun). This is of interest because unlike ethnic groups like the Tibetans, Uyhgurs or Mongolians, none of the … Continue reading Fiction Collections from Daur, Evenki and Oroqen Writers Launched
Family Planning in Fiction, Rejigging Censorship and Xi Jinping’s Literary Tastes
The Guardian’s Tom Phillips in Beijing reports that Xi Jinping’s foray into literary criticism is beginning to have some very concrete manifestations in the world of Chinese popular fiction: It was the scrawl of red ink snaking around paragraphs that told novelist Sheng Keyi how much things had changed. Just over a decade ago, Sheng’s … Continue reading Family Planning in Fiction, Rejigging Censorship and Xi Jinping’s Literary Tastes
NYT on Revival of “The White-Haired Girl”: Chinese Version Deletes Madame Mao & Erstwhile Starring Role of Mrs. Xi Jinping
Back in October 2014 when Xi Jinping delivered his closed-door speech to a gathering of the nation’s artists and scribes in Beijing --- essentially a souped-up, 21st-century rendition of Mao Zedong’s infamous pronouncements at the 1942 Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art --- many wondered just what it signified. It took one year, but the speech … Continue reading NYT on Revival of “The White-Haired Girl”: Chinese Version Deletes Madame Mao & Erstwhile Starring Role of Mrs. Xi Jinping
Matrilineal Mosuo Cultural Decline: Allure of Modernization, Impact of Tourism and Conveniently Customized History
In the 1950s, many of China’s policies towards its ethnic minorities were inspired by those of the Soviet Union. In the northeast near the Sino-Russian border, for instance, the Oroqen (鄂伦春) found their animistic faith banned and their shamans forced to burn their sacred attire and renounce their “spirit dances” (Last Shaman). Many peoples like … Continue reading Matrilineal Mosuo Cultural Decline: Allure of Modernization, Impact of Tourism and Conveniently Customized History
Altaic Storytelling 