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
China’s Online Courses for the World: Tweaking International Media Coverage for Chinese Eyes
On Oct 21, the New York Times ran an interesting article entitled China Turns to Online Courses, and Mao, in Pursuit of Soft Power. Sure enough, Xinhua's Cankao Xiaoxi picked it up and translated it for the masses just two days later, with an enhanced title that focuses on capturing foreign eyeballs (中文原文): 中国借网络课程吸引外国受众 … Continue reading China’s Online Courses for the World: Tweaking International Media Coverage for Chinese Eyes
Booming Sales of Alexievich’s Works: State Media Attributes them to China’s “Nobel Complex”
Amazon China’s sales of new Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s works in soared from nowhere to occupy the Number 20 ranking in less than 24 hours after she was awarded the prestigious prize, reports the Xi’an Evening News at Chinanews.com (作品销量). Nothing like this jump occurred when China’s own Mo Yan was honored with the same … Continue reading Booming Sales of Alexievich’s Works: State Media Attributes them to China’s “Nobel Complex”
Xi Jinping’s “Little Red Book” for Art Workers of the Nation
What a relief! Now we know that even President Xi Jinping’s speeches must be finely airbrushed before they’re ready for mass consumption. In A Year After Xi’s Landmark Speech on the Arts, Some Things Get Left Out, we learn that his infamous October 2014 closed-door speech to Art Workers of the Nation has finally been released … Continue reading Xi Jinping’s “Little Red Book” for Art Workers of the Nation
Beijing Oct 19-20 Event: First Int’l Symposium on Uyghur Folk Dastan (داستان) in China
Event: First Int’l Symposium on Uyghur Folk Dastan in China (首届中国维吾尔族民间达斯坦国际学术研讨会) Venue: 北京市海淀区三里河路7号 新疆维吾尔自治区政府驻京办事处1号楼 Sponsors: CASS Institute of Ethnic Literature (中国社会科学院民族文学研究所), Xinjiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles (新疆维吾尔自治区文学艺术界联) Organizer: Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Folklore Association (新疆维吾尔自治区民间文艺家协会) Attendees: 50 dastan ( داستان , 达斯坦, destanı) scholars from China, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey Background reading: 互动百科：达斯坦 试论维吾尔民间达斯坦《玉素甫—艾赫麦德》的流传现状 … Continue reading Beijing Oct 19-20 Event: First Int’l Symposium on Uyghur Folk Dastan (داستان) in China
Frankfurt Book Fair 2015: China’s Culture of Censorship in the Limelight
Oct 17 Update 纽约时报中文网：美国 12 家出版商集体对中国审查说不 ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ Oct 16 2015 In Phil Collins and Ai Weiwei Make Waves at Frankfurt Book Fair, we learn that China’s repugnant censorship practices are generating some real pushback: The fair also saw China accepted as the newest member of the International Publishers Association – a … Continue reading Frankfurt Book Fair 2015: China’s Culture of Censorship in the Limelight
Altaic Storytelling 