China’s Bilingual Writers: Narrative with a Difference

It began back in 2008 with Penguin investing heavily—$100,000 is the rumored price—to purchase Jiang Rong’s tale based in Inner Mongolia, Wolf Totem. In 2013 two newly translated novels joined China’s “borderland fiction” category: Fan Wen’s Une terre de lait et de miel, located in the gateway to Tibet straddling Yunnan and Sichuan, and Chi … Continue reading China’s Bilingual Writers: Narrative with a Difference

阅读中:土耳其作家纳迪姆·居尔塞尔的《魔鬼、天使与共产党员》

伊斯坦布尔法国领事馆的图书馆对外开放,我几乎每几天在那儿复习土语、搞文学翻译、做白日梦。地方不大,但采购书的负责人很有品位。我最近借到了获得了 2013 年法国地中海奖(Prix Méditerranée)的外国作品奖,《L’ange rouge》。原文是土耳其语的 《Şeytan, Melek ve Komünist》。据我所知,本书至今没有中文版。 作为不愿意讨好官方的土耳其作家, Nedim Gürsel (纳迪姆·居尔塞尔)的经历是比较典型的:两次被告,部分作品 -- 《A Summer without End》和 《The First Woman》-- 有段时间被禁,后来他定居海外,在法国的大学教当代土耳其文学。80 年代被控诽谤当时掌权的军队;第二次是他 2008 发表的小说 《Daughters of Allah》被认为是亵渎宗教。不过,两次都没判有罪。 《L’ange rouge》围绕着二十世纪土耳其著名诗人 Nazım Hikmet (纳奇姆·希克梅特) 流亡东德和苏联的故事,涉及到伊斯坦布尔、柏林与莫斯科。虽是虚构的小说,但 Hikmet 确实是左派人士,1963 年在莫斯科病故。  

Altaic Storytelling Quote of the Week: Nâzım Hikmet, Poète Amoureux de la Langue Turque

Il [Nâzım Hikmet] a aimé la langue turque comme le paysan aime sa glèbe ou ses boeufs, comme le menuisier aime son bois et son rabot. En véritable gourmet du verb, il savourait chaque mot, le mastiquait soigneusement avant de le digérer dans le creuset de la poésie. Il était amoureux de la langue turque et … Continue reading Altaic Storytelling Quote of the Week: Nâzım Hikmet, Poète Amoureux de la Langue Turque

“King Yalu”: Miao Oral Epic Published in Chinese

For the first time ever, the Miao historical epic King Yalu (亚鲁王), has been rendered in a written form: Chinese.  The first part, consisting of 1,089 lines, has been published by Zhonghua Book Company (中华书局). Traditionally sung over several days at a funeral, King Yalu is the epic story of war, defeat and migration of … Continue reading “King Yalu”: Miao Oral Epic Published in Chinese

“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

New Kid on the Block: Chinese-to-English Literary Translator Database

I watch this sort of thing fairly closely, and up until now the only list of international Chinese-to-English literary translators I knew about was at Paper Republic: Translator Directory. But today by accident I discovered another at a Chinese-language site called 中国文化对外翻译与传播网. It’s a much bigger undertaking, and features 2,003 listings under “English,” with the … Continue reading New Kid on the Block: Chinese-to-English Literary Translator Database

土耳其文学翻译基金会项目:保加利亚语版本比中文多九倍?

土耳其官方在文学作品 “输出”正在学日本颇成功的老路。文化与旅游部下的 “土耳其文学翻译基金会” (TEDA) 至今一共资助 了 1,132 本土耳其语书的外译与出版。 目标语言的选择有时很微妙。五分之一是译成德文的,但这无可厚非,因为六十年代以来到德国工作之后流下来定居已经有三百多万土耳其人及其后代。部分这些青年甚至读不懂土语,必须通过德文才能接触土耳其文学。 排在第二位是保加利亚语,一共 194 本。保加利亚曾经是奥斯曼帝国的领土,如今人口七百万,等于上海人口的一半。 那么,得到翻译与出版资助的中文版本有多少呢?21 本,即保加利亚语版本的九分之一左右。不过,比中文版的数目更少的也有,包括荷兰文 (20)、西班牙语(20)和日文(5)等。(点击见原表)

Foreign Authors and the Allure of “Special Editions” of their Books for Chinese Eyes

“Please kindly let me know if it is possible for us to cooperate on a special version of your book for its China publication,” read a Shanghai publisher’s letter to Evan Osnos, formerly The New Yorker’s China correspondent. Writing in the May 2 edition of the New York Times (China’s Censored World), Osnos gives us … Continue reading Foreign Authors and the Allure of “Special Editions” of their Books for Chinese Eyes

Elif Şafak: Ballot-box Victory Is Not a License to Criminalize Criticism

Best-selling Turkish novelist Elif Şafak talks to Ceyda Nurtsch at Qantara.de about everything from the ill health of Turkey's democracy to when she prefers writing in Turkish vs. in English (Lack of Democratic Culture in Turkey):  Ceyda Nurtsch: You were one of the writers who signed a petition against the recent Twitter ban in Turkey. In … Continue reading Elif Şafak: Ballot-box Victory Is Not a License to Criminalize Criticism

China’s Tibet™: Brand Management with Chinese Characteristics

A thought-provoking piece over at a web site entitled "Rukor" (Creating China's Tibet):  China’s home-grown orientalism, like the historic orientalism of Europe towards west Asia, ascribes fixed roles and identities to its exotic objects. The Tibetans are required to play their part in a Beijing based script. The scripted role for Tibetans is to be forever … Continue reading China’s Tibet™: Brand Management with Chinese Characteristics