As those knowledgeable about Chinese literature in translation may have noted, one occasionally finds European publishers---particularly in France---are willing to translate and publish Chinese fiction long before these "unknown" authors are "discovered" by the English-speaking world. Ethnic ChinaLit spoke recently with Stéphane Lévêque, who is busy translating Harmonious Land (水乳大地) into French, the first novel [May … Continue reading Translator interview: Stéphane Lévêque, Chinese-to-French translator of Fan Wen’s “Harmonious Land”
China Census Time: As 2010 Count Begins, a Look back at how Ethnicity was Recorded in 1953-54
We all know that there are exactly 56 ethnic groups in China, yet in the 1953-54 census Yunnan alone reported more than 200. An excerpt from Tom Mullaney's Coming to Terms with the Nation: Ethnic Classification in Modern China offers a bit of insight into these mathematics: In the first census of the People’s Republic … Continue reading China Census Time: As 2010 Count Begins, a Look back at how Ethnicity was Recorded in 1953-54
Fan Wen: New Novel to Explore Culture Clash behind Kunming-Haiphong
Fan Wen (范稳), the Chinese Catholic author who recently completed his fictional trilogy spotlighting cultural and religious collisions in the "multicultural wonderland" of the Yunnan-Tibet border, now has another historical novel in mind, 碧色寨 (Bisezhai Station). The first book in the published series, Harmonious Land (水乳大地), recounts the tale of a multi-ethnic settlement in Lancangjiang Canyon … Continue reading Fan Wen: New Novel to Explore Culture Clash behind Kunming-Haiphong
Zhang Ling’s “Aftershock”: The Movie, the Screenwriter and the Part-time Censor
Director Feng Xiaogang’s gaze graces the cover of several publications this week, and indeed, the “disaster movie” genre in China may never be the same again thanks to him. His adaptation of Zhang Ling’s Aftershock (张翎的 "余震") is mesmerizing the nation’s moviegoers, and this tale of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that killed over 200,000 leaves … Continue reading Zhang Ling’s “Aftershock”: The Movie, the Screenwriter and the Part-time Censor
Fan Wen’s Yunnan-Tibetan Trilogy: A Catholic Chinese Author’s Imagination Takes Flight
The China Daily features a piece on the third and final novel in a trilogy exploring the border on either side of Yunnan and Tibet: At last author Fan Wen (范稳) has his reward for a decade of immersion in the multicultural wonderland along the Yunnan-Tibet border: Canticle to the Land (大地雅歌), the closing novel … Continue reading Fan Wen’s Yunnan-Tibetan Trilogy: A Catholic Chinese Author’s Imagination Takes Flight
Turkish Novels, Honor Killing and China’s English-language Complex
Zülfü Livaneli, the Turkish writer, musician, singer, journalist and member of parliament, recently toured China to promote the launch of the mainland Chinese translation of his popular novel, Bliss (Mutluluk), or 伊斯坦布尔的幸福. Now a movie as well, Bliss is a melodramatic tale of a young village woman who is raped by an elder relative. When … Continue reading Turkish Novels, Honor Killing and China’s English-language Complex
Interview: Author Murong Xuecun (慕容雪村) on his Undercover Role Investigating a Chinese Pyramid Scheme
Murong Xuecun has gained a name for himself through his unflattering vignettes of gambling, drinking, whoring and corruption in contemporary China. His best-seller, Leave me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu (成都，今夜请将我遗忘), prompted the authorities to convene a conference solely to critique the novel for sullying the Sichuan city’s image. But in a change of tack … Continue reading Interview: Author Murong Xuecun (慕容雪村) on his Undercover Role Investigating a Chinese Pyramid Scheme
Israeli Writers in Chinese: Via Hebrew or English?
A literary agent on selling Israeli fiction overseas: I can tell you there is no market more challenging than America’s. I sell more books in China and Japan than in America . . . Could be, and perhaps it's the quality of the translations into the Chinese. My girlfriend read Roman Russi (蓝山) by Meir … Continue reading Israeli Writers in Chinese: Via Hebrew or English?
Holden Caulfield and the Chinese Shakespeare Scholar
"Chinese youth, growing up in our Socialist Motherland and benefiting from the enthusiastic care and concern of organizations such as the communist Party, Youth League and Young Pioneers, possess high-minded Communist ideals, and a rich, colorful and dynamic intellectual life. Therefore, reading a book like Catcher in the Rye, and comparing one's own fortunate living … Continue reading Holden Caulfield and the Chinese Shakespeare Scholar
Ethnic China Chic: “Minority” Theme Parks in the Middle Kingdom
The instant I saw the New York Times' piece on China's "minority theme parks"---Disneyland-like affairs highlighting the culture of China's 55 "ethnic minorities"---I knew it would soon appear in the Chinese press. But how would it be reshaped to render it politically correct for the masses, I wondered? Quite differently than I expected, frankly. The report has … Continue reading Ethnic China Chic: “Minority” Theme Parks in the Middle Kingdom
Altaic Storytelling 