Several years ago, I noticed that China was importing huge amounts of mineral resources from Africa, and busy signing contracts to collaborate in the long-term exploitation of even more. I wondered: But what was the People's Republic importing from Africa, in terms of 文化产品, i.e., "cultural products," an awkward, Marxist-sounding term that one often hears in Mandarin? To satisfy … Continue reading Q & A: The Status of Contemporary “AfroLit4China”
Tag: Chimamanda Adichie
非漂出版专讯: 2020.4 AfroLit4China Newsbriefs
Recent Interviews with African Novelists (非洲作家最近受访): Petina Gappah, Zimbabwean author of Out of Darkness, Shining Light, about 19th-century explorer David Livingstone: “Livingstone was an absolute gossip and his journals were valuable – he wrote about other people, but also about nature, ants, leaves. The most interesting snippets, I weaved into the story. I learned Swahili … Continue reading 非漂出版专讯: 2020.4 AfroLit4China Newsbriefs
African Literature: On China’s Cultural Radar Yet?
Can Literary Imports Change Chinese Perceptions of Africa? : My piece on AfroLit in Chinese is up now at Sixth Tone: Since the founding of the modern Chinese state in 1949, there have been three waves of African literary imports. The first, which emerged in the 1980s, was ideologically driven. Empowered by Beijing’s policy of promoting … Continue reading African Literature: On China’s Cultural Radar Yet?
Feminist: A Dirty Word in Xi Jinping’s China?
Chimamanda Adichie is hot. Not just in her homeland Nigeria, and the US where she spends much of her time nowadays, but in China too. Witness the fact that four of her works have been translated into Chinese, including her moving portrayal of the Biafran war, Half of a Yellow Sun (半轮黄日), The Thing Around … Continue reading Feminist: A Dirty Word in Xi Jinping’s China?
Ethnic ChinaLit 