July-August 2016: Altaic Storytelling Newsbriefs

Coup d’état Fiction: A Curiously Turkish Genre offers suggested reading for books that capture the Zeitgeist during the years that followed modern Turkey’s not infrequent periods of dictatorship. The winners of the Junma Literary Awards for Ethnic Minority Writers (骏马奖) — handed out every three years since 1981 — were announced in early August. The competition … Continue reading July-August 2016: Altaic Storytelling Newsbriefs

Shortage of Mongolian-to-Mandarin Literary Translators

In the wake of the recent announcement of the winners of the Duorina Mongolian Literature Prize, Ye Erda (叶尔达), professor of Mongolian language and literature at Beijing’s Central Nationalities University, notes that the current crop of talented Mongolian-to-Mandarin literary translators still far from meets growing demand. Salhinhee (哈森) took home the top award for her … Continue reading Shortage of Mongolian-to-Mandarin Literary Translators

“Manba Rasang” (满巴扎仓): Secret Mongolian Pharmacopoeia, Manchu Villains and a Stubborn Translator

The editor wanted to title the nouvella The Mongolian Pharmacist (蒙古药师), but Mongolian-to-Mandarin translator Hasen (哈森) resisted. After all, she argued, the setting for this new thriller was Manba Rasang Temple in 19th century Ordos. It served as a center for studies of ancient traditional medicine and treatment, and was frequented by Mongols, Tibetans, Manchus … Continue reading “Manba Rasang” (满巴扎仓): Secret Mongolian Pharmacopoeia, Manchu Villains and a Stubborn Translator