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Mo Yan Interview Translation

Following this previous link to an interview with Mo Yan in French, Igor Yegorov wrote in with an English translation so we didn't all have to suffer through the Google translator. Thanks Igor!

Writer Mo Yan : From dictatorship of the Party to that of the market

By Bertrand Mialaret | 24/06/2009 | 12H57

The Chinese writer Mo Yan is spending a week in France to talk about his books and his new novel, due to be published in late August. The meeting with him in Beijing was facilitated for Rue89 by Bertrand Mialaret, chronicler of Chinese literature, and Pierre Haski. The exchange was rendered possible by Chantal Chen Andro, translator of several books by Mo Yan.

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By Eric Abrahamsen, June 30, 1:03p.m.

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Forays into Film: Independent Chinese Documentary

Some folks document contemporary Chinese society with words. Others do it with photography, visual art, music or film. At Paper Republic, we tend to focus on the wordsmiths: the novelists, essayists and poets who form the landscape of Chinese literature, and help to shape our perceptions of modern China.

But some of the most daring work in China today is being done by independent documentarians, guerrilla filmmakers armed with newly-affordable digital cameras, laptop computers and editing software. They tend to work alone, on shoestring budgets, outside the state-owned studio distribution system and - perhaps more importantly - beyond the reach of censors. And they're not the cast-offs, people who couldn't cut it the world of mainstream film: many are graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, alumni of China Central Television (CCTV), accomplished directors or cinematographers who left lucrative commercial careers to make the kind of films they always wanted to.

One of these days, we'll have a section on Paper Republic about Chinese indie film. Maybe we'll call it Digital Republic. In the meantime, my little bio of film work includes synopses of a dozen outstanding documentaries and feature films from the last 8 years, with links to directors (photos/bios/filmographies), film festival awards and reviews in industry publications. Some of the highlights:

Wang Bing - continuing "his run as one of the world's supreme doc filmmakers with Fengming: A Chinese Memoir." (Variety)

Zhao Liang - whose Crime and Punishment "cements China's position as a doc powerhouse" (Variety), says that sometimes he feels "like I’m stealing from the people I shoot. It’s their life that has given me the inspiration to create, and that’s why I feel guilty."

Li Ying - who was forced to relocate his production company offices in Tokyo after receiving right-wing death threats related to his film Yasukuni, a controversial documentary about Japan's Yasukuni Shrine. Although the film was expected to sail through the Chinese censorship process, it has yet to be approved for theatrical release in China.

Cui Zi'en - author, director and university professor widely hailed as one of the pioneers of Chinese queer cinema.

And those are just the filmmakers I've translated, the ones who happened to make the list. Here are some other outstanding documentary directors, not to be missed:

Du Haibin: Along the Railway, Beautiful Men, Umbrella Wu Wenguang: Bumming in Beijing, Dances with Migrant Workers, Fuck Cinema! Yang Lina: Old Men, Home Video, The Love of Mr. An Ni Zhen: Graduation, Postscript Duan Jinchuan: The Square, No.16 Barkhor Street Zhang Yuan: The Square, Demolition and Relocation, Crazy English Yu Guangyi: The Last Lumberjacks, Survival Song Luo Jian/Jiang Ping: Tale of Zhou

By Cindy M. Carter, June 29, 12:25p.m.

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David Hinton and Ezra Pound: from TNR

Adam Kirsch’s review of David Hinton’s Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology begins with a brief retrospective of Ezra Pound’s work as the first serious translator of 中国古诗. Its use is primarily rhetorical. Though Kirsch is careful to note the obvious care with which Pound handled his task, he spends the greater portion of his word limit in describing the seemingly insuperable gaps in expertise that separated the translator from his subject. This allows him, when he gets to Hinton, to endow the reader with a sense of perspective as well as a vague idea of progress. I say rhetorical because the most dependable avenue by which Kirsch might have been able to derive substantial conclusions regarding Hinton’s relative merits—direct textual analysis—he leaves entirely alone. This may be due to lack of confidence in his own ability to critique pieces whose originals he can’t read, or because he believes that evaluation is a task better left to the reader. Both are worthy considerations.

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By Canaan Morse, June 29, 12:05a.m.

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Brothers Review

My review of Eileen Chow & Carlos Rojas's translation of Brothers 兄弟 by Yú Huá 余華 is out, printed in this summer's edition of Rain Taxi.

Since it's only available in print, you'll have to order a copy from the website or else pick up an issue--for free--where available. They're often on offer at independent bookstores in North America.

By Lucas Klein, June 18, 10:42p.m.

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Call for Chinese Short Story Proposals from Literary Translators

Comma Press is an independent publisher based in the UK, specialising in short fiction. In 2007 Comma launched a translation imprint, with the remit of bringing original, contemporary short stories in translation to UK readers.

Comma is currently exploring the feasibility of publishing an anthology of contemporary Chinese short stories, translated for the first time. They say: "As we begin our search for stories to consider, we’d welcome putative submissions from literary translators interested in taking part and willing to recommend stories for inclusion in the anthology."

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By Nicky Harman, June 6, 1:52p.m.

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One Australian Publisher's China Book Wishlist

An Australian publisher just visited my web site, Chinese Books, English Reviews and very kindly took the time to tell me what s/he is hoping for in a potential China author/book:

1) Quality writing
2) Adds to one's knowledge of contemporary China in an interesting, challenging way
3) Would sell many copies
4) Author could be invited to Australia as a guest at writers' festivals
5) Global English rights available.

By Bruce Humes, June 1, 11:53p.m.

6 comments

BIBF Special Publisher Program

Foreign publishers considering attending the 2009 Beijing International Book Fair might want to know about the Special Publisher Program, aimed at publishers who want to attend the fair but are a little tight on funds. The application deadline for this program has been extended to the end of July, so if you're interested click here for more details and application instructions.

By Eric Abrahamsen, May 31, 5:29a.m.

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Don't Ever Be a Chinese Child.

There's a song that's been making its way around the Internet: Zhou Yunpeng's "Don't Ever Be a Chinese Child" (不要做中國人的孩子 by 周云蓬) - if the above link is blocked, try this. I've been working on a translation, but felt it was too depressing to post. Maybe it's time:

Don't Ever Be a Chinese Child

Don't be a child of Karamay
whose burns would scorch a mother's heart

Don't be a child of Salan Town
who finds no rest beneath dark waters

Don't be a child of Chengdu
who waits for mum's return
after her week-long binge

Chorus (children laughing)

Don't be a child of Henan
where AIDS cackles in the blood

Don't be a child of Shanxi
where mines turn dads
into baskets of coal

Chorus (laughter)

Don't be a child of Karamay
Don't be a child of Salan Town
Don't be a child of Chengdu
Don't be a child of Henan...

Don't ever be a Chinese child,
or the grown-ups will
eat you when they starve

At least in the wild,
mountain goats are fierce
enough to protect their kids

Don't ever be a Chinese child,
because mommy and
daddy are cowards

When the theatre caught fire,
they steeled their hearts
and let the cadres exit first.

不要做中國人的孩子
周云蓬

不要做克拉瑪依的孩子
火燒痛皮膚讓親娘心焦
不要做沙蘭鎮的孩子
水底下漆黑他睡不著
不要做成都人的孩子
吸毒的媽媽七天七夜不回家
不要做河南人的孩子
愛滋病在血液裡哈哈的笑
不要做山西人的孩子
爸爸變成了一筐煤
你別再想見到他
不要做中國人的孩子
餓極了他們會把你吃掉
還不如曠野中的老山羊
為保護小羊而目露兇光
不要做中國人的孩子
爸爸媽媽都是些怯懦的人
為證明他們的鐵石心腸
死到臨頭讓領導先走

Zhou Yunpeng is a blind folk musician - singer, songwriter and guitarist - now living in Beijing.

By Cindy M. Carter, May 29, 2:25p.m.

5 comments

University of East Anglia, UK, celebrates Chinese literature this summer

From Sunday 19 - Saturday 25 July 2009, the British Centre for literary Translation (BCLT) at the university holds its tenth annual International Literary Translation Summer School, which will for the first time offer an intensive workshop in translation from Chinese to English. This hands-on networking and training opportunity takes place at UEA from July 19-25 and will involve author Xinran (China Witness: Voices from a Silent Generation, Miss Chopsticks, The Good Women of China) and her translator Nicky Harman.

Also, as part of the Worlds Literary Festival, to be held at various venues in Norfolk from June 20-25, BCLT is also hosting author and filmmaker Zhu Wen (I Love Dollars, released by Penguin in 2008) and his translator Julia Lovell. The festival, entitled Worlds in Translation, is a celebration of international writing and includes various readings, workshops and panel discussions that will be open to the public.

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By Nicky Harman, May 27, 11:04a.m.

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Tibet's True Heart

In a comment to my post on May 4th & Chinese Literature in Translation, talking about disparities in how different genres of Chinese literature are represented in English, I wrote:

find me one English translation of a single-author collection of poems by a poet living in China.

I was thinking that someone might mention books by Taiwanese poets Shang Qin 商禽 or Hsia Yu 夏宇, both translated by Steven Bradbury (and published by Zephyr Press, a great small press with a large repertoire of translations from the Chinese). And I knew of other works in progress of mainland authors, still awaiting publication.

But I didn't expect that another answer would come from Tibet. This morning I opened my mailbox and found a package sent by A. E. Clark, with a book of his translations of Tibetan-Chinese poet Woeser, Tibet's True Heart, published by Ragged Banner Press.

Woeser writes in Chinese and now lives in Beijing, but her writing is infused with the complexities of her Tibetan cultural background. I haven't yet read Tibet's True Heart, but I look forward to reading Andrew Clark's English versions of her poems.

Sample poems and more recent writing of Woeser can be found on the Ragged Banner website.

By Lucas Klein, May 18, 10:33p.m.

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The Drawbridge: call for submissions

The Drawbridge welcomes submissions, translated from Chinese, for its upcoming issues, Silence and First Love.

The Drawbridge is an independent literary and cultural quarterly based in London, with a worldwide outlook. You can get a sense of its scope at its website. Each issue casts a broad net around a specific theme. The Silence issue publishes in August, with a text deadline of 26 June. The deadline for FirstLove (November) is 11 September. Short fiction and non-fiction equally welcome. Target length 1,200-2,000 words.

The Drawbridge is unable to offer a fee for contributions,but any published work reaches up to 15,000 intellectually curious and internationally aware readers, including many UK and international publishers and agents.

Contact the commissioning editor, Mark Reynolds: mark@thedrawbridge.org.uk

By Nicky Harman, May 15, 9:49a.m.

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At the Hawkes'

St. Jerome may be the patron saint of all translators, but for those of us working in Chinese literature, David Hawkes is something like a living buddha. His work on the first 80 chapters of The Story of the Stone would be enough, but there's also Songs of the South (translations of Qu Yuan and other 楚辞), and A Little Primer of Tu Fu, an authoritative introduction to the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu.

Hawkes, now long retired, lives in Oxford, and when we were in London recently, we made a special trip up to the original college town (absolutely beautiful) to pay him a visit. He and his wife graciously received us, and fed us, and we had two short hours to talk about China and Chinese literature. We exchanged reminiscences about Beijing – apparently we have lived in spots only a few blocks apart – which I later had to re-evaluate when I realized that the last time he was in Beijing it still had its city walls, and he arrived there by steamship.

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By Eric Abrahamsen, May 11, 4:32a.m.

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Forbidden Zones in Translation

The following is a translation of this article from Caijing magazine, entitled 译书有禁区 (Book Translation's 'Forbidden Area' in China).

Here's a comment left by a netizen on this writer's blog post, 'Huiyuan is a Foreign Enterprise':

"Is there a Chinese language version of Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics? Can you buy it on the Mainland?"

My blog post described a few ideas from a new book by Professor Huang Yasheng, at MIT's Sloan School of Management (Yasheng Huang, Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State, Cambridge University Press, 2008).

Professor Huang is an overseas-Chinese scholar, and his book is written in English. But I must agree with the commenter's point: there's little chance that a Chinese translation of the book could be published.

In fact, very few books published abroad by overseas-Chinese scholars are translated into Chinese, particularly when the books are written on the subject of China. Some scholarly works are translated into Chinese, but with some of the contents altered. Of course, works by non overseas-Chinese also meet with the same treatment.

I'll give a few other examples of which I'm aware:

In 2005, Hu Danian, professor of history at the City University of New York, published China and Albert Einstein through the Harvard University Press (China and Albert Einstein: The Reception of the Physicist and His Theory in China, 1917-1979, Harvard University Press, 2005). One year later, Professor Hu translated his own book into Chinese as 爱因斯坦在中国 (1917-1979), adding quite a bit of newly-discovered historical material, and it was published by the Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House, part of the Shanghai Century Publishing Group.

The part of the book describing criticisms of Einstein and his theories during the Cultural Revolution was deleted, and the names of several famous people, including famous scientists, were removed. Interested readers can compare the published versions with some chapters available online:

http://www.tecn.cn/data/18249.html

The Chinese Century: The Rising Chinese Economy and Its Impact on the Global Economy, the Balance of Power, and Your Job (Wharton School Publishing, 2004), by Professor Oded Shenkar, Ohio State University's School of Business, was published in Chinese in 2005 by the People's University Press. But the chapters on intellectual property rights were deleted altogether, because the translator did not agree with the writer's point of view.

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By Eric Abrahamsen, May 11, 3:03a.m.

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May 4th & Chinese Literature in Translation

To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, the South China Morning Post runs an article investigating

Left on the Shelf: Ninety years after the May 4 movement spawned a host of Chinese literary giants, Ben Blanchard examines why mainland writers remain largely unread internationally

As a tribute to the May Fourth Movement goes, it's no last-year's Sunday New York Times Book Review, featuring four new translations of Chinese literature, but then again, May Fourth doesn't fall on a Sunday this year.

What the South China Morning Post article does raise, implicitly at least, is the question of World Literature and its relationship to Chinese literature.

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By Lucas Klein, May 4, 5:04p.m.

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