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Interview with the translators of Wang Gang's “English" (王刚写的 《英格力士》)
The Transparent China Translator (II)
By Bruce Humes (徐穆实)
“Among the Emperor Qianlong’s trophies from his conquest of Xinjiang was a girl called Iparhan. She was a beautiful Kashgari whose body was said to give off an intoxicating scent without any help from ointments…the abduction of Iparhan became for the Chinese a symbol of the annexation of the western lands which they had twice before conquered—under the Han and Tang dynasties—but never really controlled.”
(“Wild West China”) (1)
Much has ensued since the 18th century Qing emperor snatched this enchantress from Kashgar, located near today’s Kyrgyzstan, and transplanted the "Fragrant Concubine" (香妃) to his far-flung harem in Beijing.
The ethnic make-up of Xinjiang, for instance. Once home to an overwhelmingly Muslim, Turkic-speaking population—94 percent of the residents when the PRC was founded in 1949—the “Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region” has been mightily diluted by Han Chinese who, by 2007, reportedly accounted for four of ten inhabitants.(2)
But the legendary fascination of Chinese for Things Xinjiang—the music and dancing of the Uyghurs, the cuisine and particularly the women—endures. In its own unique way, the upcoming publication of “English,” a novel by Wang Gang, a Han who grew up in Xinjiang during the Cultural Revolution, brings those fantasies firmly into our era, and embellishes them a bit.
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By Bruce Humes (徐穆实), January 2, 8p.m.
The One Way Street Bookstore is putting on a talk with A Cheng this weekend at its Wanda Plaza location. A Cheng is renowned as a free spirit and a bit of a contrarian; I've run into him a few times, though, and he's usually just seemed crotchety and confused. Still, he's a Personality, and the event ought to be interesting.
Update: The Bi-Cultural Freak went to this event, and wrote a bit about it, plus pictures. We hereby steal one of her pictures, though stealing with permission takes most of the fun out, doesn't it.
Her write-up is in Chinese, but here's a translation (of her transcription) of A Cheng's ramblings:
Art arises from witchcraft. It has no religious faith; it's good at dispelling all that. It dispells stress. Errenzhuan [a kind of two-person song and storytelling routine from northeastern China] is a kind of witchcraft. In ancient times witchcraft was a primary form of performance. There were all types and kinds. Many artists suffer now. It used to be that if you were a painter you just painted… Now it's about politics, publication… You work all day, then struggle all night. Errenzhuan: it's a soporific; the northeast; jumping rope. One person says: I'll make your Granny appear, the other: okay, no problem.
And it really sounds like his grandmother's voice. All the bystanders get involved. I worked in a labor team in the northeast when I was young, it snowed starting in September, so what could you do but listen to errenzhuan? Errenzhuan's got these robes, and they squat and waddle around – that's all witchcraft. And it makes you laugh out loud, it can make you laugh at anything, like that Zhao Benshan [a comedy actor from the northeast] – it's a soporific. Art. It has a hold on everything, on every craft.
[The Chinese word for art, 艺术, is made up of two characters which roughly mean "art" and "craft". 术 by itself, however, is closer to "magic", here "witchcraft".]
As I said: a little crotchety, a little confused.
PS: Can someone weigh in authoritatively on the A Cheng vs Ah Cheng vs Ah-Cheng issue? My fingers type something different every time.
By Eric Abrahamsen, January 2, 7:20p.m.
Two big grant deadlines are coming up:
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The NEA Literature Fellowship Translation Project grant is due January 9 (sorry, we should have said something earlier), and can net you either $12,500 or $25,000, so get online and apply!
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The American PEN deadline is January 16, and you can also apply online.
Go forth and get funded!
By Eric Abrahamsen, January 2, 9:55a.m.
Han Han on Potemkin-Village-style reporting
Han Han re-posted a anonymous netizen’s post which compiled seven news items from different official media and government websites, within the period of three months, all about one “representative” farmer, Zheng Jichao (郑继超), in a flood disaster zone, as he gave media interviews or was visited by government officials, including China’s President Hu Jintao. This farmer apparently became a staged showcase for all levels of official visits for the state’s propaganda purposes. In his typical witty and sarcastic style, Han Han gives as the title of his post: “The Zheng Jichao Film and Television Studio,” implying that farmer Zheng Jichao is a film star.
Want insight into how to sell those translations of yours? Attend "Connections through Culture: China-UK Forum on Marketing Literature in Translation" in Shanghai Jan 12-14.
Speakers/topics: Random House's Roger Brachell, on how to market lit to UK publishers, with a look at case studies such as Haruki Murakami's work; Jo Lusby, revealing how Wolf Totem was handled by Penguin; and Yi Xiao-Qiang, a spokesperson for China Youth Publishing Group, explaining how it markets itself in the UK.
Representatives from People's Literature Publishing House, Yilin Publishing House and China Book Publishing Report -- and several other publishers -- will also be there.
For info on how to register (no charge to attend, as I understand it), contact Li Ji-Hong, China Literary Consultant (and translator of "The Kite Runner" into Chinese): lijihong@hotmail.com
By Bruce Humes (徐穆实), December 24, 2:40a.m.
This morning was the press conference for the Dangdai literary magazine's fifth annual best novel award. Dangdai, which is run by the People's Literature Publishing House, is trying to turn this prize into a bit of a challenge to the hegemony of the bigger prizes administered by the Writers Association: the editor of Dangdai, Yang Xinlan, specifically touted this prize as the non-governmental answer to the Mao Dun prize.
Every literary prize and its brother is touting "transparency" and "fairness" these days, but the Dangdai prize might get a little closer to that goal than most: there is no cash for the winner, reducing some of the incentive for backdoor dealing, and to hear Yang talk, the judges were left unmolested during the nomination process. She even described them as being slightly taken aback when the magazine had no "directives" or even gentle hints as to which direction they should cast their votes — if this is true, it speaks as well for the Dangdai prize as it does poorly for the other prizes.
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By Eric Abrahamsen, December 24, 2:28a.m.
According to Yu Hua, a professor of Chinese once ran his book 许三观卖血记 (translated as Chronicle of a Blood Merchant) through the data cruncher, and calculated the number of different characters Yu Hua had used in writing the book. The grand total was 486. Is that even possible?
Update: I asked Yu Hua for more details, he went digging, and it turns out this was quite wrong. The actual numbers are 1,909 characters for Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, and 1,907 characters in To Live. Far more than 486 characters; still far, far less than you'd expect for two of the more influential novels of the past couple decades.
By Eric Abrahamsen, December 22, 7:01p.m.
You readers and lovers of Chinese novels, may we ask your assistance? We're putting together a few lists of books which have not yet been translated into English, but ought to be: from the inexplicably passed-over classics of modern Chinese literature to last year's sleeper hit. What gold has yet to be claimed, either deep-buried, or lying on the sidewalk where anyone could pick it up? We're also counting books that have been translated, but translated poorly, so yes – Fortress Besieged counts.
If you're a translator sitting on the book proposal that's going to make your career, we can sympathize if you keep mum, but we hope the rest of you will cut loose.
I'll start: Jia Pingwa's 废都 (Abandoned Capital). Why the hell is this not in English yet?
By Eric Abrahamsen, December 11, 3:48p.m.
The Chinalyst Best China Blogs contest is open (actually, it's been open for a while) and PR is now in the running! We got a late start, but I'm absolutely confident that with a little publicity we can pull into at least second or third in our category (General).
Here's the link to our category. Go vote!
By Canaan Morse, December 4, 2:43p.m.
Yan Lianke’s latest novel – a satirical take on the less-than-honourable behaviour of Beida and Tsinghua University professors – aroused a storm of protest from some of them. So I was looking forward to this week’s post-graduate seminar in the Beida Chinese Department, where Elegy and Academe was due to be discussed.
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By Nicky Harman, December 4, 5:02a.m.
China's Richest Authors (redux)
Most of the YA authors who occupy high rankings on the list have launched their own branded magazines. Guo Jingming edits Top Novel, Sharon edits M-Girl, Girlneya (6) edits a self-titled magazine, and Ming Xiaoxi (11) is attached to Princess. Some observers suggested that Guo landed at the top of the list last year because of revenue from Top Novel and the I5land book series.
Feng Tang is talking at the One Way Street Bookstore this Sunday (Dec 7) from 3pm to 5pm, details here.
By Eric Abrahamsen, December 1, 7:31a.m.
I think there were some books there, but it was pretty hard to tell.
By Eric Abrahamsen, November 30, 6:38a.m.
The newest edition of the Frankfurt Book Fair newsletter is out (via Three Percent), and includes an interview with Jing Bartz, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair's Beijing Book Information Centre. The most eye-catching of the topics discussed was this:
The minister from the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) approved the first list of translation funding shortly before the Frankfurt Book Fair. The amounts range from 2,000 to 7,000 euros per title.
Before anyone gets excited, the deadline for applying for GAPP funding was November 15, and funds were only applicable to books going into German. The interview touches on several other topics of interest (including the privatization of China's publishing houses) so do take a look…
By Eric Abrahamsen, November 27, 10:12a.m.
JoSTrans, The Journal of Specialised Translation, will publish a special issue on translation and Chinese issues in 2010. While the blurb says it focusses on non-literary translation, past issues have ranged very broadly, and no doubt this one will too, given the special nature of Chinese to English translation. I'm always struck by the thoughtful and inspiring (sometimes amusing!) discussions on translation issues on Paper Republic. So if some of you contributors feel inspired to turn your thoughts into an article, click more below, for information.
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By Nicky Harman, November 27, 1:33a.m.
Ever since Eric posted "Words" and the dark forest came alive, I've been going through the essays and chapters I have already translated from 何其芳 and 老舍 looking for striking or frustrating passages to put up on PR and let everyone have a go at. The last time I posted work I made the mistake of putting up just a piece of translated copy without the Chinese original, which handicapped all possibility of criticism and, thereby, interest. Well, that was a lesson in itself, though I want to test 大家's patience one more time by putting up another complete piece. It's brief, briefer than the previous one, I promise, and it's a chance to get at some very interesting language－some of which, incidentally, can't be found online or in print, since this is copied straight out of the unabridged 1937 original edition of 画梦录. Even the punctuation matches.
《雨前》 何其芳 著
最后的鸽群带着低弱的笛声在微风里划一个圈子后，也消失了。许是误认这灰暗的凄冷的天空为夜色的来袭，或是也预感到风雨的将至，遂过早的飞回它们温暖的木舍。
几天阳光在柳条上撒下的一抹嫩绿，被尘土埋掩得有憔悴色了，是需要一次洗涤。还有干裂的大地和树根也早已期待着雨。雨却迟疑着。
我怀想着故乡的雷声和雨声。那隆隆的有力的搏击，从山谷返响到山谷，仿佛春之芽就从冻土里震动，惊醒，而怒茁出来。细草样柔的雨声又以膏脂和温存之手抚摩它， 使它簇生油绿的枝叶而开出红色的花。这些怀想如乡愁一样萦绕得使我忧郁了。我心里的气候也和这北方大陆一样缺少雨量，一滴温柔的泪在我枯涩的眼里，如迟疑 在这阴沉的天空里的雨点，久不落下。
白色的鸭也似有一点躁烦了，有不洁色的都市的河沟里传出它们焦急的叫声。有的还未厌倦那船一样的徐徐地划行，有的却倒插它们的长颈在水里，红色的蹼趾伸在尾巴后，不停地扑击着水以支持身体的平衡。不知是在寻找沟底的细微食物，抑是贪那深深的水里的寒冷。
有几个已上岸了。在柳树下来回地作绅士的散步，舒息划行的疲劳。然后参差地站着，用嘴细细地抚理它们遍体白色的羽毛，间或又摇动身子或扑展着阔翅，使那 缀在羽毛间的水珠坠落。一个已修饰完毕的，弯曲它的颈到背上，长长的红嘴藏没在翅膀里，静静合上它白色的茸毛间的小黑睛，仿佛准备睡眠。可怜的小动物，你 就是这样做你的梦吗？
我想起故乡放雏鸭的人了。一大群鹅黄色的雏鸭游牧在溪流间，清浅的水，两岸青青的草，一根长长的竿在牧人的手里。他的 小队伍是多么欢欣地发出啾啁声，又多么驯服地随着他的竿头越过一个田野又一个山坡。夜来了，帐幕似的竹篷撑在地上，就是他的家。但这是怎样辽远的想象啊。 在这多尘土的国度里，我仅只希望听见一点树叶上的雨声。一点雨声的幽凉滴到我憔悴的梦，也许会长成一树圆的绿阴来覆荫我自己。
我仰起头。天 空低垂如灰色的雾幕，落下一些寒冷的霏屑到我脸上。一只远来的鹰隼仿佛带着怒愤，对这沉重的天色的怒愤，平张的双翅不动地从天空斜插下，几乎触到河沟对岸 的土阜，而又鼓扑着双翅，作出猛烈的声响腾上了。那样巨大的翅使我惊异，我看见了它两肋间斑白的羽毛。接着听见了它有力的鸣声，如同一个巨大的心的呼号， 或是在黑暗里寻找伴侣的叫唤。
然而雨还是没有来。
一九三三年春天，北京
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By Canaan Morse, November 25, 7:27p.m.
New Comments
on Growing up Han in a Fictional Xinjiang
This is a question for the translators, as well as anyone else with insight:
Why did you call the book 'English' as opposed to something like 'Yinglish?' I asked Wang Gang, as well as someone from Penguin, and they both ...
posted by Isaac Stone Fish
In an interview 2005 with sina.com, Wang Gong was asked why he titled his book YING GE LI SHI. He answered:
I initially called the novel ENGLISH and hadn't thought of transliterating it as YING GE LI SHI ...
posted by Jane Weizhen Pan
Yes, but the idea of calling the book 'English' in English for a Chinese audience would be similar to you calling it 英语 for an American audience, no?
posted by Isaac Stone Fish
"Foreignizing foreigness" in a translation is always difficult. Using the word "English" for the Chinese version may bring a certain "foreigness" to Chinese readers. Calling the English version "English" to a certain extent loses the "foreigness" which 英语 might have ...
posted by Jane weizhen Pan
I wonder how the American publisher and the publicist would react to the book title ... how do you market a book titled "中文" in China? it really doesn't mean anything... I think we could learn something from the way ...
posted by lmguan
i've not read the book but now i fully intend to get my hands on a copy.
i don't have much to add to the comments as they are, but i will say this was an excellent interview ...
posted by Kellen