Our News, Your News
By Canaan Morse, April 16, '12
Had anyone doubted whether or not China would actually come to the Fair, he may rest assured. The Chinese delegation hosted a Market Focus Reception at the Mandarin Oriental last night, branded with their hallmark of unbelievable expenditure, and the British came along for the ride. Polituburo Standing Committee member Li Changchun gave the opening speech and Prince Andrew followed right after him. Substantial speeches by Mr. Wu something-or-other, the chief of GAPP, and Tie Ning, Party Secretary for the China Writers Association.
Chandelier light glossed the black silk shoulders of the security personnel in a ballroom crowded like a Beijing train platform. Amid the heavy odor of warm Chanel, the China Market Focus at the London Book Fair was rung in with forty minutes of rhetoric about the earth-shattering importance of literature by people who have never written a poem in their lives. (the exception being Tie Ning, for whom the transformation is even more remarkable.) Inspiring, truly. Meanwhile, the reading of excerpts from work by three of the Chinese authors, scheduled for the second half of the ceremony, was canceled due to time concerns.
By Helen Wang, April 15, '12
A few weeks ago I took on a challenge – to post something on Paper Republic every day until the London Book Fair (see more here). The LBF starts tomorrow, so my challenge is now over! I’ve learnt a lot in the process. If you’re interested, read on…
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The British Council brings more shame on us - All authors are welcome to the London Book Fair… as long as they don't upset the Chinese
Article by Nick Cohen, The Observer, 15 April 2012
By Helen Wang, April 15, '12
http://harvard.academia.edu/DavidYao/Blog
From David Yao's blog, 7 November 2011:
Dr. Bethune’s Children by Xue Yiwei
Dr. Bethune’s Children was described as a masterpiece that “would go down into history” by Shouhuo and Huacheng, two top Chinese literary magazines....
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By Helen Wang, April 15, '12
http://www.bl.uk/whatson/events/event127226.html
Shi Cheng: City Stories from China - The official launch at the London Book Fair 2012
Featuring Han Dong, Xu Zechen, Julia Lovell and Nicky Harman
Wednesday 18th April, 6.30pm - 8pm
Conference Centre, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB
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ORGANISING a literary fair with China as the guest of honour is a risky business. The annual London Book Fair, which begins on April 16th and which this year will focus on China, has—like its counterpart in Frankfurt in 2009—fallen foul of criticism that it caved into pressure from the Chinese government to shun dissident authors.
Is the London Book Fair supporting Chinese censorship?
Should a state that bans and censors books and imprisons writers be guest of honour at the 2012 London Book Fair? Richard Lea talks to organisers, writers and activists on both sides of the story
Article by Richard Lea, in the Guardian, 13 April 2012
China and the importance of cultural engagement - Thirty years ago, it was plausible to argue that all critical writers were exiled, silenced or in jail, but that is no longer the case
Article by Isabel Hilton, in the Guardian, 13 April 2012
By Helen Wang, April 14, '12
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/14/dragonworld-zhang-xinxin-story-china
The 5th (and last) of the 5 short stories published by The Guardian this week.
Dragonworld by Zhang Xinxin, translated by Helen Wang
Zhang Xinxin – accompanied by her teenage alter-ego Zhaishao – investigates the source of an invasion in Dragonworld, translated by Helen Wang
With podcast of the author reading this story in Chinese
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By Susanna Rustin, guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 April 2012
Yiyun Li: 'When I grew up, privacy as a concept was not present in China. I was a sensitive child and I reacted strongly to the lack of psychological space'
09:00 16 Apr 2012, BBC Radio 4, Start the Week
Andrew Marr talks about China with Jonathan Fenby, Martin Jacques, Ou Ning, Julia Lovell.
By Helen Wang, April 13, '12
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/13/curse-a-yi-story-china
The 4th of the 5 stories published by The Guardian this week.
The Curse by A Yi, translated by Julia Lovell. The loss of a chicken brings simmering village tensions to the boil in this story from A Yi, translated by Julia Lovell
By Helen Wang, April 13, '12
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2012 - current news items
The Guardian, 12 April 2012: Independent foreign fiction prize shortlist announced - Chinese novel about Aids scandal up against Umberto Eco for £10,000 prize
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/12/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-2012-shortlist?newsfeed=true
The Independent, 13 April 2012: 'Independent' Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist: A whole world in their words
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-shortlist-a-whole-world-in-their-words-7640234.html
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Cultural evolution: adventures in Chinese literature
A novice when it comes to Chinese writing, Lindesay Irvine embarks on a journey into a strange new world
Lindesay Irvine, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 April 2012
Boyd Tonkin: Fill the book fair's empty chairs (The Independent, 13 April 2012)
Notes on the Mosquito: Selected Poems of Xi Chuan 西川, translated by Lucas Klein, is now available from New Directions.
Shi Cheng: City Stories from China - the official Manchester launch, Thursday 19 April (7pm), The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street, M1 5BY -- Featuring Han Dong and Nicky Harman
The first Chinese books in London: the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, Wednesday 25 April 2012 (1pm-2pm), Kanaris Theatre, The Manchester Museum -- With Dr Frances Wood, Curator of Chinese Collections at the British Library
By Helen Wang, April 12, '12
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/12/galloping-horses-xu-zechen-short-story
The 3rd of the 5 stories published by The Guardian this week.
Galloping Horses by Xu Zechen, translated by Helen Wang.
Soybean dreams of riding one of the horses which gallop along the road in front of the melon shack in this story by Xu Zechen...
Italian Umberto Eco is among the writers nominated for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (IFFP).
Dream of Ding Village by China's Yan Lianke is about a community in China devastated by an Aids epidemic through contaminated blood and was banned by the Chinese authorities.
"Eighty-four books were translated from Chinese [into French] in 2011, and Arabic language books saw a 30% hike last year. Korean, however, is the language that has seen the biggest drop in translation, down 16% in the past five years."
By Helen Wang, April 11, '12
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/apr/11/china-epublishing-revolution-freedom?intcmp=239
China's e-publishing revolution puts writers on a fast track to freedom article by Nicky Harman.
A new phenomenon in China – fiction published exclusively online – is giving young writers the opportunity to get their work read quickly and free from censorship
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Accused of Using Ghostwriters, Han Han Offers 20m Yuan for Evidence, by Edward Nawotka, Publishing Perspectives, 9 April 2012
From Danwei: ' It’s been an exciting two weeks on China’s microblog scene. Megablogger, rally racer, and novelist Han Han has been defending himself against science writer Fang Zhouzi’s charges that he didn’t write some of his most famous work...'
By Roger Tagholm, Publishing Perspectives, 10 April 2012
“I write as freely as I want, but I give my publishers the freedom to cut anything they want. I’ve made my deal with the world.”
By Helen Wang, April 11, '12
CMR Special Issue: Key Concepts in Understanding the Chinese
(posted by "gchen" gchen@etal.uri.edu on H-ASIA@H-NET.MSU.EDU)
Special Issue: Key Concepts in Understanding the Chinese
China Media Research, Volume 7, Number 4, 2011
http://www.chinamediaresearch.net/
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