The Meaning of Life

The rocking of the boat created the illusion that all the lights were moving

In the sixty sixth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast we are adrift in Hong Kong Nights (香港之夜 / Xiāng Gǎng Zhīyè), as fleetingly recollected by Sichuan’s long-surviving left-anarchist writer, Ba Jin. Joining me in the constellations is fellow Sino-lit podcaster Luo Tianqi – here to talk about revolution, regret, and responsibility. Grab a seat on deck, comrade, brush up on your Bakunin, and let go of your transient identity as sights become sounds, and sounds become sights.

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// NEWS ITEMS //

• Lu Xun’s The True Story of Ah Q to broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on January 26

• The Sons of Red Lake and Chinese Elemental Philosophy - Sinoist Books’ blog

• The Way Spring Arrives gets a beautiful Chinese edition

• A dialogue between past and future show guests Mike Fu and Jenna Tang

• KakaoEntertainment buys Wuxiaworld - plus thoughts from the translators

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// WORD OF THE DAY //

(家 - jiā - home/family)

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// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //

• Tianqi’s podcast

• Various translated Ba Jin essays available on Anarchy Archives

• Dissenting from Ba Jin by Geremie Barmé // Available on DOUBAN and GDOCS

• Family by Ba Jin (trans by Sidney Shapiro)