The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast

It was after dusk.Lanterns illuminated the restaurant.The lantern light shone on the faces of Fang Kuan and the others, which dripped with sweat. Cold sweat.In the thirty fourth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at 7 Killers (七殺手 / Qī Shāshǒu), by Wuxia renegade Gu Long. Our guest is one of the top translators of Wuxia webnovels, Deathblade.7 Killers is classic Gu Long, and an early entry in Deathblade's career as a translator. We use it as a jump-off point to talk about Chinese web fiction, similarities between Wuxia and other genres, and the hyperpowered characters of xianxia web fiction.-// NEWS ITEMS //The TrChFic Sci-fi Season webpagePaper Republic's new Yan Ge Sunday Sentence 一周一句Tencent web fiction copyright contract drama-// WORD OF THE DAY //(酒 / Jiǔ / Alcohol)-// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //The SPC forumsThe Decay of the Western into the Spaghetti WesternJourney to the West's Influence on Dragon Ball ZMonkey IslandDeathblade's Wuxia books listThe Witcher novels -// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

'We Han Chinese outnumber the Jurchen by more than a hundred to one. If the Imperial Court decided to employ honest and loyal men, our great Empire would prevail. With one hundred of our men against one of their worthless soldiers, how could the Jin army win?'In the thirty third episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传 / Shèdiāo Yīngxióng Chuán), the magnum opus of Wuxia grandmaster Jin Yong. Our guest is one of the translators working to bring it into English, Gigi Chang.Condor Heroes is a huge entry in Chinese literature (both highbrow and lowbrow), and pop culture in general. In this first episode of the podcast's Wuxia season, I begin to get to grips with this absolute behemoth of genre fiction.- // NEWS ITEMS //Paper Republic's Sunday Sentence 一周一句Deng Anqing's Forty Days-// WORD OF THE DAY //(忠肝义胆 / Zhōng Gān Yì Dǎn / Loyal liver, righteous guts)-// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //Mobikes'Qi Blasts' in Street FighterPresident Deng Xiaoping as Wuxia nerdThe Assassin, dir. by Hou Hsiao HsienPaper Swordsmen: Jin Yong and the Modern Chinese Martial Arts NovelJG Ballard’s Miracles of Life, Yao Xueyin’s Li Zicheng 姚雪垠 李自成, Ma Ka-fai’s new book 马家辉 鸳鸯六七四 -// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"A true map cannot simply mark out the landmarks, and the most popular tourist sites, it must be able to guide readers through the city’s lesser-known corners, its dimly-lit nooks and rarely-frequented crannies"In the thirty second episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at The Book of Shanghai, a short story collection from Comma Press. Our guest is Karen Wang of the Manchester Confucius Institute-// NEWS ITEMS //Tiananmen: Lives of the Poets by Gregory Lee'The Revolutionary' Nicholas Haggerty on Lu XunChina's First Pornhub Translator -// WORD OF THE DAY //(捉 / Zhuō / Grasping)-// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //1980s ShanghaiHaipai LiteratureTrash management reformsSuzhou He, the movieEddie Huang goes to Shanghai-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Autumn Grace jumped up from the ground, kicked off her high heels and dashed away, one hand holding up the hem of her gown"In the thirty first episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Su Tong's Petulia's Rouge Tin (红粉 / Hóngfěn) Our guest is Anya Goncharova of the Peony Literary Agency -Su Tong on Paper RepublicPenguin China on Twitter-// NEWS ITEMS //A Summer Beyond Your ReachPenguin China Zhejiang SeriesBarbarians at the Gate x China History PodcastA Yi x DLK: A Match Held to the Flame-// WORD OF THE DAY //(亲 / Qīn / Dear)-// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //Ching Shih, invincible pirateA Billion Voices: China's Search for a Common LanguageThe Eighth Life-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Assuming my memory hasn't been obstructed, then something must be interfering with time"In the thirtieth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Ge Fei's Flock of Brown Birds (褐色鸟群 / Hésè Niǎoqún). Our guest is Eric Abrahamsen, one of the founding members of Paper Republic-Ge Fei on Paper RepublicTranslator Poppy Toland on Paper Republic-// NEWS ITEMS //Chen Qiufan's Sixth Tone articlePaper Republic 'have-a-go-at-translation' initiative- // WORDS OF THE DAY //(记忆 / Jìyì / memory)(叙事者 / Xùshìzhě / narrator)-// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //The Invisibility CloakMr Robot, nonrecognition sceneWeird Studies podcastPenguin Specials-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Memory comes from forgetting"In the twenty ninth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Song Aman's Gongsun's Dreams (公孙画梦 / Gōngsūn Huàmèng). Our guest is Michelle Deeter, returning for her second appearance on the show! This story is not yet published in English. The Chinese version features in Song Aman's collection Inland Romance, published in Chinese by Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing.-Michelle Deeter's homepageSong Aman on Paper Republic-// NEWS ITEMS //Fang Fang's Wuhan Diary // coverage by The GuardianRIP Rao Pingru-// WORDS OF THE DAY //(魔方 / mófāng / rubik's cube)(利薄多销 / lìbóduōxiāo / small profits, numerous sales)-// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //Song Aman's 49 DegreesYour NameONE 一个the Allusionist podcast-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Dalliances wi ither worlds..."In the twenty eighth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Yang Lian's Narrative Poem (叙事诗 / Xùshìshī). Our guest is Brian Holton, the premier translator of Chinese-to-Scots!-Publishers: EN - Bloodaxe Books // CN - Huaxia Publishing HouseYang Lian's homepage // Brian Holton on Paper Republic-// NEWS ITEMS //Chen Quifan on the BBC World ServiceYan Geling on Wuhan lockdownFang Fang on Wuhan LockdownWuxia World-// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //Yang Lian’s Exilic Poetry: World Poetry, Ghost Poetics, and Self-dramatizationlofi Yang Lian to relax/study toSamye Ling-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"As the boy's thoughts wandered, the purple and green leaves turned into autumn well water, and then the jute became water, while sparrows skimming the tips of the jute plants were transformed into green kingfishers snapping up tiny shrimp from the water's surface."In the twenty seventh episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Mo Yan's Radish (透明的红萝卜 / Tòumíngde Hóngluóbo). Our guest is Lehyla Heward-Publishers: EN - Penguin China // CN - Chinese Writers Magazine AuthorMo Yan on Paper RepublicHoward Goldblatt on Paper Republic-// NEWS ITEMS & UPCOMING BOOKS //Floral Mutter // + a ReviewSinopticonTo Hold Up the SkyLarry Siems and Jeffrey Yang's criticism of Mo YanA Mi Manera: Howard Goldblatt at Home: A Self-InterviewChildren's perception of the worldThe man running beside the cara little on the Weird-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"A person from one civilisation looks at their surroundings as distinct objects and events and considers them separately. But when a person from another civilisation looks in as an outsider, they prefer to view everything through the lens of political power and try to explain everything based on that perspective."In the twenty sixth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Hao Jingfang's Vagabonds (流浪玛厄斯 / Liúlàng Mǎèsī)It would be tempting to say that Vagabonds is a Chinese science fiction rewrite of Ursula K le Guin’s The Dispossessed. My guest Ken Liu would be the first to stress that while there’s some truth to this, readers would be much better off treating the book as thing unto itself. He’s right- this is a book with no shortage of ideas or interpretations. Storywise, here’s what you need to know: it’s a red socialist planet ‘versus’ a green and blue corpocracy. Sit down, get comfy, and pick a side. Or don’t. Not picking a side may be the point.- // NEWS ITEMS //THE HIDDEN GIRL by Ken LiuSECOND SISTER by Chan Ho KeiMINECRAFT THREE BODY PROBLEM!!! Hao Jingfang & Ken Liu's Hugo acceptance speechesNeoplatonismCamus on rebellionInequality in UK politics'Minzhu' in Chinese politics -// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Don't ask from where I have come. My home is far, far away."In the twenty fifth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Sanmao's Stories of the Sahara (撒哈拉的故事 / Sǎhālāde Gùshì)Sanmao AKA Echo Chan is a literary hero in China and Taiwan, but only recently has some of that fame begun to spill over into the rest of the world. She’s probably most famous for the time she spent in the Sahara, writing in a lucid, arresting, and playful style about her life there. Sanmao passed away in the 90s but she’s very much alive on the page, as her translator Mike Fu and I discuss.-// Discussed on the Show //That We May LiveThe Olive TreeRed DustJG Ballard's internment camp-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD