The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast

"There’s an old saying: the earth is like a vomiting carcass." In the fourteenth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Jiang Zilong's Empires of Dust (农民帝国/nóngmín dìguó) This is an epic of ‘reform literature’ published by Sinoist Books, charting the rise and fall of Guo Cunxian, a ‘rugged individual’ of sorts who lives through the revolution, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and Reform and Opening. What is ‘reform literature’ you ask? Listen and find out, comrade! Our guest is one of the book's two translators, Christopher Payne. His co-translator was Olivia Milburn. - // Discussed in this Episode // South China Morning Post review China Channel Dylan Levi King article - // Handy TrChFic Links // Buy Me a Coffee Bonus Shows on Patreon  The TrChFic Map INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE

"A weill-kent scholar at the court o King Shenzong o the umqhile Hous o Song, he wis vext at the Five Dynasties, yon hinner-en o the Tang times whan there wis naethin but weir an brulyie: in thae days whit wis Jin’s i the mornin wad be Liang’s bi nicht, an richtlie wis it said: Zhu, Li, Shi, Liu, Guo; Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, Zhou: Fifteen kings thegither Skailt fiftie year o stushie!"In the thirteenth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at The Mossflow, Brian Holton's Scots translation of Water Margin (水滸傳 / shuǐhǔ zhuàn)Also, please have a giggle at this angry, weirdly homophobic Global Times Article-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"An idyllic island in the midst of boiling oceans. Hot enough to cook a hotpot. One maverick entrepreneur sees a development opportunity and begins to devise the most absurd schemes for environmental protection."In the twelfth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Chen Si'an's Ocean Hotpot (海洋火锅 / hǎiyáng huǒguō)This one was translated by Jeremy Tiang and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with Chen Si’an in attendance. I was lucky enough to ask Si'an a question, the answer to which you’ll hear in this episode!Smog brick article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/01/chinese-vacuum-cleaner-artist-turning-beijings-smog-into-bricks-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Fire spreads and rages underground, and once the lava’s broken through it will burn up all the weeds, along with the tall trees. Thereupon, therefore, nothing else will rot."In the eleventh episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Weeds (野草/yě cǎo) by Lu XunMatt Turner has brought new life to one of Lu Xun's more downbeat bodies of work. He and I talk about the whys and hows of this endeavour. Fire does indeed rage underground.-// Discussed in this Episode //Formerly published by Foreign Language Press as Wild Grass - translated by Glays Yang & Yang Xianyi Nick Admussen baihuawen article-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"I tried. I put everything into being an exceptional student. But those things are like water cast out in the desert, they evaporate quickly. Whenever I started something, I would picture its inevitable ending. An apple becomes pips in the trash."In the tenth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at A Yi's A Perfect Crime (猫和老鼠/māo hé lǎoshǔ)This is dark and existential novel translated by Anna Holmwood wastes neither word nor sentiment on the reader. Prepare for discomfort as we take on the perspective of an alienated highschooler who murders his classmate for no real reason, then goes on the run.-// Discussed in this Episode //INEQUALITY AND CRIME RATES IN CHINA by Tsun Se Cheong and Yanrui Wu-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Alive, her body belonged to him; dead, she was his ghost"In the ninhth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Lust, Caution (色，戒 / Sè, Jiè) by a certain someone called Eileen Chang. Heard of her?It’s a tale of forbidden love and political intrigue set at a precarious time and indeed a precarious place in Chinese history: the Japanese-occupied foreign concessions of WW2-era Shanghai.The translation I read is from the Penguin Pocket Classics Edition. Julia Lovell was the translator. Co-hosting with me on this episode is the amazing Claire Hao.- // Discussed this Episode //Except of the story available on the Pocket Penguins websiteJulia Lovell/Han Shaogong article- // Handy TrChFic Links //Buy Me a CoffeeBonus Shows on Patreon INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"Howard Goldblatt is Jay Z and Nicky Harman is Nas"In this episode I'm talking to Dylan Levi King, translator of Dong Xi's Record of Regret. We talk about Xuzhou's dog tacos, Chinese libraries, Ghost in the Shell...and of course Miss Sophie's Diary. Dylan also spoke about the world of Chinese to English translation, his love of Jia Pingwa, and his own growth as a translator.-// Discussed in this Episode //Dylan's TwitterHis Floating City articleEntering Qin, his Jia Pingwa article-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"I was so angry I wanted to weep, but I laughed aloud."In the seventh episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at: The Diary of Miss Sophie (莎菲女士的日记/Shāfēi Nǚshì de Rìjì)This is a very personal journey of 'Miss Sophie', an outspoken woman navigating all the questions modern life in early 20th century, May Fourth Movement era China is throwing at her. It's frigging fascinating.-// Discussed in this Episode //The translation I read is from the Beacon Press edition of I Myself am a Woman: Selected Writings of Ding Ling.In Quest of the Writer Ding Ling by Yi-Tsi Mei Feuerwerker-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

'It was in the desert that I found poetry.'In this episode we're talking to Dong Li, translator of The Wild Great Wall (野长城 // Yě Chángchéng) by the poet Zhu Zhu.Dong Li was born in the PRC and now resides in Germany. He's had fellowships and publications galore, and can speak Chinese, English, German, and French.-// Discussed in this Episode //Here's the three poets Dong Li recommends you check out:Lorine NiedeckerJeffrey YangC D Wright Dong Li's World Literature Today article www. Phoneme Media - @phoneme_media-// Handy TrChFic Links //Episode Transcripts // Help Support TrChFicINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD

"This moment countless men up the stairs. Upstairs, Chopin already in the dark. Downstairs, dying alone in a crowd."-In this episode we are looking at: The Wild Great Wall (野长城 // Yě Chángchéng)It's a brand new release. It's poetic, it's universal and cross-cultural, and yet it's also quite defiantly (I dare to say) Chinese. In a funny sort of way.-// Handy TrChFic Links //Buy Me a CoffeeBonus Shows on PatreonThe TrChFic MapINSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE