This week, Sinica is delighted to be joined by Linda Jaivin and Alice Liu for a discussion on Chinese literature in translation. As many listeners will know, Linda is a long-standing force in the Chinese literary community and the author of many China-related books including New Ghosts, Old Dreams, A Most Immoral Woman, and Confessions of an S & M Virgin. Alice is the brilliant managing editor of Pathlight Magazine and a long-standing supporter of the Chinese translation community in Beijing.

Enjoy Sinica? Just remember that if you have trouble listening to the show through our on-site player, you are always welcome to download this show as a standalone mp3 file. And if you'd like to subscribe to this and future shows using iTunes, you are welcome to hook up the software to our free public feed at http://popupchinese.com/feeds/custom/sinica. Inquiries and suggestions for future show topics or guests are also welcome by email at sinica@popupchinese.com.
 said on
October 27, 2013
Riveting podcast! Kudos to all!
 said on
October 28, 2013
Great podcast! What happened Jeremy's wife's recording? :(
 said on
October 29, 2013
Great show. Would it be possible to get a link to some of the works cited by Linda and Alice?
 said on
October 30, 2013
I've been checking daily but the standalone mp3 link keeps returning a 404 error.
 said on
October 30, 2013
@danbo_h,

Thanks for the heads up. I've just fixed the link -- if it happens again just ping right away and we'll try to get it fixed ASAP.

Best,

--david

 said on
October 30, 2013
Links at last!

Mentions

A Monument to What Might Have Been: Qian Zhongshu's "Fortress Besieged" by Brendan O'Kane for the LA Review of Books

http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/a-monument-to-what-might-have-been-qian-zhongshus-fortress-besieged

Monkeying Around with the Nobel Prize: Wu Chen'en's "Journey to the West" by Julia Lovell for the LA Review of Books

http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/monkeying-around-with-the-nobel-prize

Untidy Endings: On Lao She by Paul French for the LA Review of Books

http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/untidy-endings-paul-french-on-lao-she/

Favorite translations

Linda:

Outlaws of the Marsh, translated by Sidney Shapiro

http://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016628/

The Analects of Confucius, translated by Simon Leys

http://www.amazon.com/Analects-Confucius/dp/1420926373

The Story of the Stone, translated by David Hawkes and John Minford

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00CJDHVW6/ref=sr_1_1_acs_b_1

Alice:

Notes on the Mosquito: Selected Poems, by Chuan Xi, translated by Lucas Klein

http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Mosquito-Selected-Directions-Paperbook/dp/0811219879

Recommendations

Alice:

Read it in Chinese!

But also,

Pathlight: New Chinese Writing

http://paper-republic.org/pubs/pathlight/

Linda:

Hajab's Gift

http://www.ticket2010.com/movie/list.asp?id=4125

Civilizing China - China Yearbook 2013

(to be released)

Jeremy:

Wu Fei

(January performance in NYC at globalFEST, with the Wu Force)

http://www.globalfest-ny.com/
 said on
October 31, 2013
I liked the combativeness here and there in this podcast. Have to say, though, that the show left me feeling just a little ambivalent about contemporary Chinese fiction: Lacking adequate gestation and good editors, and best viewed as trace material for Chinese society, was my take-away. I will explore the LARB and elsewhere, however, and see if I can make better sense of what to read.
 said on
November 5, 2013
Great episode! Very inspiring.
 said on
November 7, 2013
Very interesting episode, thanks!
 said on
November 11, 2013
Re: Recommendations by Alice: "Read it in Chinese!"

Could you provide some of the authors and titles discussed in their Chinese original?

Thank you!
Mark Lesson Studied