Chinese Literature

[Stewart]

An interview with Howard Goldblatt on translating from Chinese to English has made me think we need a thread on Chinese Literature.

It's not something I've read too much of: namely Bi Feiyu's The Moon Opera and Eileen Chang's Lust, Caution. And Ma Jian's Stick Out Your Tongue, the text which was, while not critical of Tibet, certainly less idealistic about it.

Of course China has a Nobel Prize winner in Gao Xingjian, too, even if he lives in France these days. (And I don't think too much of his work has been translated. Soul Mountain springs to mind, though.)

So, this thread is for all snippets and the like on the subject of Chinese literature.

[Max Cairnduff]

Hi,

I'm fairly unfamiliar with Chinese literature. I've read Monkey, which is more of an early epic than a novel, I own Outlaws of the Water Margins but haven't read it yet. I recently bought Volume one of The Story of the Stone.

But really, this isn't a literature I know well. What would people recommend? Classic and contemporary. Crime recommendations also happily accepted.

[nnyhav]

Originally Posted by Max Cairnduff

But really, this isn't a literature I know well.

Nor I, and it seems relatively hard to come by, even recommendations. So I've lifted a bit of blogpost for one such:
Ah Cheng: The Chess Master

[kpjayan]

I can suggest "Red Shorgum" of Mo Yan , "Farewell my Concubine" by Lilian Lee. The screen adaptation of Farewell my concubine has also won the Golden Palm at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

Gao Xingjian's 'Soul Mountain' and "One man's Bible' are also very good, but personally I liked 'Soul Mountain' over the other.

[Jayaprakash]

The only modern Chinese novel I've read is Playing For Thrills by Wang Shuo. It's got elements of hardboiled noir and surrealism, as an urban drifter attempts to unravel a mystery from his past that has returned to haunt him. There's a strong element of social critique here as well, focussing on the disenfranchisement and lack of opportunities faced by the youth in China after the cultural revolution. It's a strange read with shifting perspectives and storylines and I found it pretty compelling.

[Jan Mbali]

Years ago I owned a paperpack collection of Chinese Poetry - I think it was "The Penguin... Chinese Poetry". I think the author was Frost. It was a superb collection, from ancient to fairly modern. The classical poetry glows. For years I have hunted for a replacement in vain. Can anyone come up with a likely suspect in terms of the title and author?

A non-fiction classic I only discovered recently is the Art of War, purportedly by Sun Tze. There are several editions out with a terrific introduction by Thomas Cleary. In spite of its subject matter, I was surprised to find a strong humanist thread running through it and followed that thread to Taoism which is interesting indeed. A lot of wisdom scattered like gems among the mystical veils. Cleary puts it all into perspective.