The Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng died at the age of 59 the last day of 2010. The end of a painful journey after 38 years in a wheelchair and with three dialysis sessions per week during 12 years. This is one of the major Chinese writers, regarded by many in his country as the equal of Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Yan Lianke, but with few translations and quite unknown in the West.
Suffering can lead … Lire la suite
Gao Xingjian, Nobel prize winner in literature is best known for his books and especially for a masterpiece, “The Soul Mountain.” He is also known for his plays and his opera “Snow in August” and we admire his creations and his experiments with theatrical forms.
He is also famous as a painter and did not fail to recall that painting for a long time earned his living.
In Paris, Galerie Claude Bernard (1), … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89 -12/23/2010 –
Murong Xuecun is a young Chinese writer, one of the best known and most promising; he has received the 2010 People Literature award, but was not allowed to deliver the speech he had prepared for the handing over ceremony of the prize!
An urban generation which turns away from politics?A few months ago, I regretted the small number of translations of young writers and underlined the break … Lire la suite
Le Clezio, Nobel Prize for Literature, is one of the few writers who has never disappointed me: by his work, his likings, his positions, his personality and his distrust of the small Parisian literary world !
Le Clezio has always been interested in China (and Korea, where he teaches regularly). In 1967, at the opening of diplomatic relations, he asked to join the first group of Franco-Chinese cooperation, but unfortunately his application was rejected .… Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89.com -12/16/2010 –
Thirteen films adapted from literary works will be shown during the next seven months at the Confucius Institute at the University of Paris Diderot, in the “Flour Hall” on the campus of Paris Rive Gauche.This Friday, “My Life” by Shi Hui, inspired by a story by Lao She .
Free sessions on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. which are presented by Luisa Prudentino, sinologist, professor at the INALCO, author of … Lire la suite
The list of writers selected for the Man-Asia prize has just been published. Ten writers for a prize that will be awarded in March 2011.The rules have changed: the authors must be Asian and the books published or translated into English, whereas in the past, the long list was much larger (twenty five books) and related to works not yet published.
Over the past three years, Chinese writers have won the prize twice: “Wolf Totem” … Lire la suite
Sixteen films adapted from literary works will be shown during the next eight months at the Confucius Institute at the University of Paris-Diderot in the “Flour Hall” on the campus of Paris Rive Gauche. Free sessions on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and films presented by Luisa Prudentino, China expert, Professor at the INALCO, author of “The Eye of Shadows” (Bleu de Chine, 2003) on Chinese cinema after Mao’s death.
This program was also prepared by … Lire la suite
Feng Zikai (1898-1975) played an important role in the modern Chinese art scene. This is brought to our attention by “Color of Clouds” (1), a book that includes drawings and many of his essays and comments, translated for the first time and presented by Marie Laureillard-Wendland.
A very personal style, the “manhua”:
Born in Shimenwan in Zhejiang Province, a region that had suffered greatly from the Taiping rebellion, but which benefited later from silk production. … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89 – 11/13/2010 –
If there is one area where France is not declining and is well positioned, it is that of the number of books translated from foreign languages, and the quality of translations. This is particularly true for Chinese literature, who has just lost one of its major translators, Liliane Dutrait. A tribute will be made shortly in Aix-en-Provence.
Publishing and translation in the forefront
France is particularly well positioned … Lire la suite
As Lu Xun said: “Marx was still able to write” The Capital “in the middle of crying children, so he was a great man …” (1). This sentence came to my mind while reading Feng Zikai’s essays (2) on which I will come back soon and reminded me that this group of friends in the region of Shanghai: Feng Zikai, Zhou Ziqing and Ye Shengtao had written about children in the years 1925, the same … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89 – 11/01/2010
After Mo Yan two years ago, the Chinese writer Han Shaogong was awarded the Newman prize for Chinese literature from the University of Oklahoma. The selected writers: Yu Hua, Su Tong, Ge Fei and Li Ang were strong competition.
His translator, Julia Lovell, a member of the jury, convinced the other members of the merits of his most famous work “A Dictionary of Maquiao” unfortunately not yet translated into … Lire la suite
As mentioned in an article for Rue89, “A Dictionary of Maqiao” just won the Newman prize in the United States.
This surprising book led to some turmoil when it was published in China in 1996 (1). Two Chinese critics explained that this dictionary is a plagiarism of “The Khazar Dictionary” by the Serbo-Croatian writer Milorad Pavic (born 1925), a book published in 1985 and translated into Chinese ..
The controversy in the press is severe, … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89- 10.10.2010
The Muséum of Quai Branly in Paris is presenting an exhibition of outstanding quality on the civilization of the Straits Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia.
For the first time in Europe, 500 pieces of the Asian Civilisations Museum of Singapore are presented and some aspects of the traditional houses have been recreated.
The exhibition “Baba Bling” refers to the Babas who are descendants of Chinese communities that are integrated from … Lire la suite