The “modernist” origins of the Chinese writer Yu Hua.

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Originally published on Rue89, 02/03/2010

Yu Hua is one of the major modern Chinese writers. After the worldwide success of his novel “Brothers,” a collection of short stories “On the Road at Eighteen Years,” has been translated, which leads us to revisit his origins and the literature of this period.

The Cultural Revolution, a  school for Yu Hua:
This is a critical period, which will influence his future books.Ten years of education in schools which … Lire la suite

« I love dollars », short stories on modern China.

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Originally published on Rue89, 28/02/2010.


 Provocative and talented … a collection of short stories, “I Love Dollars” by Zhu Wen, a Chinese writer rather unknown but who had the honor of being published by Columbia University, has been translated into French. Other translations are planned, although now, the author devotes himself  mainly to directing films.

Economic liberalization but for morality, a waste land :
“I Love Dollars” includes five short novels and a short story. … Lire la suite

“Socialism is great”…a Chinese song and a life story.

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Originally published on Rue89 18/02/2010.

“Socialism is geat” … a Chinese song! A song sung in companies on July 1st, the anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party, is also the title of the autobiography of  Zhang Lijia, a worker in a missile factory in 1980-1990, later on a journalist.

With a sister, nowdays a senior civil servant,and a brother at the time rather difficult, Lijia is the daughter of a worker, a

… Lire la suite

Gao Xiingjian,Nobel Prize, the pen and the brush.

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Originally published on Rue89 08/02/2010.

 

Gao Xingjian, Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000, recently celebrated his 70th birthday. On this occasion, the University of London (SOAS) organised last January lectures and presentations of his books, films and theater.

The author of “Soul Mountain” (Ed. de l’Aube, 1995) and “One’s man Bible” (Ed de l’Aube, 2000) agreed to answer our questions focused on his films and his paintings.

In London, British actors gave a reading of … Lire la suite

The Chinese world, the new Eldorado of the detective novel.

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Originally published on Rue89 19/12/2009

 

 Two Chinese detective writers have been presented in the past: He Jiahong, a professor at Beijing and Qiu Xiaolong, who teaches in the U.S.The talent of these writers should not make us forget that many Western writers, use China and the Chinese world as a backdrop or a partner of their novels.

We will not speak of the China of the Tang Dynasty and of the Judge Dee by … Lire la suite

Two prestigious literary awards for Chinese authors.

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Originally published on Rue89 18/11/2009.

The Neustadt Prize, the most prestigious literary prize after the Nobel, has been awarded for the first time to a Chinese writer, poet Duo Duo. We introduced Su Tong six months ago, he won the Man Asia Literary Prize for his novel “A Boat to Redemption”.

The American “Nobel”:The Neustadt Prize, named after the family who has generously financed it, is managed by the University of Oklahoma (which also … Lire la suite

Interview with Yan Lianke.

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Originally published on Rue89 31/10/2009.

Sometimes banned and sometimes award-winning, Chinese novelist Yan Lianke is a matter of controversy in his own country. Again with his latest release “Lenin with Love” (a French translation of “The joy of living” ) his favorite, in which he plays around with the symbols of communism and consumer society, in short with the contradictions of modern China. He has just presented his book in Paris where we could meet … Lire la suite

Bi Feiyu and love during the Cultural Revolution.

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 Originally published on Rue89, 26/9/2009.

Power and domination are one of the key topics of Bi Feiyu’s work, a well known writer in China and a growing reputation in the West. Two books in the U.S., five in France, “La Plaine”, his latest novel has been translated by Claude Payen and published by Philippe Picquier.

“The Plain” or life in the village of the Wang family:
The heros of this book are two young people … Lire la suite

The magnificent Shandong Buddhas in Paris.

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Originally published on Rue89; 09/19/2009

 For the first time in Paris, the Cernuschi Museum, specializing in Asian art, displays a remarkable collection of Buddha statues, discovered in the Chinese province of Shandong, ten years ago.

In 1996, in Qinzhou, 400 kilometers southeast of Beijing, a team of diggers discovered in a pit of sixty square meters and two meters deep, fragments of stone Buddhist statues arranged with care, often incomplete. Some showed traces of fire, … Lire la suite

An event, the translation of the first novel by Lao She.

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Originally published on Rue89-4/09/2009.

 Lao She, probably killed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution in 1966, is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the century and a man of great human qualities. Much of his work was available in French, and in particular his famous book about Beijing and the japanese “Four generations under one roof,” but not “The Philosophy of Lao Zhang”, a first novel full of humor that has just
… Lire la suite

With a reincarnation, Mo Yan revisits the history of Communist China.

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Originally published on Rue89- 30/8/2009.

 

 

A new novel by Chinese writer Mo Yan is an event: “The Harsh Law of Karma” (the french translation for ”Life and death are wearing me out”) is no exception. Through an animal reincarnation cascade, he leads the reader through the Chinese history of the last sixty years. During his visit to Paris in June 2009, Rue89 met Mo Yan, who had presented his latest work.

Landowner or servant, all … Lire la suite

Banned 16 years, “Fallen Capital” by Jia Pingwa, is now released.

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Originally published on Rue89, 14/8/2009.

Jia Pingwa is one of the favorite writers of the Chinese public. He received a few months ago, the most prestigious literary award, the Mao Dun prize. But the news ,in the middle of the holiday period, is the publication of one of his novels, ” Fallen Capital ” banned for pornography in 1993. The novel had, at that time, won in France the Prix Femina for foreign literature.

For … Lire la suite

Paperbacks for a summer, a selection of ten novels.

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Originally published on Rue89, 27/7/2009

 
For some people, Chinese novels are too long, too complex with a very large number of characters, also it is felt that a deep knowledge of Chinese civilization is needed. Moreover how to choose between writers of whom you know nothing and between books that are sometimes difficult to find !!!

These remarks led me to offer a list on rather strict bases: all books must  have been published recently … Lire la suite