With Lao She and Lu Xun, Shen Congwen is without doubt one of the great writers of the last century, but for Shen Congwen, no further translations, he has to be discovered by a new generation.
A family of military tradition:
An illustrious grandfather, who was general, a father who was a military doctor but never at home. Miao by his grandmother and Tujia by his mother, he claims that he is a Han but … Lire la suite
“Frogs” by Mo Yan did not receive the Dangdai award. The short list included all the books people are talking about in Beijing : the novels by A-Lai, Su Tong, Zhang Ling. Liu Zhenyun won the prize with “A Word Is Worth a Thousand Words. “after being 
the winner in 2007 with ” My name is Liu Yuejin “.
Liu Zhenyun was fortunate to have Sebastian Veg (1) as a translator for two books published … Lire la suite
If you like Mo Yan, cheer up. As was told during his interview to Rue89 (30/08/2009), his novel “Frogs” has just been published in Beijing. “Frogs”, “Wa” in Chinese is pronounced like Nu Wa, goddess in Chinese mythology who created humanity, more over the frog in some provinces is the symbol of fertility.
As he said in an interview with China Daily (01/08/2010), it is a novel about his aunt, now 76 years old, who … Lire la suite
Much has been said on this writer in recent weeks. His first book, “There’s nothing I can do when I think of you late at night” was published, six months ago, in the prestigious Asian collection at the University of Columbia. The book is part of the “long 
list” of best translations prepared by the University of Rochester but did not win a prize.
A collection of short stories has been translated into Swedish by … Lire la suite
We have already mentioned the talent of the Chinese-American author Li Yiyun in a post mentioning a film based on one of her short stories (“A Thousand Years of Good Prayers”). We have been able to meet her in Paris during the launch of her novel “A beautiful spring day.”
From Beijing to San Francisco from immunology to literature
Born in Beijing, Yiyun Li is 38 years. After studying Mathematics and English, she enrolled at … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89 23/3/2010
Only the “Little Red Book” by Mao Zedong has scored better; the “Wolf Totem” by Jiang Rong is the biggest publishing succes in China: 4 millions copies have been sold and probably 16 millions including piracy.
Two years ago, Rue89 had presented this social phenomenon. The success has not stopped since 2004, the book still tops sales. The rights were purchased in 28 countries. For English, 100,000 dollars were paid … Lire la suite
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
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
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
Originally published on Rue89- 30/8/2009.
Landowner or servant, all … Lire la suite
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
Originally published on Rue89, 24/6/2009.
The Chinese writer Mo Yan spent a week in France to present his books and his new novel to be releasd end of august.He met Rue89 with Bertrand Mialaret and Pierre Haski who had met him some years ago in Beijing. A meeting translated by Chantal Chen- Andro, translator of many books by Mo Yan.
Mo Yan is 53 years old, he was born in a village near Gaomi in … Lire la suite