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

Can a Chinese writer become a millionaire ?

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Originally published on Rue89-02/14/2009.

Can you become a millionaire when you are a writer in China? The writers that the Chinese Communist Party try with some success to control, certainly live better than during the time of the Writers’ Union. The market pressure is ambivalent, it can increase but also reduce the control of the “politically correct”.

Larger royalties in Paris than in Beijing:

“How do the French writers earn their living,” this article in

… Lire la suite

Intellectual history of China enters the”College de France”.

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Originally published on Rue89- 12/14/2008 .

An opening speech can be of very high quality. Such was the case, last Thursday,with the opening lecture by Anne Cheng, newly appointed Professor of Intellectual History of China at the “College de France”.

A bridge between cultures:

“Daughter of Chinese parents, between a father who stayed in France ( Francois Cheng,  the novelist and poet, member of the Academie Française) and a mother who returned to Mao’s China … Lire la suite

Away from the Olympics, a “literary” walk through Beijing.

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Originally published on Rue89, 08/03/2008

(From Beijing). If you have decided to visit Beijing this summer, without fear of heat, of tourists and athletes invasion, as well as of an “Olympic” increase in prices, you can avoid the crowd by visiting the landmarks of the major Chinese writers of the twentieth century, which are part of the history of the capital.

In this city, hundreds of miles of flowered roses for the Olympics, where the … Lire la suite

The changing world of publishing in China.

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Originally published on Rue89-05/10/2008.

The most populated country is also the one which publishes the most: 220,000 titles, more than the United States and 3.5 times more than France. Also, the number of titles published is increasing three times faster. The production (6.5 billion books) is the first in the world, nearly fifteen times what is produced in France (1).

The value of this production is lower than it is in the U.S., but nearly … Lire la suite

A survey of Chinese capitalism by a French sinologist.

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Originally published on Rue89-03/19/2008.

The history of capitalism in China from its beginnings to the present period is marked by the accidents and events of history but also by surprising elements of continuity. This is shown by a very well informed book published by Marie-Claire Bergere, a professor at the “INALCO” and the “Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales”.

Do not be afraid by 370 pages of text and 100 pages of notes and … Lire la suite