Originally published on Rue89, 7/4/2010.
Invited to attend last march the Paris book fair : the Chinese writer Yan Lianke, who is well known to readers of Rue89. Yan Lianke is 52, he was born into an illiterate peasant family in the western Henan province. A career in the Army allows him to escape a life as a farmer and provided a university education. His books brought him as many literary prizes as problems with … 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, 23/3/2010.
The recent election debates in France and the results bring us back to a book written more than 2000 years ago, the translation of which has been released by Editions “Les Belles Lettres. “The Dispute over salt and iron” is a Chinese text astonishingly modern on governance that many politicians should read !
Judge by yourself with a few quotes:
“Now you pretend that you take from the rich to
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
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
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
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
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
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
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; 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
