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…
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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…
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Following the likely intervention of Chancellor Angela Merkel, to whom he had written a letter, the writer Liao Yiwu was allowed to travel to Germany for the Frankfurt Book Fair and to meet his readers. His translator in France, Marie Holzman, was able to arrange his coming to Paris and led a discussion in the…
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Originally published on Rue89-10/01/2010 . For several years, names are listed for the Nobel Prize for Literature: Yang Lian, Bei Dao, Duo Duo, three poets, well known and praised worldwide. We met Yang Lian in London earlier this year, at a symposium devoted to his friend Gao Xingjian the Nobel Prize. The release in France…
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Cao Wenxuan is a professor of literature at Beijing University, he has published over fifty short stories and novels, some of which have become classics in the school curriculum. He publishes magazines, anthologies and participates in the development of programs and books for schools. He is also known for his writings on literature and is…
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Originally published on Rue89 -09/27/2010 – The gold rush in California and Australia has generated significant Chinese migrations. Quite unknown are the migrations fom the Canton area to the “New Gold Mountain”, New Zealand, which began around 1866. Limited numbers since in the 1890s, a maximum of 5000 Chinese (including nine women!) Inhabited the country.…
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Marketing fad or same age effect, during the last months, three autobiographical books have been signed by the major writers of modern China: Yan Lianke, Yu Hua and Mo Yan. The book byYan Lianke was a great success, which he did not expect. “The generation of my father” sold more than three hundred thousand copies.…
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Originally published on Rue89- 09/13/2010 – After the international success of his novel “Brothers”, Yu Hua, publishes as world premiere in France, “China in ten words,” a collection of essays organized around ten key words: political terms of Communist China or of the current capitalist developments, but also sociological analysis and texts related to the…
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Eileen Chang died in 1995 in Los Angeles after considerable success in China and Hong Kong in the 1940s; she failed to be recognized as a writer in the U.S. where she had emigrated and died at the age of 75, forgotten and isolated. Fifteen years later, she tops sales in the Chinese world, especially…
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If you visit the Expo, do not rely on travel agencies if you want to discover lesser-known aspects of Shanghai that the few “must see”. During the Olympics in Beijing, I had suggested in Rue89, “literary walks” that received positive reactions. Unable to go to Shanghai this year, I still found some interesting information. 1…
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