The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast

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Ep 49 - The TrChFic Megacrossover Part 2: Moderns

March 3, 2021

'One morning, Salinger was woken from sleep by deafening noises. Dazed, he gazed outside the window and saw a row of gleaming Baekdu bulldozers, which had been modified from Chonma-ho battle tanks, bearing down on his cabin.'

In the forty ninth episode we continue our megacrossover, this time tackling modern literature. Once more unto the jazz hall, dear friends, once more, as we tackle: lamppost sexuality, mantou typography, disposable(?) wuxia, and the philosophy of chicken nuggets. No, really. I'm not joking. Wait, come back!!!

// NEWS ITEMS //

Taiwan Year at the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing - Egoyan Zheng Excerpt
Jeremy Tiang - The World Is Not Enough - is world literature just a ‘spice rack’ for lazy Westerners?
Lost in Translation: What’s the Problem with Chinese Literature in the West? - Zoom talk w/ Jianan Qian, Nicky Harman, and Eric Abrahamsen
Reading "The Story of the Stone" with 白先勇 Pai Hsien-Yung and 陳毓賢 Susan Chan Egan - a superstar Zoom talk!

// PODCASTERS & THEIR CHOSEN STORIES //

Rob and Lee of The Chinese Literature Podcast chose Sealed Off by Eileen Chang

William and Kevin of Rereading the Stone chose Shanghai Foxtrot by Mu Shiying

Yifan of 文化土豆 Culture Potato chose A Bond Undone, Chapter 1 by Jin Yong

and your host Angus chose Salinger and the Koreans by Han Song

// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //

// Episode Sponsor //

Buy Jeremy Bai AKA Deathblade's The Heretic Peacekeeper here:

Amazon: http://mybook.to/9h10eTHP

Kobo, Nook, etc: https://books2read.com/u/mgzxxx

// Handy TrChFic Links //

INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // HOMEPAGE

Ep 46 - The Flock of Ba Hui with Dylan Levi King

January 22, 2021

If anyone is reading this notebook — don’t come looking for me. Don’t.

In the forty sixth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast we are undergoing black initiation into The Flock of Ba Hui (巴虺的牧群 / Bāhuī de Mùqún). Returning to the show to rescue me from the abyss - or hurl me into it - is the extremely online Dylan Levi King. We have quite a beast to wrestle with this episode. Lovecraftian fiction, from the Chinese internet, curated, translated and packaged in paratexts by two particularly unorthodox individuals.

// NEWS ITEMS //

// WORD OF THE DAY //

(邪神呼唤 - Xiéshén Hūhuàn - the call of Cthulhu)

// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //

// Handy TrChFic Links //

INSTAGRAM 🐙 TWITTER 🐙 DISCORD 🐙 HOMEPAGE

Ep 43 - Can Xue and I Live in the Slums with Stefan Rusinov

November 26, 2020

'Underneath the hole is another hole. Do you dare go down?'

In the forty third episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast we are grappling with the experimental literature of Can Xue, as embodied in I Live in the Slums. Helping me train for the performance of a lifetime is Chinese-to-Bulgarian translator & friend of the pod, Stefan Rusinov.

// NEWS ITEMS //

Yan Ge's White Horse shortlisted for the Warwick Women in Translation prize
Lovecraftian stories from the Chinese internet: The Flock of Ba Hui

// WORD OF THE DAY //

(审丑 - shěn chǒu - examining ugliness AND/OR the abject, if you like)

// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //

-

// Handy TrChFic Links //

INSTAGRAM ⬛ TWITTER ⬛ DISCORD ⬛ HOMEPAGE

Ep 37 - The Woman in the Carriage with Yilin Wang

August 30, 2020

'The scholar suddenly glimpsed a movement in the darkness. Something dived towards him like a swift bird. The shadowy outline of a person neared him, reaching out with a hand.'

In the thirty seventh episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at The Woman in the Carriage (车中女子 / Chē Zhōng Nǚzǐ), a chuanqi story dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Our guest is its translator, Yilin Wang.

The Woman in the Carriage is a short tale, but the more you look at it, the more you see. Moral lessons, subtle humour, inexplicable strangeness, the roots of modern wuxia...it's all there!

A condensed transcript of the interview in this episode is available on Yilin's website.

// NEWS ITEMS //

Shen Shixi's children's lit controversy
New guidelines for Chinese scifi films from the China Film Administration
The MCLC Modern Chinese Literature Video Lecture Series

// WORD OF THE DAY //

(盗贼 / dào zéi / thief)

// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //

// Handy TrChFic Links //

INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE

Ep 32 - The Book of Shanghai with Karen Wang

May 13, 2020

Ep 32 Art

"A true map cannot simply mark out the landmarks, and the most popular tourist sites, it must be able to guide readers through the city’s lesser-known corners, its dimly-lit nooks and rarely-frequented crannies"

In the thirty second episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at The Book of Shanghai, a short story collection from Comma Press. Our guest is Karen Wang of the Manchester Confucius Institute

// NEWS ITEMS //

Tiananmen: Lives of the Poets by Gregory Lee
'The Revolutionary' Nicholas Haggerty on Lu Xun
China's First Pornhub Translator

// WORD OF THE DAY //

(捉 / Zhuō / Grasping)

// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //

// Handy TrChFic Links //

Michelle Deeter's homepage

INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE

Ep 29 - Song Aman and Gongsun’s Dreams with Michelle Deeter

April 12, 2020

Ep 29 art

"Memory comes from forgetting"

In the twenty ninth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Song Aman's Gongsun's Dreams (公孙画梦 / Gōngsūn Huàmèng) Our guest is Michelle Deeter, returning for her second appearance on the show! This story is not yet published in English. The Chinese version features in Song Aman's collection Inland Romance, published in Chinese by Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing.

Song Aman on Paper Republic

// NEWS ITEMS //

// WORDS OF THE DAY //

(魔方 / mófāng / rubik's cube)

(利薄多销 / lìbóduōxiāo / small profits, numerous sales)

// DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE //

// Handy TrChFic Links //

Feng Jicai on Paper Republic

INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE

Ep 24 - Feng Jicai and Faces in the Crowd

January 19, 2020

"I have lived in Tianjin my whole life, and I know its people, with their toughness and competitive streak, their generosity, their determination to be respected, and their refusal to back down. When I illustrate them, it is these qualities I draw."

In the twenty fourth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Feng Jicai's Faces in the Crowd (俗世奇人 / Súshì Qírén)

This is the first time on the show that I’m looking at an illustrated book. Each chapter is a ‘sketch’ of one of old colonial Tianjin’s more quirky characters. They’re all drawn from local legends, and add up to create a really immersive wander through a bygone era.

Publishers: EN - Sinoist Books // CN - People's Literature Publishing House

Olivia Milburn on Paper Republic

// NEWS ITEMS //

// Handy TrChFic Links //

INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE

Ep 23 - Baoshu and What Has Passed Shall In Kinder Light Appear

January 12, 2020

Ep 23 art

"Later, I kept on hoping China would host the Olympics again, but it never happened. After I became a father, I told my son about that night, and he refused to believe China had once been so prosperous."

this is episode 7 of 7 in our Chinese Science Fiction Season

In the twenty third episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Baoshu's What Has Passed Shall In Kinder Light Appear (大时代 / dà shídài), available to read in the Broken Stars anthology, edited and translated by Ken Liu.

Baoshu reverses time, sending his protagonist through a life that begins with the Beijing Olympics and ends before the communist revolution. I go it alone on this episode, and maybe it’s for the best because this story made me cry. It’s beautiful.

// Discussed in this Episode //

Philosophy01 Baoshu interview
Ken Liu's favourite lines
On Bo Xilai
Zhao Ziyang, Prisoner of the State - SOURCE - MIRROR

// Handy TrChFic Links //

INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // MY SITE

Ep 22 - A Summer Beyond Your Reach with Xia Jia

December 18, 2019

Ep 22 art

'The summer isn’t over yet. There are so many fun things to do.'

this is episode 6 of 7 in our Chinese Science Fiction Season

In the twenty second episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Xia Jia's A Summer Beyond Your Reach (你无法抵达的夏天/nǐ wúfǎ dǐdá de xiàtiān)

Xia Jia herself joins me via Skype from California to talk about her stories. French culture comes up three times in this episode. I really didn’t see that coming. Xia Jia’s stories do fuse deep thought with deep feeling, which I suppose does sound a bit French. Anyway! It’s a very fun episode, so have a listen.

Translators: Emily Jin, Carmen Yiling Yan, Ken Liu

Publisher: Clarkesworld

// Discussed in this Episode //

// Handy TrChFic Links //