January 14, 2021
In bars like this, on nights like this, the people of Yong'an would talk of death
In the forty fifth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast we are hunting for the Strange Beasts of China (异兽志 - Yì Shòu Zhì). Two very special guests are joining me this time - the book's author Yan Ge and its translator Jeremy Tiang. If I sound a little off-kilter this episode, it's because I'm star struck!
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(异 - Yì - strange/different)
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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.
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(审丑 - shěn chǒu - examining ugliness AND/OR the abject, if you like)
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October 20, 2020
The ultimate fate of all intelligent beings has always been to become as grand as their thoughts.
Episode 40 is no ordinary episode! This time TrChFic is crossing over with Couch Command and its esteemed host Keith Hayward to jump right down the Chinese sci-fi wormhole of Liu Cixin's haymaker-punch ending to his Three Body Problem trilogy, Death's End (死神永生 / Sǐshén Yǒngshēng). Hell yes.
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(警告 / Jǐnggào / warning)
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September 12, 2020
'O thou city that surpasseth our understanding! How impressive are they emptiness, and thy commonness, and thy bad taste!'
In the thirty eighth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Hymn to Shanghai (上海之歌 / Shànghǎi Zhīgē), a piece by 'the little critic' himself, Lin Yutang. Joining me to pick apart Lin's biblical condemnation is the roguish raconteur and historian of Old Shanghai, Paul French. Expect to hear a lot about the virtues of liberal cosmopolitanism and the evils of Art Deco and gin liqueur.
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(黄包车 / huáng bāo chē / rickshaw)
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July 30, 2020
'I think there is no brother in this world as strange as you'
In the thirty sixth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at a video game(!) series called Gujian (古剑/ Gǔ Jiàn). Helping me level up and face my shadow self is Emily Jin, a highly active Chinese science fiction translator, and better yet: a hardcore Gujian fan!
Gujian isn't a Western Tolkeinesque RPG, nor is it a JRPG Final Fantasy-style affair. It's made in China, set in China, and played (mostly) by Chinese gamers. You may not be shocked to learn that it's a Wuxia RPG, with a little Xianxia magic thrown in for good measure.
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(剑 / Jiàn / a straight, double-edged Chinese sword)
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![Ep 26 - Hao Jingfang and Vagabonds with Ken Liu]()
March 7, 2020
"A person from one civilisation looks at their surroundings as distinct objects and events and considers them separately. But when a person from another civilisation looks in as an outsider, they prefer to view everything through the lens of political power and try to explain everything based on that perspective."
In the twenty sixth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Hao Jingfang's Vagabonds (流浪玛厄斯 / Liúlàng Mǎèsī)
It would be tempting to say that Vagabonds is a Chinese science fiction rewrite of Ursula K le Guin’s The Dispossessed. My guest Ken Liu would be the first to stress that while there’s some truth to this, readers would be much better off treating the book as thing unto itself. He’s right- this is a book with no shortage of ideas or interpretations. Storywise, here’s what you need to know: it’s a red socialist planet ‘versus’ a green and blue corpocracy. Sit down, get comfy, and pick a side. Or don’t. Not picking a side may be the point.
Publishers: EN - Simon & Schuster - Head of Zeus // CN - New Star Press
Hao Jingfang on Paper Republic
Ken Liu on Paper Republic
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February 15, 2020
"Don't ask from where I have come. My home is far, far away."
In the twenty fifth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast, we are looking at Sanmao's Stories of the Sahara (撒哈拉的故事 / Sǎhālāde Gùshì)
Sanmao AKA Echo Chan is a literary hero in China and Taiwan, but only recently has some of that fame begun to spill over into the rest of the world. She’s probably most famous for the time she spent in the Sahara, writing in a lucid, arresting, and playful style about her life there. Sanmao passed away in the 90s but she’s very much alive on the page, as her translator Mike Fu and I discuss.
Publisher: Bloomsbury
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December 18, 2019
'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
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