Chinese author Su Tong wins the Man Asian Prize for his book The Boat to Redemption

Get ready to add another Chinese writer to your reading list: Nanjing-based writer Su Tong is primed to have another one of his works hit the English-language charts. His latest triumph: The Boat to Redemption, which won this year’s Man Asian Literary Prize, garnering the author USD10,000.

It is impossible to know where, or even how, to begin a description of Dream of the Red Chamber which is so preciously guarded among Chinese than any other book of the da ming si (four major classical novels) that to do so hamhandedly would be to invite immediate censure if not outright ridicule. So let us just say that we are certainly not the first, and unquestionably not the last, to be daunted by Cao Xueqin’s gargantuan tome which has received such critical attention since its publication in the mid 18th century that it has given rise to its own field of scholarship called hong xue (redology).

"In Beijing, anything is possible," says Jonathan Tel, commenting on some of the more ridiculous ideas (ie, the 'Gorillagram') introduced in his latest book, The Beijing of Possibilities. The collection features a number of short stories inspired by Tel's time in China's capital city during the run-up to the Olympics. We caught up with author, fresh from the Burning Man Festival in the US, to learn more.

Your bio says that "while in New York, you write about Beijing, and while in Beijing, you write about New York" -- what is it about these two places that inspires you so much (while you're away from them, no less)?
The center of the universe is New York - as any New Yorker could tell you; or, according to any Beijinger, Beijing.

With a new Lu Xun translation now in print, the famed writer's critical thinking remains as important to China as ever, says Shanghai grandson

A new translation of Lu Xun's complete fiction hits the bookshelves this month. The translation, published by Penguin, and conducted by Dr. Julia Lovell of University of London's Birbeck College, hopes to pique Western readers' interest in the father of modern Chinese literature. Dr. Lovell said in an interview with Danwei that although a household name in China, Lu Xun is "barely known" in the West.

Within China, grandson Zhou Lingfei says 'China's Dickens' remains as relevant today as ever.

“Lu Xun wrote about what the society was really like,” says Zhou. “And not all of it was good. Typically, Chinese people would only say things that sounded good, but Lu Xun was speaking the truth.”

Zhou says this type of critical thinking “is extremely important for China today. It’s important all around – for society, schools, everything.”

Many Lu Xun works continue to be part of China’s educational curriculum – currently, there are over 15 pieces read in middle and high school.

“These are required readings,” says Zhou. “The first time I read his work myself was in school during fifth grade.”

Regarding the new translation, Jo Lusby, head of Penguin China, says: “Lu Xun remains absolutely important today and we felt very strongly that a new translation of Lu Xun’s work was long overdue.”

The translation, entitled The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun , is over 400 pages and contains 35 stories. Translator Lovell has also translated contemporary Chinese novels such as Zhu Wen’s I Love Dollars and Yan Lianke’s Serve the People.

Lusby says, “This new translation brings the English edition into the current era. Lu Xun is a writer of timeless quality, and of tremendous relevance today, so we were keen to bring a translation out that reflected this modernity.”

“He succeeded in expressing both the pride and the frustrations inherent in Chinese society. He was a master of lyricism, yet his writing is also so supremely accessible… it very much feels as though it’s for the masses, not just the literary elite.”

“Laobaixing [common Chinese people] have always liked Lu Xun’s stories. His work was popular from the moment it came out, but of course, when Mao said he liked it as well, it became even more popular,” says Zhou, while noting that his grandfather never actually met Mao.

Zhou, 56, a Shanghai resident, continues to promote the works of his grandfather today. Lu Xun moved to the city in 1927 and remained here until his death in 1936, naming his son Haiying ('child of Shanghai'), and is buried in Hongkou, where a park and museum have been built in his honor along Tian’ai Lu.

Zhou, who admits that he doesn't have a lot of personal stories about his grandfather (his own father was only seven when Lu Xun died), says he's happy the works are now getting a chance to reach a Western audience.
“It is important for the West to know about  Chinese wen xue [literature]. Generally, people are familiar with Chinese stage arts, but not literature. China knows a lot about the Western world… and now China is getting stronger, so the Western world should be getting more interested.”

“It’s also important for the outside world to understand why Lu Xun wrote his stories,” stresses Zhou, urging readers to learn about the historical background.

Lusby agrees: “I think the actual stories are extremely accessible and readers should readily understand them. However, to really appreciate them on a different level, then of course, the historical context, and the unique place Lu Xun occupies in China’s literary canon, are absolutely essential.”

“We sought to preserve his wry sense of humor, and the unflinching gaze that Lu Xun so famously cast on his countrymen,” continues Lusby. “The works reflected the time and the society that Lu Xun lived in, while expressing an essence of China that remains unchanged today. I would almost go as far as to say that if one wishes to understand the contemporary Chinese psyche, one must read Lu Xun.”

Read more about Ah-Q here.

No sleep 'til Brooklyn

Award-winning author Colm Toibin is arriving in China this month as part of his duties as a judge for the Man Asian Literary Prize. The winner of this year's USD10,000 prize, awarded to an Asian novel unpublished in English (first awarded to Wolf Totem by Chinese writer Jiang Rong in 2007), will be announced in Hong Kong later this month by Toibin and his fellow jury members Gish Jen and Pankaj Mishra, but first, Toibin will be stopping by Shanghai to promote the local release of his latest novel Brooklyn, courtesy of Penguin China, as well as a Chinese-language translation, courtesy of Shanghai 99 Readers.