Summary: 1. Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge 2. The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke 3. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li 4. The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong 5. The Three Body Problem 6. Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan 7. Red Sorghum by Mo Yan 8. Soul Mountain by Gao Xing Jian 9. China in Ten Words 10. Chronicles of Blood Merchant by Yu Hua 11. Love in the New Millenium
I appreciate your work at promoting Asian literature. I've been reading a lot of Japanese literature, now I look forward to read Chinese and Korean literature. Thank you!
I highly recommend “The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast” They usually bring on the translators for interviews - and the world of translating 中文 is fascinating!
dont know if anyone gives a damn but if you are stoned like me atm then you can watch pretty much all of the latest series on instaflixxer. Have been binge watching with my gf for the last months =)
I have read and am reading Chinese books before and I love them (although the books I read are BL, not pure literature like yours, lol). If you like you can read "the grandmaster of demonic cultivation", which is so good that it was made into a Chinese drama but not with bl theme but a bromance theme instead.. The book I'm currently reading right now is called "are you addicted?" (it is a sequel). it is also a bl but I really fell in love with the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested
As a rights manger working in Chinese literature publishing house, your video is really inspiring, cause my job is kinda about wondering what kind of Chinese books will interest English readers, Thank you for your sharing!
@xieiris1351 I’d love to see some the Blancpain Imaginist literary prize winners/ long list/ short list in translation. The prize is awarded to early career writers. Those books aren’t being translated into English - I think English readers would enjoy them.
Have you read “The Story of the Stone/Dream of the Red Chamber”? It’s an old (18th century) and very long novel, but absolutely worth the read. Helps a lot in understanding Chinese culture and especially Chinese fiction, because it ‘s quite all-encompassing and influenced a lot of modern Chinese writers. David Hawkes’s translation is the best.
@@WillowTalksBooks Many Chinese literature critics hailed it as the height of Chinese literature. It’s one of the Four Classic Novels, among which, the Dream of the Red Chamber has the highest literary value. There’s even a “redology” dedicated to studying it. But you really need to have patience to read it, which is long and a bit slow.
@@WillowTalksBooks If you like camp, I think you would really enjoy this, Willow! I just finished reading it. You can also.get the 1987 series of it on TH-cam with English subtitles. Amazing 18th century novel!
Thank you for the recommendations! I've only read the Three-body Problem out of these and was struck by how different it felt in the style and narrative, idk how to describe it.
Wu xia means martial heroes. This genre depicts warriors of ancient China with superhuman feats of martial arts like Qing gong (jumping from rooftops to rooftops and walking on water)
omg, i’m hoping to study Chinese at university and need to read more books about china given that my application will be going in in about a month. I’ve read wild swans, empress dowager cixi, red sorghum and some Confucius but i didn’t feel that was enough. thank you for this very helpful list! I’ve now just bought chronicle of a blood merchant and excited to read it. i’ve heard a lot of good things about yu hua’s writing and this confirms it. thank you so much
It is great that you are interested in studying Chinese. It might also be helpful to read classical poetry. I have a TH-cam channel talking about Chinese poetry and translate poems character by character. Here is the link for your reference: th-cam.com/channels/HZ-W3DGpJeu5QPdV5_tI5w.html
Great stuff! I look forward to reading more of these. One nitpick: The Nobel Prize for Literature is given to honor a writer's overall contribution to literature, not for a particular work. Technically.
You have inspired me to purchase the 2020 and 2021 Tilted Axis subscriptions. Thankyou for the push. I have been following them all year since I read Tokyo Ueno Station in January. Thankyou for your advocacy of diverse writers and works in translation. I am very much looking forward to my books appearing in my mail box. What a treat!!!!
I'm so thrilled to hear that! Ueno Station really is something special. An all-time favourite of mine. And we're getting another Yu Miri from them next year! 2021 is lining up to be a good year for books.
I'd also recommend books from Eileen Chang. They are a bit older (think she wrote most of her books in 1940s) but really really good. Her work is very popular and influential even until today. I only read her books in Chinese but there should be English translated version as well considering she is an 'American essayist' according to google (which i only found out today lol)
If you're needing a video idea, I'd love recs for crime fiction in Chinese literature. It's so difficult, given the censorship. 😭 Thank you for bringing more attention to Asian lit!
This is the video I needed! I've recently wanted to read more Chinese fiction, I tried Soul Mountain and unfortunately it wasn't for me but this has given me lots of ideas on what to try next, thanks!
I have read The Three-Body Problem, because I read SF. About 1970 I discovered SF and that has been mostly what I have read since then. My current favorite is Alastair Reynolds. In the last few years I have been reading more classics and literary fiction. I want to read more Asian novels, so you videos are great for helping me find authors to read.
Great video again, Willow! I am particularly into Chinese novels (as I have family in China) and have read a few of these. Just finished The Dark Forest, the 2nd book in Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem series and it's one of the best sci-fi novels I've ever read, up there with Asimov and Arthur C Clarke! Will definitely be reading Red Sorghum (I've seen the film) and looking forward to my birthday later this month as I am getting the new translation of Journey to the West-the Monkey King. (After which I will watch your video on that!)
Wow thank you SO Much for all the Chinese sci-fi recs!! I loved the Three Body Problem despite the sexism but I'm so glad to have more on my TBR now :)
Oh! I must add two to your list then, especially if you haven't read anything by them: Can Xue - Frontier Xiaolu Guo - A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers Xiaolu's is especially interesting because she worked on it in both Chinese and English (though it is fully published in English). But we may ask one of Borges's favorite questions, about this novel (as we do about Murakami, who sometimes writes entire passages in English before translating them into Japanese): *What, exactly, is a work "in translation"?*
I feel like Chinese authors love writing tragedy, it's often mixed with comedy but it's still tragic and devastating. There's actually different types of Chinese fantasy, other than Wuxia there's Xianxia (I heard that the main difference is the main characters being non-humans, as in they have actual supernatural powers other than slightly fictional martial arts, and are often immortal) and other minor subgenres. I didn't actually read any of your suggestions, I don't think they were adapted in my language so it's a little hard to find, I'll look into it though they do sound interesting.
It's nice to see you mention ethnicity, in the first book. In fact, there are not many ethnic minority writers in China, Zhang Chengzhi is one of the best, but unfortunately there are not many English translations of his works. There are two main aspects of the work, one is to express the history of the plight and suffering of minorities, such as "History of the Mind《心灵史》", and his prose works also present a lot of such content, it is a pity that he did not go as far-reaching as Coetzee, falling into the trap of his own narrative; On the other hand, it expresses the beauty of people in primitive society and environment, which is lacking in modern Chinese novels. Many Chinese novels are famous for their realistic writing of political and social issues, and this kind of artistically beautiful and influential work is very rare, called "Golden Ranch"（《金牧场》）, I recommend it. In general, it is possible that Chinese novels go further in realism and lack the search for the artistic beauty of novels.
Can someone help mein find a novel, where female lead was reborn her name was yu something. She had spent her childhood in some village coz she was said to be an unlucky star and her mother won't be able to give birth to a son due to this daughter's luck. The female protagonist meets male protagonist Mr. Mu in a forest where she gets attacked by a pack of wolves and later she saves male from some conspiracy by some Han girl. Please tell me the name of this novel. Thanks in advance
Did you read A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality yet? It's a masterpiece, best china novel I have read. I think English maybe not express extractly the meaning that story brings (describe, metaphor,...) but it's still really good.
About to read this...my favourite so far is i shall seal the heavens by Er Gen and i'm also reading "nine star hegemon body art". This one deeply touches the aspect of we rise by lifting others, comedy, action and a lot more. Sadly the novel isn't complete yet so still reading as it gets released
One sci-fi short story anthology that I love is "The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories", which solely contains stories by female and nonbinary Chinese authors.
2 years too late,but still I want to recommend GeLing Yan and Lillian Lee(the author of Farewell My concubine), both are Chinese female writers who focus solely on female,but due to very different political background,meaning one growing up under the CCP control and the other not,their writing often give me the feeling of the White Snake and the Green Snake from that ancient Chinese tale, and coincidentally,they each had a queer novella revisited that ancient tale one named White Snake，and the other Green Snake.
i highly recommend Supreme Dragon Son-in-Law Ye Chen or Ye Chen Xiao Churan Novel (Other Name). until now it is still not yet finished and is still ongoing. in other webnovel sites, its translated version is Amazing Son in Law Charlie Wade/Charismatic Charlie Wade. but I always prefer the original Supreme Dragon Son in Law Ye Chen in chinese characters translated thru Google translate because the names of the characters and places are the original ones and is realistic that you can imagine where in China it happens. in the translated versions they change the names of characters and places to western which i find confusing when i try to imagine a scene while reading as for the content, it is always interesting as i focuses on business, martial arts, justice, respect, ethics, not just love the only downside is that it only uploads 2-6 chapters only a day
As a half-Chinese I think if you can’t not understand Chinese (Mandarin)you’ll never really know the beauty of Chinese literature. I don’t know how to explain but Chinese has so many many characters but when translated to other languages it is super difficult to demonstrate the origin meaning of those 词藻or 俚语. Sometimes just feel Chinese literature are alienating from the world.
I couldn't really get into The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, but I adored Where Reasons End. Probably the reason for not being able to connect with the former might be, that I just don't know enough about China. Also I had the feeling, that she wasn't as accomplished as a writer as with her later works. Could that be true?
I understand that and I'm so happy you loved Where Reasons End. That book is a masterpiece. Dear Friend is my personal favourite. That book has a masterful command over language. But I actually couldn't stand her newest book, Must I Go. It felt like it was written by a wholly different person. I was given a review copy but I was so bored by it that I couldn't bring myself to write a review. Still, Dear Friend and Where Reasons End are gorgeous, perfect books.
I recommend "Reverend Insanity" by Gu Zhen Ren., It's one of the books I read that the longer it gets, the better the plot becomes, plus after reading the novel most of the Xianxia and Wuxia books become bland to read.
I think you’ll enjoy Shen Dacheng 沈大成 short story “The Novelist in the Attic”. The translation is available online. Or you can read “The Book of Shanghai” which includes her short story and those of several other contemporary Chinese writers in translation.
i liked this video and your recommendations a lot, especially as a scifi reader. a question: how do you think anti-communist/anti-china propaganda has effected your feelings about these books/authors?
@@xieiris1351 hello! i don’t think i have a concrete answer to this question but i do have some thoughts about it. i should preface by saying that “propaganda” is almost always used w a negative connotation when that doesn’t have to be the case. propaganda is simply information that wants to further any political ideology. so with that, we can examine how the imperialist countries like the US and UK use sinophobic rhetoric in order to make their citizens believe that the china is the reason the world is collapsing or that things go wrong or what have you. this directly ties into the red scare, because during this time in the US, so many kinds of random bullshit (satanism, homosexuality, womens rights, desegregation) were all linked to communism, which the US obviously declared as a horrible awful thing. and since as a society-and i can only speak to this as an american-we’ve been told to exclusively trust our governments, we come to believe all of this nonsense about communism. this propaganda then leaks into many other aspects of our culture until it becomes the norm. what i was trying to get at with my question is this: how well do you understand the effectiveness of anti-communist and anti-china propaganda and how do you think these books (or any books really) play a roll in dismantling or supporting those ideas?
I was going to get into Cixin Liu and this is the first i heard about his misogyny, so i looked. Turns out it's that a deliberately unlikable character with a whole bunch of negative qualities has that as one of the negative qualities. Seriously? It's not bad, or even unusual, to put bad people in books.
Yes, absolutely! I've written about and reviewed a few on my site in the past and I do need to make a dedicated video as well. Wu Ming-yi is a fantastic author, and My Enemy's Cherry Tree by Wang Ting-kuo is also great. It's not fiction but I recently read Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee and that book is magic.
He repeatedly describes women as weak, female leaders as incompetent and indecisive, and maternal instincts as a sign of being useless. His books have male leads, while relegating women to support positions; in those positions they do little of value.
Tên thương gia Bắc Kỳ vừa ngồi vào bàn ăn thì một em khuyết tật ban vé số lại vãng đến hỏi có mua số hen không hắn hỏi lại có dói bụng không tiền ăn sẽ mua hết số hen cho cháu dữ lấy để lấy thưởng trong lúc ăn họ tâm sự với nhau người mua mong được no không trông đợi sự làm giàu từ người Không khả năng Dân đông tốn kém nhiều người khuyết tật làm tự thiện như cháu chỉ có dân tàu là sướng vì họ nỗ lực kiểm tiền trách nhiệm của chính quyền vc là nuôi tội phạm trong tu còn ngân sách gì để nghỉ đến nhân dân như tụi em cũng muốn trở thành tội phạm cho yên bề vì trách nhiệm quá nhiều 💰 vn than thở gì thế giới chửi cho gái đẹp bảo vệ đai gia cũng như tu tuong song kiếm của tỷ Phú xay nha cho lính phát triển theo hai cách phan nong dân hay giúp nông dan phát triển với bọn thương mai theo ông thi phát triển gi trước đánh lừa xuất xứ sản phẩm cũng như bọn điều tra gian điệp nền giáo dục của pháp của Mỹ bị phản ứng tại vn thay vào đó là nền giáo dục Trung Quốc sự lựa bịp nhân dân học sinh ở mọi từng lớp giữa các chế độ chính trị để phình lừa quân đội nhân dân cả một nền kinh tế giáo dục tôn giáo cũng như chính trị ngoại lại tu tưởng liệu sách vở tiểu thuyết phim ảnh nguồn gốc xuất xứ không ai biết rõ kẻ thù nào dân tộc nào liệu Mỹ sẽ đi về đâu bởi những giá trị của mỗi dân tộc đem vào Hoa Kỳ trong khi vn tương lai đi về đâu một nền kinh tế ngoại lại lọc lừa hậu quả của chiến tranh đem lại người tàu bảo họ lừa cả người tàn tật làm việc cho họ để có miếng ăn và tình thương yêu của thế giới dành cho họ cũng như công lý tài sản gia đình bị buôn bán chiếm đoạt và ngay cả cơ hội học hỏi đến từ các quốc gia nhân ái họ ví dụ như sau khách du lịch đến thăm mục đích là người ngheo nạn nhân của sự bất công không phải bọn giàu học thức cao nào đó kiếm tiền gạt bỏ họ để sang tàu hợp tác bên ấy ví dụ Hoa Kỳ đến vn vì hài cốt Mỹ lai không phải bọn môi giới sang tàu hay vơ vét trở lại túi của họ tại Huế Kỳ để tạo cơ hội làm ăn với tàu thật mau giàu có sự hợp tác Trung Mỹ kinh tế tàu không vì nạn nhân chiến tranh thế nào là bọn thương mại phát triển thao túng chính quyền như thế đó là vấn đề bịp vương bịp tin lừa đảo mọi sự bất công giới cao niên trí tuệ vnch/vc của Mỹ lợi hại như thế nào có lừa bịp quân dân tổ quốc của họ không có ham hại người ty nạn để làm ăn trung gian làm han gian tàu Nhật bản và bọn giàu yêu tài nghệ của họ thu do sai gon vnch Huế Kỳ bảo thế giới yêu Trung Quốc hơn vn quả đúng như vậy có lẽ họ nô lệ trí tuệ tàu để được lợi cũng như hướng đến tương lai với vn được mỏ đường do họ dép yên những điều thua lỗ bất công với túi tiền của họ nói xấu tàu không khác gì che dấu trí tuệ của họ về công kỹ nghệ họ kiếm được từ thế giới vn chẳng biết so sánh cùng ai tử vi xem tướng của người việt nam làm cho thế giới tôn trọng tàu nhiều hơn có lẽ bọn Nhật bản hiểu được những hạng người nào sống phản bội cho người tiều Con xúc vật nào lại không bị thịt ở nước ta các bác sĩ tâm lý thần học tử vì tướng số giỏi nhất thế giới của việt nam biết ơn đội nón cho xúc vật để chống dịch sau chiến tranh chúng tiếp xúc quá nhiều người và làm việc từ thiện bên ngoài tại sao chính quyền csvn tận dụng họ tìm ra quân đội nhân dân mất tích để đền ơn gia đình họ tuổi con Hợi không sống lâu hơn tuổi con chó con trâu và những con vật khác đều có số phận được ăn nhiều hay it cho nào cũng có người Hoa làm công lý đại diện cho nạn nhân Nhật Bản của chiến tranh đòi Mỹ bồi thường và họ thường bất bình cho người việt nam nữa để nắm dữ mọi thông tin những câu chuyện tốn kém rất nhiều tiền của đồ ăn thức uống thực phẩm lương thực san phẩm trị tuệ nữa lịch sử vn cho thấy cai trị người tàu không phải dẽ liệu csv có vướng vào những cạn bẩy của như vnch từng việc qua có lẽ Mỹ còn chưa hiểu nhiều vấn đề khác nữa như tư tưởng mê tín dị đoan không thể lung lay được họ lật đổ nhau cho thế lực này vì họ thấy được tương lại hơn chính quyền vn vốn biết được nhau cái phần này mi đã dậy chưa sao thiếu kinh nghiệm thế người khuyết tật có số làm ăn bên ngoài xã hội được ủng hộ có lẽ người 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loại xấu ấy của các chính quyền khác bám vip xụp đô họ bị kèm chế không tàu là chủ nợ lớn của Campuchia ai giúp tàu thâu tóm nên kinh tế lẫn chính trị giáo dục tôn giáo và chỉ có vnch Hoa Kỳ giúp họ thoát được nợ vô điều kiện tên nhà giàu day con ra ngoài chơi với chúng bạn phải tìm hiểu chúng như lời kinh thánh nếu chúng đoi khát thì cho chúng thoa the vi phòng bản tính xấu chôm cướp khi cần thì tìm cách cho giúp đỡ bọn mafia từng làm bọn xa hội đen tàu ấy
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Summary:
1. Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge
2. The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke
3. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li
4. The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong
5. The Three Body Problem
6. Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan
7. Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
8. Soul Mountain by Gao Xing Jian
9. China in Ten Words
10. Chronicles of Blood Merchant by Yu Hua
11. Love in the New Millenium
Thanks :)
Class representative😁
I appreciate your work at promoting Asian literature. I've been reading a lot of Japanese literature, now I look forward to read Chinese and Korean literature. Thank you!
Thanks for watching, and I really hope you like what you find!
and NOBODY cares about Indian literature 🙃
@@hetasvivora4487 you are more than welcome to recommend some here 😊
@@hetasvivora4487Indian literature is quite interesting!
@@corinapjau4041I would like to recommend to anyone wanting to try out Indian lit - Latitudes of longing by shubhangi Swarup.
Happy reading:)
I highly recommend “The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast” They usually bring on the translators for interviews - and the world of translating 中文 is fascinating!
Great video! I have never read translated Chinese literature, now I know where to start, thank you!
dont know if anyone gives a damn but if you are stoned like me atm then you can watch pretty much all of the latest series on instaflixxer. Have been binge watching with my gf for the last months =)
@Elijah Briar yup, I've been using instaflixxer for years myself =)
"To live" by Yu Hua is a masterpiece; i loved his "Brothers" as well - highly recommended
I'm very proud to have almost all these books in my library!
That's awesome!
I have read and am reading Chinese books before and I love them (although the books I read are BL, not pure literature like yours, lol). If you like you can read "the grandmaster of demonic cultivation", which is so good that it was made into a Chinese drama but not with bl theme but a bromance theme instead.. The book I'm currently reading right now is called "are you addicted?" (it is a sequel). it is also a bl but I really fell in love with the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested
Untamed is the drama adapted from The grand master of demonic cultivation
Where can I read them?
Hello , can you please suggest me some other books
@@RohiniMandepula you may also like heavenly officials blessing
@@yujincha2476 thank you
As a rights manger working in Chinese literature publishing house, your video is really inspiring, cause my job is kinda about wondering what kind of Chinese books will interest English readers, Thank you for your sharing!
That's an interesting job! I just recently read and reviewed The Wedding Party by Liu Xinwu and loved it to pieces!
@xieiris1351 I’d love to see some the Blancpain Imaginist literary prize winners/ long list/ short list in translation. The prize is awarded to early career writers. Those books aren’t being translated into English - I think English readers would enjoy them.
You are an extremely knowledgable, open-minded, and well-spoken person. You've earned a new subscriber:)
Aw thanks :)
Have you read “The Story of the Stone/Dream of the Red Chamber”? It’s an old (18th century) and very long novel, but absolutely worth the read. Helps a lot in understanding Chinese culture and especially Chinese fiction, because it ‘s quite all-encompassing and influenced a lot of modern Chinese writers. David Hawkes’s translation is the best.
I've never even heard of it! Thanks so much for such a fascinating recommendation. I'll see if I can track down that translation.
@@WillowTalksBooks It's like a cultural bible in China. I think there's a Penguin Classics version of it!
@@WillowTalksBooks Many Chinese literature critics hailed it as the height of Chinese literature. It’s one of the Four Classic Novels, among which, the Dream of the Red Chamber has the highest literary value. There’s even a “redology” dedicated to studying it. But you really need to have patience to read it, which is long and a bit slow.
I've just read this! I so enjoyed it-I could hardly put the last two books down! Great stuff!
@@WillowTalksBooks If you like camp, I think you would really enjoy this, Willow! I just finished reading it. You can also.get the 1987 series of it on TH-cam with English subtitles. Amazing 18th century novel!
Thank you for the recommendations! I've only read the Three-body Problem out of these and was struck by how different it felt in the style and narrative, idk how to describe it.
Thanks for interpreting so well this inspires me to translate some more literature to English from Chinese
I absolutely love it and appreciate your appreciation for chinese literature. I do hope you can make a part 2!
I absolutely will!
Wu xia means martial heroes. This genre depicts warriors of ancient China with superhuman feats of martial arts like Qing gong (jumping from rooftops to rooftops and walking on water)
omg, i’m hoping to study Chinese at university and need to read more books about china given that my application will be going in in about a month. I’ve read wild swans, empress dowager cixi, red sorghum and some Confucius but i didn’t feel that was enough. thank you for this very helpful list! I’ve now just bought chronicle of a blood merchant and excited to read it. i’ve heard a lot of good things about yu hua’s writing and this confirms it. thank you so much
It is great that you are interested in studying Chinese. It might also be helpful to read classical poetry. I have a TH-cam channel talking about Chinese poetry and translate poems character by character. Here is the link for your reference: th-cam.com/channels/HZ-W3DGpJeu5QPdV5_tI5w.html
It is not just about translation of Chinese literature but also about translation of Chinese mind and culture.
Yes.
this is what I needed! Now, I've my new list books that I should read! thank you!
You're very welcome!
I loved this list!!! I’ve added so many new titles to my TBR! Just need to find unlimited reading time
Great stuff! I look forward to reading more of these.
One nitpick: The Nobel Prize for Literature is given to honor a writer's overall contribution to literature, not for a particular work. Technically.
You have inspired me to purchase the 2020 and 2021 Tilted Axis subscriptions. Thankyou for the push. I have been following them all year since I read Tokyo Ueno Station in January. Thankyou for your advocacy of diverse writers and works in translation. I am very much looking forward to my books appearing in my mail box. What a treat!!!!
I'm so thrilled to hear that! Ueno Station really is something special. An all-time favourite of mine. And we're getting another Yu Miri from them next year! 2021 is lining up to be a good year for books.
I'd also recommend books from Eileen Chang. They are a bit older (think she wrote most of her books in 1940s) but really really good. Her work is very popular and influential even until today. I only read her books in Chinese but there should be English translated version as well considering she is an 'American essayist' according to google (which i only found out today lol)
Thanks for recommending her! I've seen her books talked about for so many years but never given her a read before. I definitely will now!
If you're needing a video idea, I'd love recs for crime fiction in Chinese literature. It's so difficult, given the censorship. 😭 Thank you for bringing more attention to Asian lit!
I need recs for Chinese thriller novels too
the long night and bad kids are really good! they also have drama adaptations and are amazing
This is the video I needed! I've recently wanted to read more Chinese fiction, I tried Soul Mountain and unfortunately it wasn't for me but this has given me lots of ideas on what to try next, thanks!
Yeah the book is more for Chinese intelligentsia. It's very critical book.
Just recently found your channel. Love your content and book recommendations. Thank you!
Wow, thank you so much! That really means a lot.
I have read The Three-Body Problem, because I read SF. About 1970 I discovered SF and that has been mostly what I have read since then. My current favorite is Alastair Reynolds. In the last few years I have been reading more classics and literary fiction. I want to read more Asian novels, so you videos are great for helping me find authors to read.
Great video again, Willow! I am particularly into Chinese novels (as I have family in China) and have read a few of these. Just finished The Dark Forest, the 2nd book in Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem series and it's one of the best sci-fi novels I've ever read, up there with Asimov and Arthur C Clarke! Will definitely be reading Red Sorghum (I've seen the film) and looking forward to my birthday later this month as I am getting the new translation of Journey to the West-the Monkey King. (After which I will watch your video on that!)
红高粱没意思，推荐你去读一下星辰变，作为网络小说却被收入课本教材
Wow thank you SO Much for all the Chinese sci-fi recs!! I loved the Three Body Problem despite the sexism but I'm so glad to have more on my TBR now :)
Oh! I must add two to your list then, especially if you haven't read anything by them:
Can Xue - Frontier
Xiaolu Guo - A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
Xiaolu's is especially interesting because she worked on it in both Chinese and English (though it is fully published in English). But we may ask one of Borges's favorite questions, about this novel (as we do about Murakami, who sometimes writes entire passages in English before translating them into Japanese): *What, exactly, is a work "in translation"?*
I feel like Chinese authors love writing tragedy, it's often mixed with comedy but it's still tragic and devastating. There's actually different types of Chinese fantasy, other than Wuxia there's Xianxia (I heard that the main difference is the main characters being non-humans, as in they have actual supernatural powers other than slightly fictional martial arts, and are often immortal) and other minor subgenres. I didn't actually read any of your suggestions, I don't think they were adapted in my language so it's a little hard to find, I'll look into it though they do sound interesting.
I am glad I stumbled upon your channel.
Thank you very much for the video
You’re very welcome
Thankyou for you..I choose this novel for my project..I m from Tamil nadu, India
Thanks for sharing your favorite Chinese literature! Could you review or recommend more? A part 2?
Maybe you can start getting into Chinese and Japanese tv shows afterwards and make a review about them.
It's nice to see you mention ethnicity, in the first book. In fact, there are not many ethnic minority writers in China, Zhang Chengzhi is one of the best, but unfortunately there are not many English translations of his works. There are two main aspects of the work, one is to express the history of the plight and suffering of minorities, such as "History of the Mind《心灵史》", and his prose works also present a lot of such content, it is a pity that he did not go as far-reaching as Coetzee, falling into the trap of his own narrative; On the other hand, it expresses the beauty of people in primitive society and environment, which is lacking in modern Chinese novels. Many Chinese novels are famous for their realistic writing of political and social issues, and this kind of artistically beautiful and influential work is very rare, called "Golden Ranch"（《金牧场》）, I recommend it. In general, it is possible that Chinese novels go further in realism and lack the search for the artistic beauty of novels.
Can someone help mein find a novel, where female lead was reborn her name was yu something. She had spent her childhood in some village coz she was said to be an unlucky star and her mother won't be able to give birth to a son due to this daughter's luck. The female protagonist meets male protagonist Mr. Mu in a forest where she gets attacked by a pack of wolves and later she saves male from some conspiracy by some Han girl. Please tell me the name of this novel. Thanks in advance
Did you read A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality yet? It's a masterpiece, best china novel I have read. I think English maybe not express extractly the meaning that story brings (describe, metaphor,...) but it's still really good.
About to read this...my favourite so far is i shall seal the heavens by Er Gen and i'm also reading "nine star hegemon body art". This one deeply touches the aspect of we rise by lifting others, comedy, action and a lot more. Sadly the novel isn't complete yet so still reading as it gets released
One sci-fi short story anthology that I love is "The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories", which solely contains stories by female and nonbinary Chinese authors.
2 years too late,but still I want to recommend GeLing Yan and Lillian Lee(the author of Farewell My concubine), both are Chinese female writers who focus solely on female,but due to very different political background,meaning one growing up under the CCP control and the other not,their writing often give me the feeling of the White Snake and the Green Snake from that ancient Chinese tale, and coincidentally,they each had a queer novella revisited that ancient tale one named White Snake，and the other Green Snake.
Just found your video. Time to check out the books you mentioned.
Hope you like what you find!
Great video!! Thank you. I wonder if you read any of the classic, the four novels from late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.
I really love chinese novel❤❤
i highly recommend Supreme Dragon Son-in-Law Ye Chen or Ye Chen Xiao Churan Novel (Other Name). until now it is still not yet finished and is still ongoing. in other webnovel sites, its translated version is Amazing Son in Law Charlie Wade/Charismatic Charlie Wade.
but I always prefer the original Supreme Dragon Son in Law Ye Chen in chinese characters translated thru Google translate because the names of the characters and places are the original ones and is realistic that you can imagine where in China it happens. in the translated versions they change the names of characters and places to western which i find confusing when i try to imagine a scene while reading
as for the content, it is always interesting as i focuses on business, martial arts, justice, respect, ethics, not just love
the only downside is that it only uploads 2-6 chapters only a day
Deathblade's video have made me understand Chinese literature as well
Be aware that the Three Body Problem trilogy is so pessimistic and fatalistic you'll get spells of mid-night ceiling stares 🤣
As a half-Chinese I think if you can’t not understand Chinese (Mandarin)you’ll never really know the beauty of Chinese literature. I don’t know how to explain but Chinese has so many many characters but when translated to other languages it is super difficult to demonstrate the origin meaning of those 词藻or 俚语. Sometimes just feel Chinese literature are alienating from the world.
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I couldn't really get into The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, but I adored Where Reasons End. Probably the reason for not being able to connect with the former might be, that I just don't know enough about China. Also I had the feeling, that she wasn't as accomplished as a writer as with her later works. Could that be true?
I understand that and I'm so happy you loved Where Reasons End. That book is a masterpiece. Dear Friend is my personal favourite. That book has a masterful command over language. But I actually couldn't stand her newest book, Must I Go. It felt like it was written by a wholly different person. I was given a review copy but I was so bored by it that I couldn't bring myself to write a review. Still, Dear Friend and Where Reasons End are gorgeous, perfect books.
In fact, there are 56 ethnic groups in China.
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I recommend "Reverend Insanity" by Gu Zhen Ren., It's one of the books I read that the longer it gets, the better the plot becomes, plus after reading the novel most of the Xianxia and Wuxia books become bland to read.
Please do some german novels at some point!
Good idea! I certainly will!
What about modern Chinese novels? They are very attractive. I like it very much.
Have you ever read reverend insanity? Sadly the novel is banned as of now at chapter 2000+ by Chinese government.
Good job
Thank you
Have you ever read Zafon's (the spanish author) books? Is there a chinese/asian book quite like Zafon's work?? I'm craving for something like that.
I think you’ll enjoy Shen Dacheng 沈大成 short story “The Novelist in the Attic”. The translation is available online. Or you can read “The Book of Shanghai” which includes her short story and those of several other contemporary Chinese writers in translation.
I really recommend you to start reading danmei!
Nah
Like dementors!! 6:05
If u tell all the spoilers here what will i read
i liked this video and your recommendations a lot, especially as a scifi reader. a question: how do you think anti-communist/anti-china propaganda has effected your feelings about these books/authors?
As a Chinese rights manager, I’m very curious about your question, do you have an answer 😄
@@xieiris1351 hello! i don’t think i have a concrete answer to this question but i do have some thoughts about it. i should preface by saying that “propaganda” is almost always used w a negative connotation when that doesn’t have to be the case. propaganda is simply information that wants to further any political ideology. so with that, we can examine how the imperialist countries like the US and UK use sinophobic rhetoric in order to make their citizens believe that the china is the reason the world is collapsing or that things go wrong or what have you. this directly ties into the red scare, because during this time in the US, so many kinds of random bullshit (satanism, homosexuality, womens rights, desegregation) were all linked to communism, which the US obviously declared as a horrible awful thing. and since as a society-and i can only speak to this as an american-we’ve been told to exclusively trust our governments, we come to believe all of this nonsense about communism. this propaganda then leaks into many other aspects of our culture until it becomes the norm. what i was trying to get at with my question is this: how well do you understand the effectiveness of anti-communist and anti-china propaganda and how do you think these books (or any books really) play a roll in dismantling or supporting those ideas?
It's 56 races in China
Soz.
I was going to get into Cixin Liu and this is the first i heard about his misogyny, so i looked. Turns out it's that a deliberately unlikable character with a whole bunch of negative qualities has that as one of the negative qualities. Seriously? It's not bad, or even unusual, to put bad people in books.
Lying about the crops and the devastating famine was during/a result of the Great Leap Forward, not the Cultural Revolution that came later (1966-76)
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Any taiwanese book recs?
Yes, absolutely! I've written about and reviewed a few on my site in the past and I do need to make a dedicated video as well. Wu Ming-yi is a fantastic author, and My Enemy's Cherry Tree by Wang Ting-kuo is also great. It's not fiction but I recently read Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee and that book is magic.
No need to blasphemy in your content.
LMAO this can’t be real Jesus Christ 😭
He
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How is three body misogynistic??
He repeatedly describes women as weak, female leaders as incompetent and indecisive, and maternal instincts as a sign of being useless. His books have male leads, while relegating women to support positions; in those positions they do little of value.
actually there are 56 races in china😉😉
Tên thương gia Bắc Kỳ vừa ngồi vào bàn ăn thì một em khuyết tật ban vé số lại vãng đến hỏi có mua số hen không hắn hỏi lại có dói bụng không tiền ăn sẽ mua hết số hen cho cháu dữ lấy để lấy thưởng trong lúc ăn họ tâm sự với nhau người mua mong được no không trông đợi sự làm giàu từ người Không khả năng Dân đông tốn kém nhiều người khuyết tật làm tự thiện như cháu chỉ có dân tàu là sướng vì họ nỗ lực kiểm tiền trách nhiệm của chính quyền vc là nuôi tội phạm trong tu còn ngân sách gì để nghỉ đến nhân dân như tụi em cũng muốn trở thành tội phạm cho yên bề vì trách nhiệm quá nhiều 💰 vn than thở gì thế giới chửi cho gái đẹp bảo vệ đai gia cũng như tu tuong song kiếm của tỷ Phú xay nha cho lính phát triển theo hai cách phan nong dân hay giúp nông dan phát triển với bọn thương mai theo ông thi phát triển gi trước đánh lừa xuất xứ sản phẩm cũng như bọn điều tra gian điệp nền giáo dục của pháp của Mỹ bị phản ứng tại vn thay vào đó là nền giáo dục Trung Quốc sự lựa bịp nhân dân học sinh ở mọi từng lớp giữa các chế độ chính trị để phình lừa quân đội nhân dân cả một nền kinh tế giáo dục tôn giáo cũng như chính trị ngoại lại tu tưởng liệu sách vở tiểu thuyết phim ảnh nguồn gốc xuất xứ không ai biết rõ kẻ thù nào dân tộc nào liệu Mỹ sẽ đi về đâu bởi những giá trị của mỗi dân tộc đem vào Hoa Kỳ trong khi vn tương lai đi về đâu một nền kinh tế ngoại lại lọc lừa hậu quả của chiến tranh đem lại người tàu bảo họ lừa cả người tàn tật làm việc cho họ để có miếng ăn và tình thương yêu của thế giới dành cho họ cũng như công lý tài sản gia đình bị buôn bán chiếm đoạt và ngay cả cơ hội học hỏi đến từ các quốc gia nhân ái họ ví dụ như sau khách du lịch đến thăm mục đích là người ngheo nạn nhân của sự bất công không phải bọn giàu học thức cao nào đó kiếm tiền gạt bỏ họ để sang tàu hợp tác bên ấy ví dụ Hoa Kỳ đến vn vì hài cốt Mỹ lai không phải bọn môi giới sang tàu hay vơ vét trở lại túi của họ tại Huế Kỳ để tạo cơ hội làm ăn với tàu thật mau giàu có sự hợp tác Trung Mỹ kinh tế tàu không vì nạn nhân chiến tranh thế nào là bọn thương mại phát triển thao túng chính quyền như thế đó là vấn đề bịp vương bịp tin lừa đảo mọi sự bất công giới cao niên trí tuệ vnch/vc của Mỹ lợi hại như thế nào có lừa bịp quân dân tổ quốc của họ không có ham hại người ty nạn để làm ăn trung gian làm han gian tàu Nhật bản và bọn giàu yêu tài nghệ của họ thu do sai gon vnch Huế Kỳ bảo thế giới yêu Trung Quốc hơn vn quả đúng như vậy có lẽ họ nô lệ trí tuệ tàu để được lợi cũng như hướng đến tương lai với vn được mỏ đường do họ dép yên những điều thua lỗ bất công với túi tiền của họ nói xấu tàu không khác gì che dấu trí tuệ của họ về công kỹ nghệ họ kiếm được từ thế giới vn chẳng biết so sánh cùng ai tử vi xem tướng của người việt nam làm cho thế giới tôn trọng tàu nhiều hơn có lẽ bọn Nhật bản hiểu được những hạng người nào sống phản bội cho người tiều Con xúc vật nào lại không bị thịt ở nước ta các bác sĩ tâm lý thần học tử vì tướng số giỏi nhất thế giới của việt nam biết ơn đội nón cho xúc vật để chống dịch sau chiến tranh chúng tiếp xúc quá nhiều người và làm việc từ thiện bên ngoài tại sao chính quyền csvn tận dụng họ tìm ra quân đội nhân dân mất tích để đền ơn gia đình họ tuổi con Hợi không sống lâu hơn tuổi con chó con trâu và những con vật khác đều có số phận được ăn nhiều hay it cho nào cũng có người Hoa làm công lý đại diện cho nạn nhân Nhật Bản của chiến tranh đòi Mỹ bồi thường và họ thường bất bình cho người việt nam nữa để nắm dữ mọi thông tin những câu chuyện tốn kém rất nhiều tiền của đồ ăn thức uống thực phẩm lương thực san phẩm trị tuệ nữa lịch sử vn cho thấy cai trị người tàu không phải dẽ liệu csv có vướng vào những cạn bẩy của như vnch từng việc qua có lẽ Mỹ còn chưa hiểu nhiều vấn đề khác nữa như tư tưởng mê tín dị đoan không thể lung lay được họ lật đổ nhau cho thế lực này vì họ thấy được tương lại hơn chính quyền vn vốn biết được nhau cái phần này mi đã dậy chưa sao thiếu kinh nghiệm thế người khuyết tật có số làm ăn bên ngoài xã hội được ủng hộ có lẽ người tàu áp dụng uốn cây tạo giáng người họ còn khen con chim trong lồng hót hay người chủ bảo nó bi khuyết tật gẫy cánh những có thể làm người thương hát theo nó ăn cơm tàu ở nhà Tây lấy vợ Nhật bản Mỹ có ý lấy tàu đồng hoá Nhật bản biến phụ nữ vn kiếm tiền bán rẻ cho ngoại bang bọn truyền thông quậy cho csvn không còn tay chân trên thế giới nhất là làm cho tàu thu vn đáng lẽ họ phải tốn thờ kính trọng csvn như anh chị của họ trên trường lớp học đường quyễn rũ được cai trị dạy bảo nhau có lẽ tàu đã cải thiện được tất cả rồi văn hoá trí tuệ mê tín dị đoan tướng mạo diệt chủng bộ đội việt cộng tin ram rắp vào tử vi bói toán giỏi tài hơn Âu châu không để sự độc ác nào phát triển tái diễn lại của quê ta tên Mỹ Tho báo cáo với chính quyền về sự thất vọng quê hương nhỏ lại khó cai trị trí tuệ của một số nhân dân muốn trở thành sắc tộc khác rồi nên làm sao phải phân biệt sách nào là của chính quyền Tây pháp Mỹ và của kẻ phá hoại đôi lập niềm tin và các dịch vụ như loại đĩa phản chủ tiếp cận những loại xấu ấy của các chính quyền khác bám vip xụp đô họ bị kèm chế không tàu là chủ nợ lớn của Campuchia ai giúp tàu thâu tóm nên kinh tế lẫn chính trị giáo dục tôn giáo và chỉ có vnch Hoa Kỳ giúp họ thoát được nợ vô điều kiện tên nhà giàu day con ra ngoài chơi với chúng bạn phải tìm hiểu chúng như lời kinh thánh nếu chúng đoi khát thì cho chúng thoa the vi phòng bản tính xấu chôm cướp khi cần thì tìm cách cho giúp đỡ bọn mafia từng làm bọn xa hội đen tàu ấy
@@minhnguyen5861 Sorry could u speak English