Welcome to Snow Pavilion
A translation of a close approximation of my name,
雪亭 (“Xue Ting”)
As someone of diverse Chinese heritage who was born in China and raised across multiple regions, I became very aware of its rich and diverse cultures at a young age. After a secondary education in Britain, I began to recognise, during my undergraduate studies at Queen Mary’s, the unique insight I could offer the people of my second home, regarding the cultures of my birth country. It was this that motivated me to begin writing about Chinese cultures, society and translate contemporary Chinese fiction works into English. This, in turn made me realise I needed to gain a deeper understanding of China, its literature, culture, and the national psyche. This realization led me to step out of my career in publishing, and move to Beijing, to study at the Minzu University. It was there that I saw a burgeoning new output, which the rest of the world hardly seemed to notice.
I returned to the UK, and began to approach Asian culture festivals around the country, to write and deliver talks on new developments and the underpinning cultures. I have lectured on subjects as diverse as tea, indie music, film, literature, and animation. This was during a time when the mainstream Western consciousness struggled with the concept of a contemporary China.
Alongside a day job in publishing, I also began to independently research, write articles and essays, building up a website of resources for anyone interested in Chinese cultures, collaborating with theatres, galleries, museums and media companies to produce topical content that also offered a unique perspective. I also took what translating opportunities I could find, even interpreting for artists and directors, and translating portions for documentaries. In 2016, I was engaged to write a book on Chinese cultures, and took the opportunity to explore an area which had gained my interest, seemed not to have previously been explored in depth, and certainly not with an eye to proper representation as well as accessibility. From Kuan Yin to Chairman Mao is a book which not only offers an introduction to the multipantheon of Chinese deities, but also an exploration of the sociocultural relevance of the deities in the 21st century.
In 2019, I finally landed a publishing deal, after a decade of pursuing, to put together and translate my own curated collection of contemporary Chinese literature. Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction, came out in November 2021, to critical, general acclaim, and excellent sales. My next few long form projects are likely to alternate between non fiction commentary, (though that may be on literary genre or movements), and collected stories, arranged by genre or interest, both paths hoping to illuminate modern China, from both its historical and contemporary development.
With this in mind, I very much feel the need to continue learning about, and further deepening my understanding of my area of specialisation, in a formalized setting, to better equip myself for the task of furthering the understanding of China’s society, civilization and cultures. I have intended to take further studies for some years, but have always delayed application whilst seeking further financial stability. Over the last couple of years, I have come some way to meeting this obstacle, but also have experienced key changes in society which have strengthened my resolve. Although I am aware that leaving a stable career, will make things a struggle, I feel that proper representation for, and dissemination of China’s evolving culture around the world is one of the most important things to me.
This is why during my two years of post-graduate learning in Chinese Studies, I didn’t put my writing aside, delivering Chinese Myths and Sinophagia: A Celebration of Chinese Horror to the world, while I completed my studies, which consolidated over a decade and a half of independent research and practice in the field.
One of the things I’ve always stressed in my work, is the importance of understanding the Chinese perspectives within the proper context. This has always been a challenge due to China’s unique historical development, century-old misperceptions, and the lack of intersectional explorations of developing countries. There are so many aspects of Chinese culture that defy Western preconceptions, and with China’s changing global economic role, and the state’s attempts to cope with a rapidly changing society from within, mutual understanding, and patience has become more essential than ever before, to prevent the ingraining of fear and prejudice, and to encourage open-minded exchange.