Into the Maze of Human Nature with Mystery Narratives: Chinese Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction Writers: An International Outlook
I was invited to a showcase of ‘mystery and suspense’ writer in China by the China Writer’s Association recently, as one of the international experts, to hear the authors speak and to give a short talk on my work in curating horror literature. I found the author speeches a very interesting window into their attitudes as writers and their work, and was delighted to see Cai Jun, one of the most contributors to my anthology Sinophagia, with the greatest renown. Here’s the short talk I gave.
Posted in Events and tagged books, Chinese, horror writing, literature
The Legend of Mando part 2: the Way of Jianghu
In the first of this two-parter, I’ve explored how Din Djarin is the very model of a Xia, and how his quests mirror so many wuxia tales, but there’s much more to the series, and the universe of Star Wars that aligns with the Chinese genre.
Posted in Articles and tagged Chinese, fantasy, fiction, film, novel, Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Wuxia
Mesmerising Mythical Mayhem: Jentry Chau V.s The Underworld Part 1
There have been a slew of fantastic YA animation projects recently that have captured fan’s hearts, such as She-Ra, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and The Owl House, all of which I have loved, but none of them grabbed me by the face, and screamed at me “this has been made for you”, in the way that Jentry Chau vs the Underworld did. My excitement for the project was lit the moment I saw the announcement images and teasers, and I began to talk about it on social media, but duties and deadlines actually stopped me from sitting down and watching the show until Spring Festival. I was blown away, and consumed the whole thing in a couple of days. Like any rich banquet devoured so greedily, I knew I would have to sit and digest it before being able to convey how much I enjoyed it.
Posted in Articles and tagged Chinese, demons, Emmy's, fantasy, ghosts, horror, Jentry Chau, mythology, Netflix, occult, SFF, spirits, TV, underworld, YA
Mahjong Illustrated: The Sound of Sparrows
The clickety-clack of mahjong tiles being mixed by a group of friends is one of the most soothing and distinctive sounds found across East Asia and, increasingly, North America. First developed in southern China in the early 19th century, mahjong – meaning ‘sparrow’ – is a fun and popular game that tasks you with solving a tile-matching puzzle before you run out of moves. Played by four people using 144 tiles, mahjong is not just a game of luck; it requires strategy, pattern recognition, and an understanding of the other players’ tactics.
Posted in Books and tagged books, china, Chinese, culture, games, Mahjong, majiang, strategy, tiles
The Girl Who Stole Life by Zhou Wen
It was immense pleasure working with Sheila Williams and to have my translation featured in Asimov’s Science Fiction, which takes its name from one of my favourite classic Anglophone sci-fi writers, and whose publications I have long admired. This is a story about languages, linguistic, neurolinguistics and translation, but also, about a young woman who wants to break the barriers that life put in front of her.
Posted in Curated & Translated and tagged Chinese, class, genre, languages, linguistics, literature, neurolinguistics, noveltte, Scifi, SFF, social concerns, society
Her Story: Second Skin
A novelette by Dan Shi, a new voice in female Chinese science fiction and one that is boldly outspoken about feminism and gender debates. I was asked to translate this piece by the editors, and after reading it, I felt it was important to do so, especially when the story was so well written. A bold exploration of technology, the female body and autonomy. You can read it here.
Posted in Curated & Translated and tagged autonomy, Chinese, female body, feminism, genre, literature, novelette, science fiction, Scifi, SFF
On Chinese Gothic part 1
When thinking about gothic, people tend of think of soaring castles and misshapen stone spires. But the Chinese have a sense of the gothic, which has been quietly flourishing in recent storytelling like moss on the gravestone, and harks back to literary traditions. Instead of derelict abbeys and dungeoned great houses, we have ruined temples and equally labyrinthine ancient mansions, usually enclosured with courtyards and gardens sprawling into unfathomable depths. Instead of the ghostly woman in black, we have the ethereal woman in white, for white is the colour of death and mourning for the Chinese, the white-robed woman often symbolising the innocent and pure. She is ever briefly glimpsed, through abandon quarters and desolate fields, singing, weeping, or brushing her hair. In traditional stories like Pu Songling’s Liaozhai, she’s mostly a femme fatale, a ghost or a fox demon, luring men to their demise, or leaving them to wake up cold in cobwebbed ruins. Contemporary Chinese horror inherits this aesthetic, a prime example being Cai Jun’s novella Huangcun (which you can read in Sinophagia), but the emphasis is placed more on the phantomising of victims by traditional societal constraints and expectations. This is evident in the story of the vanishing brides in Snow Tower, the ‘ghostly figure’ at the Long Clan mansion leads the protagonists to eventually discover that the women had been murdered and buried by the clan’s deranged leader on their stormy island, where the tombs of the clan’s female infants lie hidden in the underground caves. Continue Reading →
Posted in Articles and tagged books, Chinese, drama, fiction, gothic, horror, literature, storytelling, TV
Heavy Industry: The Donkey Restaurant of Tiexi
Even though I consider myself culturally Cantonese, my maternal grandmother was from Jilin and I’ve grown up aware that this region of China, as remote in the northeast, as Guangdong is remote in the southeast, is part of my heritage. So I was delighted to translate this story, which I really like in itself. Part of the fantastic literary output that is the Dongbei renaissance, translating it has felt like working on a Jia Zhangke film told in science fiction writing.
Posted in Curated & Translated and tagged Chinese, dongbei, hadron collider, heavy industry, literature, northeast China, particle technology, science fiction, translation
In to Mortal World: a New Evolution of the Cowherd and the Weaver Myth
Today is Qixi Festival, which falls on the 7th of the seventh lunar month. Whereas Valentine’s Day is also now celebrated in China, as is Lantern Festival for first romances, Qixi is the occasion to celebrate enduring love. And as arts and commerce increasingly turn their focus on it, more couples in China are choosing tie to knot on this day. The origins of this festival, is of course, associated with the story of Niulang and Zhinüng, the mortal Cowherd and the Weaver goddess, China’s story of star-crossed lovers and one of its four greatest legends, which you can read out in my book Chinese Myths. If you’re interested in the supreme goddess who played a key role in the tale, read my guide to Chinese deities). For the traditions and customs, read my article. This year, I wanted to write about a brilliant continuation of the myth by the donghua film Into the Mortal World (落凡尘, 2024), which I managed to catch on the plane on a recent trip.
Posted in Articles, Events and tagged animation, Cantonese, china, Chinese, Cowherd and Weaver, donghua, film, Guangdong, Guangzhou, myth