See China

Round heaven – square earth is an ancient and long lasting concept in China, so is the concept of yin and yang. The Book of Change has the passage “The Ultimate brings about two Aspects; the two Aspects bring about four Appearances; the four Appearances bring about the eight Representations”.

Topping the list of bestsellers in May are books from Japan, Turkey and Uraguay, a refreshing revisit to the over-talked-about May 4th Movement of 1919 by historian Zhang Ming, a few historical recollections from the 20th century, and a warning book that China’s embarking on “inflation economy” by controversial economist Zhao Xiao.

Upon publication of her new book, Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck’s Life in China, which was discussed at The Asia House Festival of Asian Literature on 11 May, British Biographer Hilary Spurling picked out ten of her most favorite books on China, from painting and poetry to picture books and Pearl Buck.

The first really wellknown Chinese novel on migrant workers was finally written by the migrant worker himself. Zhou Shuheng (周述恒), 31-year-old migrant worker who bent himself on nightly writings after backbreaking work in the daytime from different jobs, hopes that this 450,000-word novel will help more people to respect and protect the full rights and interests of 280 million Chinese people who have silently contributed to the economic boom of 1/5 of the world in blood and sweat.

The bestseller book (on which the film is based) describes the professional ascent of a girl who works for a global company, DB. She is often cited as being quick and clever, knowing how to get promotions and please her superiors. The book has since then become a bit of a handbook for aspiring Office Ladys all across China.

The National Library of China, the world’s largest archive of Chinese books and manuscripts, is now soliciting old pictures about the life and history of global Chinese descendents. Donars of pictures eligible to be permanently collected by NLC will be conferred with an official certificate. Please contact nlcoldphoto@yahoo.cn for details.

On March 27, an (almost perpetual) interesting topic was brought up by the Paper Republic on the reception of Chinese literature, or the lack of it, among “Western readers”.

A book written by Lu Shi’e (陆士谔) in 1910 fortold the event of Shanghai World Expo in a very fasinating way. Lu, a Qing dynasty novelist and doctor, wrote a fictional book entitled New China (新中国) when he was 32 years old, in which the protagonist “dreamed” of Shanghai’s bustling business, subway, Pudong Bridge and above all, the opening of Shanghai World Expo exactly a hundred years later.

How do the Chinese see, hear, smell, taste,touch,feel and fantasize about their world? What are the shared memories underlying Chinese culture and arts? Jiang Xun (蒋勋), a celebrated aesthetics scholar and essayist from Taiwan, talks about the exquisite world of sensibilities and shared memories of the Chinese.

The above Time Magazine China Edition cover for 2 February 2004 shows the female author Chun Shu (春树 Spring Tree), nicknamed Beijing Doll 北京娃娃 who wrote a best seller describing her sexual experiences after dropping out of school. This may not sound like a promising start to a discussion of New Chinese Literature, but is [...]