Chinese Literature in Translation Notes
Jan. 15th, 2026 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowazaleaI asked on Rednote for some Chinese literature recommendations, besides Lu Xun (since I know of him and have already read his work). The recommendations are as follows:
I purchased a used copy of a compilation of Xiao Hong's works, The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River, that should be here in about a week.
Two of the authors in this list have stories in my copy of Contemporary Chinese Stories, tr. Chi-Chen Wang:
My anthology lists other Chinese story anthologies:
I would love to obtain copies of T'ien Hsia Monthly, but the cheapest I've found are $150 apiece, and I have not yet found digitized copies.
The responder who recommended Liu Cixin specifically recommended The Three-Body Problem. I had already purchased a short story collection of his titled The Wandering Earth, but I have not read a lot of science fiction, and it isn't easy reading for me.
My plan in the short term is to read the Shen Congwen and Lao She stories I have, then start on the Xiao Hong works.
My readings till now have been influenced by paper-republic.org. This site is really cool, but I am interested in reading works that Chinese people put forward as their best literature, rather than what scholars outside of China favor. I purchased an online collection linked from the site, Ten Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon. It's good, and I will get back to it eventually. Issues of a defunct magazine of Chinese literature in translation called Pathlight can be obtained online as well. Those are also on my list to eventually read.
- Xiao Hong (1911-1942)
- Shen Congwen (1902-1988)
- Liu Cixin (1963-)
- Lao She (1899-1966)
- Eileen Chang (1920-1995)
- Wang Anyi (1954-)
I purchased a used copy of a compilation of Xiao Hong's works, The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River, that should be here in about a week.
Two of the authors in this list have stories in my copy of Contemporary Chinese Stories, tr. Chi-Chen Wang:
- Shen Congwen = Shen Ts'ung-wen, "Night March"
- Lao She, "Black Li and White Li," "The Glasses," "Grandma Takes Charge," "The Philanthropist," "Liu's Court"
My anthology lists other Chinese story anthologies:
- Living China, ed. Edgar Snow - PDF
- The Tragedy of Ah Qui, ed. Kyn Yn Yu - archive.org
- Ah Q & Others, Lusin - archive.org
- T'ien Hsia Monthly - 7 articles in chinaheritagequarterly.org
I would love to obtain copies of T'ien Hsia Monthly, but the cheapest I've found are $150 apiece, and I have not yet found digitized copies.
The responder who recommended Liu Cixin specifically recommended The Three-Body Problem. I had already purchased a short story collection of his titled The Wandering Earth, but I have not read a lot of science fiction, and it isn't easy reading for me.
My plan in the short term is to read the Shen Congwen and Lao She stories I have, then start on the Xiao Hong works.
My readings till now have been influenced by paper-republic.org. This site is really cool, but I am interested in reading works that Chinese people put forward as their best literature, rather than what scholars outside of China favor. I purchased an online collection linked from the site, Ten Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon. It's good, and I will get back to it eventually. Issues of a defunct magazine of Chinese literature in translation called Pathlight can be obtained online as well. Those are also on my list to eventually read.
