Dear friends,
Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last year during which we have launched as a charity (and had a fantastic party), helped bring some great non-fiction essays about China into English with the support of the LA Review of Books’ China Channel and Chinese literary magazine One-Way Street, and continued to share latest news about Chinese writing including our very popular end-of-year lists of books translated into English, books published in Chinese and translations to look forward to in 2020.
New Year, new reading inspiration
To welcome the Chinese New Year, Eric Abrahamsen, our chair of Trustees, has selected a story from our Read Paper Republic back catalogue. “I’d be hard pressed to pick a favourite story, but one that has always stuck with me is Li Zishu’s ‘The Northern Border,’ in Josh Dyer’s translation. I’m a sucker for any writing that can be described as ‘hallucinatory,’ but this story is more than that: blending a mythical family curse with history; exploring the ills of the Chinese diaspora. It’s a chilling read.”
And, for an appropriately rodent themed story, why not try 'Convince Me' by Jiang Yitan, which begins: “There were three of us in the lab, and our goal was to extend the life of white mice...” Translator Alexander Clifford says, “It’s a thoroughly modern piece, with its pathological-yet-sympathetic lead characters. It intrigues us with scientific jargon. There are mythological references and social comment, and holding it all together is a strong dash of boy-meets-girl.”
We hope you enjoy these stories – and, if you’ve already read them, feel free to browse the rest of our archive.
New for 2020: The Paper Republic Field Guide to Chinese Literature
As we move forward through the next year, one project close to our hearts is the Field Guide to Chinese Literature. This is an overview of the authors working in Chinese today, accompanied by a series of thought-provoking essays on trends, themes and hot topics in contemporary Chinese writing. Contributors include Julia Lovell, Canaan Morse, Joel Martinsen, Sabina Knight and Paper Republic’s own Eric Abrahamsen. We now need around £5,000 to publish the Field Guide digitally and in print. Our aim is to create a beautiful, useful and entertaining reference book for everyone interested in Chinese literature – from academics and translators to publishers and readers.
We need your help to publish the Field Guide! Please consider:
Every penny you donate to Paper Republic goes towards supporting our work to offer readers a taste of the best of Chinese literature in translation, and to mentor the translators who make that possible.
新年快乐!Happy Year of the Rat!
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