We are pleased to announce Capturing Chinese: The Real Story of Ah Q is NOW ON SALE! Lu Xun's best work is now available from Capturing Chinese. Set in the Republican Revolution of 1911 in southern China, Lu Xun brings to light serious issues affecting rural China through the story of an average Chinese villager, Ah Q. Chinese readers at the time and even today related to the many tribulations that Ah Q faces. Hence, phrases such as 阿Q精神 are still used in China today. Enjoy The Real Story of Ah Q today with: * Original Text in Simplified Chinese * Pinyin for the Entire Text * Footnotes Detailing Historical Places, People, and Definitions * Beautiful Illustrations that Recreate the Scenes and Stimulate your Imagination * FREE Audio Files of the Story Read by Both a Female and Male Native Chinese Speaker Get your copy now on Amazon: Due to customer feedback, we made a few changes from the previous addition. Pinyin is no longer paragraph-by-paragraph. We have moved the pinyin to the end of each chapter to keep the text flowing better. We also have more illustrations by a new illustrator, Atula. He did an awesome job. Please keep the feedback coming as we have more books planned for next year. Visit the product page on Capturing Chinese. Thanks for everyone's support.

Last week my wife and I headed off to Shanghai to visit the World Expo.  Before departing so many memories of previous trips flashed before my mind.  The very first time I headed to China was in 2003 right after the summer of SARS.  Notably the streets were empty.  Tiananmen Square was mine for the taking and the Great Wall was only our tour group of five people plus a few hawkers.  I didn't realize it wasn't crowded until my next trip when I was utterly shocked at how many people China can bring to events. My first trip was sponsored by Cornell University, where I received a check to travel in China for absolutely free.  That was a seriously amazing deal and I am absolutely loved the trip.  One condition was to write a paper about my experience.  At the time many classmates, newspapers, etc. were focusing on the negative stories coming from China.  I didn't lambaste the Chinese for their lack of manners or criticize them for the pollution, but instead wrote an essay comparing the positive in China with the negative in America. It was an essay quite critical of American policies. Seven years later, I find myself in a different perspective.  Maybe it is because I am now a working professional, or maybe I am just used to the finer things in life, but I couldn't help finding fault with many of the things in China. However, this blog is not another article from a Western perspective about what China should be doing.  This blog is about the purpose of the Expo and how the government is putting on a massive performance to excite Chinese citizens about their country's prospects in the century to come.  The Beijing Olympics was an event for the world.  The Shanghai Expo is an event for China. The government has made an event that millions of Chinese are visiting and is something the Chinese deserve to be proud of. On average 350,000 Chinese citizens from all over the country are storming into Shanghai to see the Expo every day.  Afterward, the bund is filled with tourist families from all parts of China taking pictures of Shanghai's awesome skyline in Pudong (as well as the occasional pictures of lao wai walking by, i.e. me).  The excitement on their faces is palpable. Lu Xun wrote in his preface to Nahan in 1922, "the people of a weak and backward country, however strong and healthy they may be, can only serve to be made examples of, or to witness such futile spectacles; and it doesn't really matter how many of them die of illness. The most important thing, therefore, was to change their spirit, and since at that time I felt that literature was the best means to this end, I determined to promote a literary movement."  I believe the Chinese government has reached the same conclusion.  However, they are changing the spirit of the Chinese through building a spectacular Shanghai skyline (an even taller building is now under construction so it is getting even cooler), a world-class Expo with amazing architecture, and a huge subway network rivaling the world's best. My wife and I headed to the Expo on August 11^th entering from the Puxi side.  The Puxi side doesn't have very many pavilions so we took a ferry to the Pudong side where most of the pictures below are taken.  We only went inside the African and Cuba pavilions.  I am not a big fan of huge lines and the heat was raging in mid-August.  However, the sky was blue making it a great day for pictures.  Therefore, we have pictures of just about every country pavilion (from the outside).  If I am missing one, please send a picture and I'll add it. My favorite pavilion is the Luxemburg pavilion. I loved the rusty steel facade and the shapes. A few days after visiting the expo, I couldn't decide which was my favorite. One week later, the Luxemburg pavilion is leaving the strongest memory. Which is your favorite? Please leave your votes below!

Good morning, We just uploaded an update to the book, Capturing Chinese Short Stories from Lu Xun's Nahan. We found a couple of mistakes so made a couple of revisions. For those who already have a copy, please don't worry since the errors are quite small. 喜剧 was mistakenly written 戏剧 in the Table of Contents as well as in its chapter, A Comedy of Ducks. See pg 281 as well as the footer for the chapter. 喜剧 - xǐjù - comedy 戏剧 － xìjù － drama; play; theater Also check page 140 of 头发的故事. We wrote the Manchus came to power to form the Qing dynasty in 1616 which is a typo. The correct date is 1644. Cheers, Kevin

Lu Xun in Translation - Three Editions

Three translations, one author.  Which one should you buy and which one is best?  This blog post is to help would-be buyers decide which translation of Lu Xun’s works is for them. Let’s begin with the first translation by Gladys Yang and Yang Xianyi, a married couple who devoted most of their life to translating works of Chinese fiction.  Their translation, Selected Stories of Lu Hsun was published in 1960 by the Foreign Language Press in Beijing.   They translated many works during their lifetime including the epic (and thick) novel Dream of the Red Mansions 红楼梦. The second translation is by William A. Lyell entitled Diary of a Madman and Other Stories published by University of Hawai'i Press in 1990.  William A. Lyell was a professor at Stanford for 30 years teaching Chinese literature and language. January of 2010 marked the publication of the third translation and is written by British author Julia Lovell.  Her work is entitled The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun and was published by Penguin Classics. This post might get long so I’ll begin with a short summary for those looking for just the highlights.

Highlights of Lu Xun in Translation

The Yangs’ work is best for those reading along with the Chinese.  Their translation is the most basic and some sentences can be followed along in English and Chinese.  However, they do neglect some of the historical references from Lu Xun’s works and their style cannot compare to the next two translations. Lyell’s work is a masterpiece in academic research as well as in translation.  His text is filled with footnotes highlighting the history, references to historical classics, and providing a whole new dimension to the text.  Classical Chinese can be especially difficult to translate, but he does so in beautiful prose.  For the academic buffs, Lyell’s translation is definitely the best.  His introduction is especially thorough. Lovell’s work is  a masterpiece of fiction.  She has beautiful style and I just want to curl up in a chair and enjoy the stories when reading her translation.  She has no footnotes (only limited end notes) and wraps the historical references into the story so that the reader is not interrupted.  For those just looking to enjoy Lu Xun in translation, get Lovell’s book.  Her work is the best.

A Look Inside the Translation of Ah Q

Now let’s take an in depth look at how each translator tackles some passages in Ah Q (阿Q正传) in order to get a feel for their style.  Here is a quote from Chapter 5 when Ah Q is fuming with anger and starts singing local opera. The Original Chinese

所以阿Q这一气，更与平常不同，当气愤愤的走着的时候，忽然将手一扬，唱道："我手执钢鞭将你打!"

Yang’s Translation

So this time Ah Q's indignation was greater than usual, and going on his way, fuming, he suddenly raised his arm and sang: "I'll thrash you with a steel mace. . . . "^* * A line from The Battle of Dragon and Tiger, an opera popular in Shaoshing.  It told how Chao Kuang-yin, the first emperor of the Sung Dynasty, fought with another general.

Lyell’s Translation

Ah Q suddenly raised a fist and belted out a line of local opera: “My mace of steel I grasp full tight / And with it I shall now thee smite!”³⁸ 38: A line from a local Shaoxing opera, Battle of the Dragon and Tiger Generals, which recreates an epic battle by Zhao Guangyin, founder of the Song Dynasty (960-1269).

Lovell’s Translation

Ah Q stormed of, waving his fist in the air and bursting spontaneously into song, reprising a line from one of his favorite operas, The Battle of the Dragon and Tiger: ‘I-I-I-I-I will thrash you with mace, yes, I will!’

The first two translations both have detailed footnotes about what is The Battle of Dragon and Tiger.  Lovell, however, chooses to work the reference into the story. Let’s take another example from Chapter 8.  One of the characters in the story asks “the Fake Foreign Devil” to deliver a yellow-umbrella letter (黄伞格 的信) for him. The Original Chinese

他写了一封“黄伞格” 的信，托假洋鬼子带上城…

Yangs’ Translation

“He had written an extremely formal letter, and asked the Imitation Foreign Devil to take it to town…”

Lyell’s Translation

“Instead, he wrote a yellow-umbrella letter and prevailed upon the Fake Foreign Devil to take it into town…”⁵⁶ 56: (a very detailed explanation of the history, look, and meaning of a yellow-umbrella letter and too much to include here)

Lovell’s Translation

“Instead he penned an obsequiously ornate formal letter, and charged the Fake Foreign Devil first with delivering it…”

If you want to read about all the details of Lu Xun’s references, Lyell’s translations is the definitely the one.  However, Lovell’s work gives you the gist of the obscure references without halting the flow of the story.

Illustrations

Lu Xun was a fan of woodblock prints and was an big advocate of their adoption in China.  Feng Zikai (丰子恺) produced a famous collection of woodblock prints that accompanied Lu Xun’s work is quite famous. Lyell’s version includes many illustrations in this style for Ah Q.  The other two translations do not include illustrations.

Unfamiliar Chinese Games

Lyell also does a good job of describing kid’s games and gambling games which are quite unfamiliar to Western readers.  For instance he has a graphic illustrating the game Pickaside (押牌宝) with a detailed footnote explaining how the game was played and how the game was rigged by the house.  The Yang and Lovell translations leave these details aside.

Summary

Being a history buff myself and quite interested in all the ins and outs of Chinese culture, I prefer William Lyell’s translation and frequently check how he translates certain Chinese characters and phrases.  His footnotes have led more insight into the obscure references and definitely help when I am doing my research for the Capturing Chinese series. For those looking for a good read, pick up a copy of Lovell’s work.  Her translation is in superb style. The Yang translation was much needed when their work was first published in 1960.  However, now that Western readers have two other great translations, their work is not as valuable as it used to be.  Plus their translation only includes eighteen of Lu Xun’s stories while the other translations include all his fiction. Please, leave your own comments on what you think of these translation.

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We are now offering the Chinese audio files of Lu Xun's Nahan free of charge for all customers.  Click on the audio link and follow the instructions. The audio files are 5 and a half hours of Chinese.  Each story is read by both a woman and a male speaker and is the perfect compliment to the book. Enjoy!