Chen Xiwo's guest appearances

Chen Xiwo

Free Word

The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast

Cory Doctorow

Deeyah Khan

Paul Mason

Audrey Niffenegger

Charlie Hebdo

Alex Preston

Helen Stevenson

Yang Lian

Brian Holton

Ken Liu

Mona Eltahawy

Deborah Smith

Inua Ellams

Han Kang

Kevin MacNeil

OwlTail

Nicky Harman

I loathe reason. Reason is the sort of rubbish you can indulge in when life is sweet, like love and honour. I totally reject it.In the sixty first episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction we are opening The Book of Sins (冒犯书 / Màofàn Shū), by edgelord-with-a-conscience Chen Xiwo. Playing common-sense counterpoint to my doom-laden interpretations of the text is its translator, Nicky Harman. Here’s what we deal with: pain, incest, and the political uses of shock, horror, and offensiveness. Are you sure about this? You can delete this episode now. Do you choose to hit play?-// NEWS ITEMS //The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet by Bogna Konoir - applies Liu Cixin’s logic to cyberspaceSense of Place - new issue of Pathlight MagazineGei Fei’s Peach Blossom Paradise bags spot in translated literature finalist list for US 2021 National Book AwardsTOR announces full contents of The Way Spring Arrives-// WORD OF THE DAY //(痛 - tòng - pain)-// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //Chen Xiwo’s speech on literary censorship in the PRC, given at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club in 2010A Banned Take on Contemporary China: Wall Street Journal review of The Book of SinsLit by Mary Karr, a considerably more functional individualPlaying for Thrills … 1988: I Want to Talk with the World … Dancing Through Red Dust … Shanghai Baby … A Perfect Crime

I loathe reason. Reason is the sort of rubbish you can indulge in when life is sweet, like love and honour. I totally reject it.In the sixty first episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction we are opening <a href="https://www.englishpen.org/translation/the-world-bookshelf/titles/the-book-of-sins/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Book of Sins</a> (冒犯书 / Màofàn Shū), by edgelord-with-a-conscience <a href="https://paper-republic.org/pers/chen-xiwo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chen Xiwo</a>. Playing common-sense counterpoint to my doom-laden interpretations of the text is its translator, <a href="https://paper-republic.org/pers/nicky-harman/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nicky Harman</a>. Here’s what we deal with: pain, incest, and the political uses of shock, horror, and offensiveness. Are you sure about this? You can delete this episode now. Do you choose to hit play?-// NEWS ITEMS //<ul><li><a href="https://flugschriftencom.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/flugschriften-6-bogna-konior-the-dark-forest-theory-of-the-internet-v.2.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet</a> by Bogna Konoir - applies Liu Cixin’s logic to cyberspace</li><li><a href="https://www.pathlightmag.com/issues/senseofplace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sense of Place</a> - new issue of Pathlight Magazine</li><li>Gei Fei’s <a href="https://www.nyrb.com/products/peach-blossom-paradise" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Peach Blossom Paradise</a> bags spot in translated literature finalist list for <a href="https://www.nationalbook.org/2021-national-book-award-finalists-announced/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">US 2021 National Book Awards</a></li><li><a href="https://www.tor.com/2021/10/04/winter-came-now-spring-arrives-announcing-the-table-of-contents-for-the-way-spring-arrives/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TOR announces</a> full contents of The Way Spring Arrives</li></ul>-// WORD OF THE DAY //(痛 - tòng - pain)-// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //<ul><li><a href="https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/a-writers-ordeal-in-china" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chen Xiwo’s speech on literary censorship in the PRC</a>, given at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club in 2010</li><li><a href="https://outline.com/VAm3LZ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Banned Take on Contemporary China</a>: Wall Street Journal review of The Book of Sins</li><li><a href="https://www.marykarr.com/lit.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lit</a> by Mary Karr, a considerably more functional individual</li><li><a href="https://noexit.co.uk/index1.php?imprint=1&amp;isbn=9781842432969" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Playing for Thrills</a> … <a href="https://onartandaesthetics.com/2017/10/30/1988-i-want-to-talk-with-the-world-by-han-han-a-road-trip-through-china/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1988: I Want to Talk with the World </a>… <a href="http://www.asianbooksblog.com/2015/09/published-today-dancing-through-red.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dancing Through Red Dust</a> … <a href="https://www.manyakoetse.com/shanghai-baby-beyond-china-a-chinese-novel-banished-to-the-west/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shanghai Baby</a> …<a href="https://oneworld-publications.com/a-perfect-crime.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> A Perfect Crime</a></li></ul>

Ep 61 - Chen Xiwo and The Book of Sins with Nicky Harman

The oft-censored Chinese novelist talks to us about the Chinese word for 'red', and its inescapable role in Chinese history and culture.

Wordsmiths - Chen Xiwo