Language barrier still blocks Chinese lit overseas
- Source: Global Times
- [02:26 October 26 2009]
- Comments
Editor's Note:
English bestsellers are all over Chinese bookshops, but Chinese literature is hard to find overseas. Why aren't Western audiences interested in paying for new Chinese writing? Global Times (GT) reporter Chen Chenchen talked to Liu Feng (Liu), editor-in-chief at the Yilin Press, one of China's best publishing houses engaging in foreign literature publication,Tina Chou (Chou), an associate agent and scout at the Creative Work literary agency, and Jenny Niven (Niven), events and marketing manager at the Bookworm, a literary center in Beijing.
GT: Why are Chinese books in the overseas market less popular than foreign books in China? Is the current environment favorable for Chinese literature to go global?
Chou: Publishing globally has been hit very hard by the economic crisis. European publishers don't have the budget that they used to for acquiring translated titles anymore.
The interest in Chinese authors is there, and that's not going to fade away. But publishers have been very selective when it comes down to purchasing a book and paying for the translation.
A lack of funds is a big problem. Someone has to pay for the partial translation to submit to foreign publishing houses to assess. Sometimes the author pays for it, sometimes the publisher partially funds it if they already have interest, but other times we have to find the money ourselves.
If we have enough money, we will pay for the whole translation, which makes the entire process much faster.
Liu: The flow direction of cultural products is related to a country's economic status. But literary works are unique cultural products. They are different from movies, which are able to pass emotions through scenes and music. It's hard for global cultural consumers to accept Chinese literature in a short time.
The general situation of literature creation in China is not very satisfactory, especially from the mainstream perspective in Europe and the US.
There are outstanding writers in China, such as Bi Feiyu, Mo Yan, Su Tong and Yu Hua. However, in this vast country, not that many first-class books are being produced.
The questions that some Chinese authors discuss in their books may have already been considered in foreign books, thus it's natural that there's a lack of interest in them among Western people.
My foreign friends tell me that the foreign press is constantly seeking novelty in Chinese books – they care about those books said to have crossed the line.
As a result, authors like Wei Hui [an explicitly sexual female writer] were introduced to the outside world. The books sold well, but Western readers were actually disappointed by them, although they're unrepresentative of Chinese writing as a whole.
