Life

A year's a long time in Chinese literature

By Mei Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-07 08:31

While the world's interest in Chinese books rises, readers in China seem to be increasingly discerning about what they read. Even as the country's publishing industry becomes more commercialized, and the Internet turns anyone who cares to circulate their thoughts into a writer, a broadening of horizons as to what constitutes literature is evident.

"Writers seem to have finally reached a state where they are no longer upset, unsure, or hostile vis--vis popular culture," says Chen Fumin, literary critic at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Zhang Ning, a literary critic at Beijing Normal University, says a major trend in 2010 was writers questioning and experimenting in their works.

"Writers are re-examining their themes and styles," Zhang says. "They're moving beyond their immediate concerns and addressing wider issues, writing about everyday realities involving grassroots experiences."

Here's our pick of the top five defining moments of the book scene in China in 2010.

1. Rich Chinese authors face foreign challengers

A list of the richest Chinese writers, released in November by Shanghai-based literature observer Wu Huaiyao, shows that even the most popular Chinese writers have stiff competition from heavyweight foreign authors. J.K. Rowling, Thomas Brezina and Dan Brown seemed to be breathing down the necks of Yang Hongying, Zheng Yuanjie and some other popular teen-novel writers on top of the list.

2. Chinese literature in a slump?

German Sinologist Wolfgang Kubin triggered an international debate by questioning the standards of judging contemporary Chinese literature. Hundreds of critics and cultural experts argued whether Chinese literature had touched a high or was at a low point. Some of the Chinese critics, in turn, started asking if Chinese literature should be judged in terms of Western tenets of criticism, or according to Chinese cultural traditions.

3. Lamb Style

The Fifth Lu Xun Literature Award announced in October drew attention not just to the quality of writing, but the criteria of judging. Government official Che Yangao's win triggered a spate of poems mimicking his "lamb-style" - a pun on his name which sounds close to the Chinese term for the animal that is often associated with naivete. Detractors likened Che's "nonsensical, conversation-like lyrics" to a lamb's temperament.

4. Book festivals

In March there was a glut of international book festivals that saw a range of notable authors from across the globe descend on China. The Bookworm ran three parallel festivals in Beijing, Chengdu and Suzhou. International literary festivals were run in Shanghai by M on the Bund Group and in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong International Literary Festival Limited. The Australian Literary Festival attracted several noted authors and publishers from Down Under, paving the way for Sino-Australian co-publications.

5. E-novels and Bambook

The Chinese are never short of ideas when it comes to their engagement with the written word. They can churn out an entire novel by putting out a series of 140-word posts on micro-blogging sites.

The release of Bambook, China's answer to Kindle, signals the country's coming of age in e-publishing. The portable e-book reader is a handy tool, making reading possible anywhere and at any time.

Yang Guang contributed to the story.