20200928 trans

Link to return to Course Homepage.

Dear students, this is the homework of Sep 28, due in October 2020.

Task

An English book on contemporary Chinese literature was submitted to the Chinese editor. He has not enough time and asks his students to help to translate it paragraph by paragraph into Chinese. So this time it is easier than last time, because the translation is into Chinese. He also asks the students to help improve the translation of at least one fellow student und asks them to sign their translations with the signature button (buttons on the top, third from right).

Since it is a book on contemporary Chinese literature, some quotations from Chinese novels in English need to be identified in the original language (Chinese) instead of retranslate the translations into Chinese.

Cao Runxin 曹润鑫

The Chinese contemporary literature at the beginning of the 21st century appears hardly compatible with the German book market. Many stories of the mostly young writers from the Middle Kingdom, who are often celebrated like pop stars, publish their books partly in millions of copies, such as Guo Jingming郭敬明, seem too bizarre. This cult literature is translatable, however loses its cult status.

Chang Huiyue 常慧月

Nevertheless, trends can be seen that reflect the extreme social upheaval process in China: Zhang Ailing 张爱玲 created women's literature with the inner view of the Shanghaier big city singles, for example, which has found a whole generation of successors. Or the vagabond literature (liumang wenxue 学 文学) of a Wang Shuo, which has become long since an establishment and whose current is attributable to the scandal literature.

Chen Han 陈涵

The wave of nostalgia with new interpretations of classics such as Confucius, Menzius, or the novel "Three Kingdoms," e.g. from the professor and television presenter Yu Dan. Finally, the young, realistic literature with autobiographical traits and fictive elements of an alienated urban youth, which ultimately seeks the happiness of love between alcohol, drugs and party excesses. This literature certainly belongs to youth literature, since the protagonists belong to the younger generation. The authors themselves remain ephimatic, as long as they have not made the leap into the establishment, as Mian Mian.

Chen Hui 陈惠

Surprising newcomer is the author Han Han, known for his critique of youth literature, who is bearing a humorous social criticism in his new work »Glory Days«, about a group of drop-outs in the style of Magical Realism, or almost a critical Surrealism. A colorful dance, which tells from another world, no longer as exotic as before, but still strange and fascinating.

Chen Jiangning 陈江宁

Before the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009, this little booklet will give an orientation guide and a small, certainly very subjective overview of the Chinese literature, as it appears at the book fair.

Chen Jiaxin 陈佳欣

Who is also interested in the actual Chinese literature of the present day (because the book fair shows a section, which for various reasons is not at all representative of the Chinese contemporary literary literature) should be referred to the book "Chinese Cult Literature 2008/2009".

Bochum/Munich/Beijing/Shanghai

Summer 2008/ Summer 2009

Martin Woesler

Chen Jingjing 陈静静

Chinese literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair

China - the big department store

With China's economic prosperity since 1978 came the leisure time. Unlike in Western countries, where this time has been filled with consumption, the new middle class of the Chinese use their leisure time in two ways:

Chen Sha 陈莎

On the one hand, one has an irresistible ambition to catch up with the Western advance in time-lapse, to learn from the West and to overcome it, which is reflected in travel, learning English and foreign studies. Even at the party school management courses are taught.

Chen Sunfu 谌孙福

On the other hand, according to the zero point of the Cultural Revolution, ten years without school education in 1966-1976, the Chinese have a greed for knowledge - they devour Internet, newspapers, books and are willing to pay enormous fees for private schools.

Chen Yongxiang 陈永相

Both trends in leisure design coincide with a flood of translations into Chinese.

Cheng Yusi 成于思

The situation in Western countries is quite different, the interest for China is rather an exotic and reflectes in esotericism and few works that are translated. These are then selected to serve or even enhance the foreign character of the Chinese image. One still believes in the West, as the pioneer of modernization it is the place where the action is happening.

Deng Jinxia 邓锦霞

Newspapers are not yet as exciting as in Hong Kong and Japan because of the state information monopoly in China and so one reads in the subway no newspapers but books. China is just different. The books cost only 2 € to 3.50 € and sometimes reach millions of copies. And this, although the texts are long before on the Internet. Some authors have even found a publisher only after having a fanbase of their blog on the Internet.

Ding Daifeng 丁代凤

Cult literature

The Chinese bestsellers of contemporary literature of 2009 appear to be hardly compatible with the German book market, in which China is honorary guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Many stories of the mostly young, often celebrated like pop stars writers from the Middle Kingdom appear to be too bizarre, with their books partly written in millions, like Guo Jingming (26 years, Shanghaier, Tears against the Stream C 2007, first place of the Chinese bestseller list 2007, circulation: 550,000). Without life experience, Ms. Lin Huafeng has to raise her daughter alone after the divorce. She has to prostitute herself and her mental conflict worsens daily. The author, the Shanghai student Guo Jingming is a cultureless enfant terrible, but loved by the youth. What bears his name is immediately sold out. In the meantime, he has given his name to works by colleagues, and his book series best sellers (C 2008-2009) is a collage of love tales, comics, photographs, styling tips, etc., wrapped in foil so that all the gimmicks do not Fall out. Here, the advertising of the proper lipstick is added to the story. This cult literature is a teen phenomenon, the authors of this youth literature are pop stars. It is translatable, but however it loses the cult status. The German publishers have not chosen the books which the Chinese read, but the German readers might find interesting. In this article, these books, which are only available at the Book Fair from October, are already being presented.

Fang Jieling 方洁玲

Chinese world literature

This is the famous wedding scene from the novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" (C 1759 G 2009) by Cao Xueqin (1715-1763?). This was the last novel of world rank written in China, and this is 250 years ago. The novel is available in all major languages, and in German only a shortened paraphrase has been written down to one third. This shortcoming is fixed by the book fair: the European University Press presents a three-volume bound edition of books with more than 200 historical illustrations and a more favorable paperback edition of 2350 pages at the book fair. It was only in the 1920s and 1930s that the literature in China in times of the republic was able to develop again, and Lu Xun's stories from this period are reissued from the publishing house Unionverlag to the book fair. Another classic, Qian Zhongshus (1910-1998) essay collection "Written on the Edge of Life" (C 2000), is translated but is still searching for a publisher. Masterful tales are certainly also Yu Huas (49) "Brothers" (C 2005).

Gan Fengyu 甘奉玉

Vagabond literature

"Diwidi? Everything there: Hollywood, Japanese, Korean, Oscar-crowned classics ", The German reader as a tourist in Peking may have been approached like this by the flying merchants.

Gao Mingzhu 高明珠

This scene comes from the story "Running Through Zhongguancun" (C 2008, G 2009). Here the German reader can slip for the first time into the role of the seller, who is embodied by the 25-year-old Huang. Xu Zechen (31, lives in Beijing) has drawn the milieu authentically, the characters with dry humor and yet refreshingly lively. He describes a life between hot pavement and basement hole, between the dream of making big money and bitter setbacks, the daily cat-and-mouse game with the police. He experiences the world of the crooks as shark pond and as a conspiratorial community, in which everyone gives someone the shirt off one’s back, lose their existence, but get up again, he experiences the arbitrariness and corruption of the police. Here, worlds collide: the army of unemployed agricultural workers, who become small-scale criminals, and the urban population. The world of youth, who loves the freedom of the street, and the elderly, who appreciate the security of the wealth. This is one of the most recent and most promising stories from China, which show us a completely different China than the perfectly enacted Olympia organizer.

Gong Yumian 龚钰冕

The novel "Die Taschendiebe" also fits into this realistic (C 2007, G 2009), Liu Zhenyuns (51), who was ranked No. 1 in the bestseller list in China in 2008, is a mix-up thriller about a interchanged bag, whose content can become dangerous for several important people. These types of stories appear several times at the book fair. In China, they are devoured by the young, urban audience. Wang Shuo (50) had created this kind of vagabond literatur, and his novel "Playing for Thrills" was sold 250,000 times in 2007, and stayed in place 6. One is getting deeper into storytelling with Jia Pingwa’s novel "Happy" (C 2007), which is about a farmer who sells his kidney to the city and finds a brittle happiness with a prostitute. It was sold in China 100,000 times. His even more famous novel "Ruined City" (C 1993) is also almost completely translated and is still looking for a publisher in Germany.

Gu Dongfang 顾东方

Critical Surrealism

This quotation comes from the story "Glory Days" (C 2007 G 2010) of another young author, Han Han (26). He describes the experiences of a Chinese dropout troop. Han Han enjoys a similar cult status as the same-aged Guo Jingming. He is equally famous as a critical blogger, sings his own pop songs (ghost town strategy), and drives car racings on the weekend. He also wrote his first stories as a pupil (Triple Door C 2000), became famous through a literature casting, writes humorously with a pointed pen, hardly anyone has got what was coming to one. In the 1990s, with his "critical student literature", he provoked a teenage fever, brought out a sociocritical humorous novel with "Glory Days", which sold itself in 2007 with others of his books about 200,000 times and thus ranked 13th Of the Chinese bestseller list. The author says he wanted to write in the style of "Magical Realism" for the first time, the novel is very angry humorous, sociocritical and grotesque in some places, it can be better described as Critical Surrealism. His latest book, "His Kingdom" (C 2009), ranked first place in the Chinese bestseller list in April 2009.

Guan Qinqing 管钦清

Underground literature

... so writes Mian Mian (38 years old, lives in Shanghai, "La la la" HK 1997, G 2000, C 2009, "Your night my day" G 2004, C 2009). With her revealing description of her own life as a partygirl, she has shaped the Shanghai youth, Mian Mian has become a lifestyle. Ultimately she also seeks the happiness of love. She was the first to write about sex, drugs and alcohol, and was promptly banned in China. Therefore it is remarkable that the KiWi publishing house is brave enough to present her latest novel Panda Sex (C 2009, G 2009) at the book fair. Also in France her novel came out and was immediately praised by the daily newspaper "Le Monde". And even in China times change: her last four novels were finally released in February 2009 and were sold out immediately.

Gui Yizhi 桂一枝

Yearnings

1. Literature of yearning has a great market in China. With this literature one can escape the materialistic everyday life in order to be carried away into an exotic but strangely familiar world. This literature of yearning is served by two sides in China: through the Tibet exoticism and the nostalgic wave. And Tibet is a topic that is well received abroad, therefore a safe investment for publishers, even though the stories from Tibet may still be too exotic and do not show the true Tibet. Also in China, Tibet is simply ‚in’. The presentation of the own Lama's shrine in the bedroom is the highlight of every house party. Even men wear carved cherry stone bracelets. The more superstition associated with these fetishes, the more chic.

Guo Lu 郭露

Tibet exoticism

so the story "Distant Sources" (C 2005, Unionsverlag G 2009) by the Tibetan author Alai (50) begins. Yes, even Tibetan authors are among the winners of this year's book fair. They are particularly in demand by Swiss publishers. At the confederate Chinabooks several young Tibetans are represented: Alai, Jamyang, Taering Öser, Tenzin Tsundue (34). Is it surprising that Ma Jian (56), who left Beijing for the first time and went on journeys, promptly went on a pilgrim to Tibet? "Red Dust"(C 2003). 220,000 times, the "Tibet-Code" of the hermitic He Ma, which has not yet been published in German, has sold itself, followed by three sequels. Gao Yi, who lives in Düsseldorf, writes adventure stories as well with Tibet exoticism and fantastic elements: "The Tibetan Child", "The Oracle" and "The Roman Ring" (C 2004). At the same time, a flood of nonfiction books about Tibet appears in German-speaking countries, often with mysterious titles such as "The Secret Life of the Dalai Lamas. The Story of the God-kings of Tibet "(G 2007, PB 2009)," Fleeing through Ice and Snow "," The Way of the White Clouds"or " Escape from Tibet".

Han Haiyang 韩海洋

Nostalgia

Through China flows a nostalgic wave, the overthrown Communist ideology has been replaced by the return to traditional values. In 1974 Confucius had been dismantled in a campaign, since 2007 Confucius institutes have been opened all over the world. Also on the bestseller lists this literature stands at the top. The professor Yu Dan (Beijing) interpreted Confucius in a television series. Her book "Confucius from the Heart" (C 2006, G 21.08.2009) with modern commentaries around the Confucius classics "Talks" landed in China with 503,000 sold copies in 2007. It makes Confucius in simple language, with lively pictures and Current examples from everyday life. Since the trend in China goes to the second book, i. That a second book of the same kind is being postponed to a successful book, she continued to comment on the philosopher Menzius. Does this commentary also work in Germany, where one hardly knows the original texts? At the book fair, the Confucius commentary is also available, the Droemer publishing house has taken the risk and presents the comment in German translation, but not as in the Chinese edition with original text in the appendix. This nostalgia literature in China also includes comments on the classic novel "Three Kingdoms" (C 2006) by Yi Zhongtian (62), which ended up in 2007 with 340,000 copies of the bestseller list, the historical novel about the last imperial dynasty. “The Qing Prime Minister” (C 2007) by Wang Yuewen (46) and "War Drums" (C 2006) by Dou Liang (55) about old Beijing, all of them had at least 200,000 sold copies in 2007.

Han Wanzhen 韩宛真

Women's literature

The literature of the mega cities looks different in Beijing and Shanghai: just as in Beijing, the vagabond literature of a Wang Shuo is at home, Shanghai also developed with Zhang Ailing (1920-1995) her own literature, in this case an autobiographical literature of women that describes the emotional life of Shanghai single women. Mian Mian is the latest appearance of this woman literature, although her female figures often seem to depend on their partners. However, Mian Mian is the only female writer that is taken seriously and translated for the book fair. In "Frauenboxen" by Bi Shumin (57) the female figures seem, as the title suggests, more self-consciously, therefore the book has been sold 180,000 times. Her feminine novel "Female Psychologist" (C 2007) was so successful that several volumes were published. On the bestseller list, she is closely followed by Annie Baobei (34), with 175,000 first-person narrations sold, under the title "Fat years, meager years" (C 2007), in which the young women see the world with their own eyes. With 160,000 copies follows the marriage counselor follows "Holding Hands " (C 2007) of Wang Hailing (55).

He Changqi 何长琦

Literature of mental distress

Finally, there is still the literature of mental distress, mastermind Mo Yan has pointed out abysses of human behavior in his "Sandalwood Death" (C 2001). The framework is the German colonial history in China, the railway construction and the revolt of the boxer. Mo Yan describes a fictitious story in which Guomindang General Yuan Shikai, with the last imperial headman, wants to conduct a cruel execution by torture against a man who rebelled after his family had previously been desecrated and killed by Germans. Contrasted with this, Mo Yan portrays the last opera singer of the Maoqiang local opera from the region around Gaomi. The language is pathetic, symbolic and emotionally charged. The description of the inner conflict of the physician, who is told to keep the victim alive until the German colonizers see him, is shattered. His only advice "Remove the sandalwood!" is not obeyed, since this is precisely the torture. In this book the search for a translator was more difficult than usual, thanks to Chinese government-funded support, it was finally realized at the publishing house Insel-Verlag. Equally doubtful is the wisdom, which may result from the influential book "Wolf Totem" (C 2004 G 2009) by Jiang Rong (63), since the author wants to explain the Chinese people's folklore:

Hu Baihui 胡百辉

This also means hope for freedom and democracy. A good adventure novel, but the moral of the story, natural laws instead of civilization, in today's materialistic Chinese reality the wrong advice. The book is stagnating in the middle of the bestseller lists in China, but remains there until 2008. It was heavily advertised, Random House paid for the German edition 20,000 € in license rights after Goldblatt had laid for the English 100,000 USD - somehow the investion has to roll in and so it is called in the advertising texts "The most successful book since the Mao Bible" - this decision is left to the reader.

Hu Huifang 胡慧芳

Discrepancy Chinese Literature - Book Fair

All these currents will be represented at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Some of them are preparing to refute the withering verdict of the sinologist Wolfgang Kubin from 2006, who referred to the Chinese literature since 1949 as "garbage" and especially attacked writers like Mian Mian, making her one of the most controversial writers. Although she has long been forbidden in China, had no benefits from the Chinese government's promotion of translation, and does not belong to the carefully selected semioffical writers' delegation, besides the short story "Running Through Zhongguancun", narratives such as "Brothers", "Taschendiebe" and perhaps a classic like "Dream of the Red Chamber", will be Mian Mian's book "Panda Sex" one of the bestseller of the book fair. In the following editions we will introduce individual authors and currents and begin with her - Mian Mian.

Hu Jin 胡瑾

Bestseller list of Chinese authors 2007

Last update: 9.11.2007, researched and reviewed in note form

In the question of what to understand by contemporary literature, one has to clarify various assumptions:

Ji Tiantian 纪甜甜

Is the complete literature taken into account, or are certain categories of literature excluded? In the current case, we restrict us to literary books (no nonfiction books, for which there are often separate bestseller lists). Thus every objectively well-sold book will be named. It is only in a second step, in the evaluation for the German book market, that children's literature is excluded.

Jiang Fengyi 蒋凤仪

Are the books objectively presented by sales figures? Is this the only criterion for evaluating commercial success? This has the implication that high-minded literature usually ends up further down on the bestseller list as the dime novel. An exception in the West may be e.g. Harry Potter, who has besides his youthful target group, also at least in the English original literary claim.

Jiang Hao 姜好

It is striking that there is hardly any accordance between the list of bestsellers with the list of actually translated literature and also not with the list of government-sponsored translations. The most important reason is that the bestseller list in 2007 is the current literature, as it was read in China at the beginning of 2008. But for the book fair the publishers have commissioned much older books for translation. Only in a few titles is the translation market already as fast as e.g. in the translation of American novels into German, e.g. "Wolf Totem," "Confucius from the Heart," or Mian Mian's "Panda Sex."

Jiang Qiwei 蒋淇玮

This bestseller list and the evaluations were presented at the technical lecture "Rotes Kornfeld" in the German Publishers and Booksellers Association for the Frankfurt book fair on the 29th April 2008, so that the publishers who had sent their lecturers and the other translators could consider the presented titles in the planning. Some of the titles were realized. Others may stay interesting for a later time.

Kang Haoyu 康浩宇

For the development of the number of translations from Chinese I refer to appropriate investigations.

First of all, the full list, followed by the criteria after the list has been cleared with regard to the German book market.

Kang Lingfeng 康灵凤

Note: The book cover and photos of the authors were provided by the publishers for reproduction and are reproduced here for this scientific study. Copyrights and reproduction rights of the illustrations remain at the respective publishers or rights holders.

Kong Xianghui 孔祥慧

1st place: Guō Jìngmíng / Guo Jingming郭敬明(born 6.6.1983, lives in Shanghai), 550.000 sold copies, »Tears against the Stream«郭敬明Changjiang literature and art publishing house, 5/2007, 340 pp. Rating: 1.0. Without life experience, Ms. Lin Huafeng has to raise her daughter alone after the divorce. She has to prostitute herself and her mental conflict worsens daily.

This novel could also become a bestseller within the framework of China literature in Germany. The Shanghai student Jingming Guo is something like a cultureless enfant terrible, grades worse than Han Han, but loved by the youth.

His series "Bestseller"最小说is rated 4.0. The novels are collage-like and also composed of foreign languages. They are illustrated in color and presented with all sorts of tips and gimmicks (recipes, make-up, pictures) etc. Further details and translation, see next chapter.

Kong Yanan 孔亚楠

2nd place: Yú Dān / Yu Dan于丹(born 28.6.1965, lives in Beijing), "Thoughts on the conversations of Confucius" "论语"心 得, 503.000 copies sold, Zhonghua Book Company, 11/06 157 pp. , Evaluation score: 1.7.

Yu Dan is the moderator of a TV discussion on Confucius. In this book she explains the two-thousand-years-old classic, which the Chinese memorize by referring to the present.

The translation presents a special challenge because the German reader lacks the background knowledge. Here, the publishing house found the solution to attach the original in an existing translation in the appendix. Translator: Johannes Fiederling (Munich), Publisher: Knaur.

Yú Dān于丹»Yu Dan’s Notes on Zhuangzi« "《庄子》心得Zhonghua Book Company, Rating: 4.0. This is a typical second book. This should only be tackled when the first book becomes a success.

Lei Fangyuan 雷方圆

3rd place: Yì Zhōngtiān / Yi Zhongtian 天 中天 (born 8.2.1947, lives in): »Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms« Volume 1-2品三国（上下), 340.000 sold copies 2007, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House , Vol. 1 7/06 248 pp., Vol. 2 3/07 274 p. Rating: 3.0.

Explanations on the classical novel "Three Kingdoms", typical title of the nostalgic wave. Even less popular with the German public.

4th place: Zhèng Yuānjié / Zheng Yuanjie郑渊洁 (born 15.6.1955): »Pipi Lu; Rock the Wolf "皮皮鲁总动员;大灰狼罗克, 285.000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. Children's books.

5. Ráo Xuěmàn / Rao Xueman 饶雪漫 (born 1972), "Sweet-sour" 甜酸 11/07, 235 pp., New World publishing house, 260.000 sold copies. Rating: 3.7. Love story for teenagers / sentimental kitsch.

Sandglass Volume 1-3, 沙漏, 279 pp., Gegenwartswelt Publishing House, Rating: 3.7. Love story for teenagers / sentimental kitsch.

Lei Kuangxi 雷旷溪

6th place: Wáng Shuò / Wang Shuo: 王朔 (born 23.8.1958): "Playing for Thrills" 玩的就是心跳, 250.000 sold copies. Rating: 1.3. Already translated by Ulrich Kautz, Diogenes 5/1997.

7th Place: Yáng Hóngyīng / Yang Hongying杨红樱(born 1962), "Children’s Stories about Love"爱的童话, 240.000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. Children's books

8th place: Cáo Wénxuān / Cao Wenxuan曹文轩 (born 1.1954) »Fantasy: King's Books - The Yellow Pagoda«大王书——黄琉璃, 225.000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. Fantasy.

9th place: Wáng Yuèwén / Wang Yuewen王跃文 (born 26.9.1962) »The Qing Prime Minister« 大清相国, 217.500 sold copies, 3/07, 493 pp. Rating: 3.7. Historical civil servant novel, difficult to transfer, only suitable for expert audience.

10th place: Yú Qiūyǔ / Yu Qiuyu余秋雨 (born 23.8.1946): »A Life Borrowed « 借我一生, 215:000 sold copies. 8/04, 617 pp., Autorenverlag. Rating: 2.0. Autobiography of a famous Chinese writer.

Li Haiquan 李海泉

11th place: Cài Jùn / Cai Jun蔡骏 (born 23.12.1978): »Destiny volume 1: The city in deep sleep«天机: 第一季: 沉睡之城, 202.500 sold copies. 9/07, 240 pp., Shaanxi Pedagogical College Publishing House陕西师范大学出版社4 volumes. Rating: 4.0. Historical adventure / fantasy novel after the pattern of "Lost".

12th place: Dōu Liáng / Dou Liang都梁(born 6.1954): "War Drums in Beijing"狼烟北平, 200.000 sold copies, Changjiang Literature and Art Publisher, 4/06, 371 pp. [Second user: Folk Literature Publishing House]. Rating: 2.0. War novel about the 1930s in Beijing. Also interesting for Germans.

13th place: Hán Hán / Han Han韩寒(born 23.9.1982): "Glory Days" 光荣 日, 190.000 sold copies. 6/07, 186 pp., 21st Century Publishing House. Rating: 1.0. Seven graduates drop out, instead of working in a foreign company. They perform pioneering work in the village (house construction, primary school, vegetable growing). Social critical novel with wit.

Li Lili 李丽丽

14th place: Bì Shūmǐn / Bi Shumin毕淑敏 (born 1952): "Women's Boxes"女儿拳, 182.500 sold copies. 254 pp., Blindenschrift Publishing House. Rating: 2.0, women's narratives.

Female Psychologist« 女心理师4/07 Chongqing Publishing Group, 253 pp., 2 vols. Rating: 2.0, women’s novel.

15th place: Ānnī Bǎobèi / Annie Baobei安妮宝贝 (born 11.7.1974): »Fette Jahre, magere Jahre«  素年锦时, 175.000 sold copies, 9/07 264 pp., Authors Publishing House.

Rating: 1.3. The female first-person narrator of these stories is in each case a young woman who sees the world with her own eyes.

16th place: Wáng Hǎilíng / Wang Hailing王海鸰 (born 12.1953): »Holding Hands« 牵手, 160.000 sold copies. 7/07 346 pp. Authors Publishing House. Rating: 4.0. guidebook.

17th place: Hǎi Yán / Hai Yan 海岩 (born 1954): »Five-Star Hotel« 五星大酒店, 157.500 sold copies. 8/07, 342 pp. Authors Publishing House. Rating: 2.0. Novel about a student from simple circumstances, who becomes the heir to a Korean financial group, and his girlfriend.

Li Lingyue 李凌月

18th Place: Yán Chóngnián / Yan Chongnian阎崇年(born 24.4.1934): »Beijing: The Treasures of an Ancient Capital«中国古都北京, 150.000 sold copies. 1/08, 302 pp., Democracy and Law Publishing House. Rating: 4.0. Specialized book.

19th place: Tiānxià Bàchàng / Tianxia Bachang天下霸唱(born 1978): »A bizarre story of ghost blowing out the light« 鬼吹灯, 140.000 sold copies. Vol. 1 The Perfect Ancient City, Vol. 2 The Weasel Grave, Bd. X The Valley of Insects. Rating: 4.0. Magic series on Harry Potter wave.

20th place: Lù Tiānmíng [Lu Tianming] 陆天明 (born 1943): »Provincial Secretary« 省委书记, 125.000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. The very title is currently not enforceable on the German book market.

21st place: Shí Zhōngshān [Shi Zhongshan] 石钟山(born 10.1964): »Underground, Overground«地下,地上115.000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. Plagiarism?

Li Liqin 李丽琴

22nd place: Dāngnián Míngyuè [Dangnian Mingyue] 当年明月 (born 1980): "Storys about Ming Dynasty (volume Yuanzhang Zhu, volume 2, 3, 4)« 明朝哪些事（朱元璋卷）, 2, 3, 4. 112.500 sold copies. Rating: 2.0. Historical novel about the Ming period (The 1st Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was transformed from beggar to emperor).

23rd place: Liú Xīnwǔ [Liu Xinwu] 刘心武 (born 1942): »Liu Xinwu about …« 刘心武说, 100,000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. Series with at least 3 volumes.

24th place: Yáng Zhìjūn [Yang Zhijun] 杨志军 (born 1955): »The Tibetan ethnic group Zang'ao (Vol. 1, 2, 3)« 藏獒1, 2, 3. 90.000 sold copies. Rating: 4.0. Ethnological-historical representation

Li Luyi 李璐伊

25th place: Jiǎ Píngwā [Jia Pingwa] 贾平凹 (born 21.2.1952): »Happy« 高兴, published 9/07, 461 pp., Authors Publishing House. 75.000 sold copies.

Rating: 2.0. Novel about a farmer who sells his kidney to the city and finds a brittle happiness with a prostitute in the city.

Not yet published in German by the same author:

»Ruined City« 废都. 381 pp., 1993, Culture and Art Publishing House. Rating: 1.7. Novel with erotic elements about male men and female women, about the rotten urban life (exists to a half)

Li Meng 李梦

Selection procedures on the recommendations for publishers

The basis for this was the bestseller list in 2007. The following exclusion criteria were applied afterwards: Already released: Wang Shuo (Playing for Thrills) - Diogenes Children's books: Zhèng Yuānjié (Pipi Lu; Rock the Wolf), Yáng Hóngyīng (Children's Books about Love) Suspicion for plagiarism: Shí Zhōngshān (Underground, Overground) Guidebook: Wang Hailing (New Age of Marriage)

Li Yongshan 李泳珊

Specialized books: Yán Chóngnián (Beijing: The Treasures of an Ancient Capital), Yáng Zhìjūn (The Tibetan ethnical group Zang'ao) Sentimental Kitsch: Ráo Xuěmàn (Sweet-sour, Sandglass) Fantasy (Potter epigones): Cáo Wénxuān (Kings books: The yellow pagoda); Cài Jùn (Destiny volume 1: The City in deep Sleep, historical adventure / fantasy novel after the pattern of "Lost"); Tiānxià Bàchàng (A bizarre Story of Ghost blowing out the Light: Bd. 1 The Perfect Ancient Town, Vol. 2 The Weasel's Grave, Bd. X The Valley of Insects)

Li Yu 李玉

Other socialization: Yì Zhōngtiān (comments on the "Three Kingdoms" volume 1-2); Wáng Yuèwén (The Qing Prime Minister = historic civil servant novel); Lù Tiānmíng (The secretary of the Provincial Party Committee - the title alone is not conceivable at the German book market); Liu Xīnwǔ (Liu Xinwu says: ... - The author is largely unknown in Germany, so one does not want to know anything about his multivolume sentiment about everybody and his dog - tradition such as Suixiang lu by Ba Jin.)

Lin Min 林敏

National hype: Guo Jingming (novel bestseller = Bestseller. The novels are collagen-like and also composed with foreign texts. They will be illustrated in color and presented with all kinds of tips (recipes, make-up), etc. Success can only be explained by enfant terrible Guo Jingming.) Tip: conclude general contract with Chinese publisher for an author (like Piper with Shan Sa)

Lin Xin 林鑫

Further recommendations for German publishers for publication

At the translator meeting in Frankfurt, I had recommended two more works, which are not on the current bestseller lists, but which are absolutely necessary to translate and actually appeared at the book fair:

On the one hand, the "secret bestseller", Mian Mian's Panda Sex, which was forbidden in China, appeared in Hong Kong and became a bestseller in China under the shop counter and on the Internet. It was only in February 2009 that a censored version could be published in China, which was sold out immediately after the release.

Ling Zijin 凌子瑾

1. Mián Mián棉棉 »Panda Sex« 熊猫. Prohibited in the People's Republic of China. Published in revised version 2/2009, 1st edition immediately out of print. German translation by Martin Woesler with Lihua Ji, Kiepenheuer & Witsch 2009. Published in Chinese: 12/04, 181 pp., Massenverlag Publishing House Rating: 1.3. Scandal book about a Shanghai love affair in free love, cf. La la la, Candy, Your night my day, cf .: Wei Hui: Shanghai Baby.

For details, see one of the following chapters.

Liu Bo 刘博

2. Cáo Xuěqín 曹雪芹 » Dream of the Red Chamber or The Story of the Stone« 红楼梦. This book appears in 2009 in a bound edition in three volumes and in a paperback edition in a volume. Approx. 1759, 2300 pp. Rating: 1.3. Everlasting bestseller in China, could become a longseller in Germany. Previously there was only a 70% shortened version by Franz Kuhn. The new version is uncut.

Liu Jinxingqi 刘金惺琦

On the situation of Chinese publications in Germany (selection list before the book fair)

Here is a list of Chinese publications in German translation before the book fair. In 2008, only 11 literary works from Chinese to German were translated.

An important translator is Ulrich Kautz, here some of the translated novels

Unfortunately many translations do not come directly from Chinese, but rather from the indirection of English or French, as one of the more famous novels: Gio Waeckerlin Induni (Transl. f. Fr.) Dai Sijie: Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress <Piper> 192007

Liu Liu 刘柳

Recent Literary History: "Modern Chinese Literature in Translation - Historical Development and Current Trends"

1. Development

Chinese literature is traditionally received in Germany because of its exoticism (Diederich’s Yellow Series, etc.). In Germany operated especially the exotic translator - with a tremendous amount of translation work: Franz Kuhn. The last great Chinese literature was Dream Of The Red Chamber ca.1760

Liu Ou 刘欧

In the period of the Republic appeared (about 1911-1937) great novels such as Ba Jin: The Family (cf. Buddenbrooks), the end of the Republic saw the beginning of the functionalization of literature (anti - Japanese resistance, civil war parties Guomindang and the Communist Party), intellectuals contributed to the reform with essays, experimental literature was written (Lu Xun: Diary of a Madman and The True Story of Ah Q, which were as revolutionary as Kafka with minimally reduced fictional elements in realistic spelling) and essays (suibi of Zhou Zuoren and socio-critical My Miscellaneous Studies杂文 zawen from his brother Lu Xun).

Liu Yangnuo 刘洋诺

1. In Communism, the functionalization of literature (tendency literature) and censorship (Ba Jin censored e.g. his novel The Family by himself) lowered the level, which was ultimately left to the cultural revolution, which wanted only a few model pieces to survive.

Liu Yi 刘艺

Today the exoticism begins to disappear for the first time because there is an approximation of the cultural background of the Chinese authors with the international authors, and because the functionalization has been replaced by commercialization (mass literature phenomenon Wang Shuo - but not pure fiction like Konsalik, but rather very socio-critical, language of the youth, unmasking the hollowness of slogans through use in the everyday language).