literature

Buddenbrooks - another Movie

justrecently — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0600

Went to the cinema last night. “Buddenbrooks”, based on Thomas Mann’s novel, and the third or fourth time someone tried to put it into pictures - directed by Heinrich Breloer this time.
It’s a big book squeezed into some 160 minutes or so. To my surprise, it seemed to work. I’d think so, anyway. The movie rushed through the [...]

Screen Life: Jem Poster on Buruma’s ‘The China Lover’

theforeignexpert — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:18:00 -0600

The colourful life of Yoshiko Yamaguchi, also known as Li Xianglan, Ri Koran and Shirley Yamaguchi, would seem to be a gift for a writer. Born in Manchuria in 1920, of Japanese parentage, she first came to public notice in the late 1930s as a glamorous star of Chinese films. Her role in one film in particular, Chinese Nights, proved politically controversial, and after the second world war she was imprisoned by the Chinese on a charge of treason - which was dropped when she was able to prove her Japanese nationality.
read more »

The Good Ganbu: How to make a Good Plan

justrecently — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:25:00 -0600

No great leaders without beautiful characters

Comrades:
Today I’m going to show you my favorite Revolutionary Opera. It shows how to make a perfect plan. You must gather information about your enemies and make a perfect analysis. Then you make a strategy.
-
Of course, the task may be daunting. Therefore, you have to choose the right person to [...]

Vitaly A. Rubin (1976): Thoughts do not Die

justrecently — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:25:00 -0600

In February 1972, Dr Vitaly A. Rubin, a Senior Research Fellow in Chinese Studies at Moscow’s Institute of Oriental Studies, applied for an exit visa to emigrate to Israel. Rubin was Jewish, educated in the orthodox tradition of his people. Following his visa application, he was pressured into resigning his position at the Institute, his [...]

David Hinton on Translating Classical Chinese Poetry

theforeignexpert — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:14:00 -0600

Bill Marx interviews poet David Hinton on translating classic Chinese literature:

"The wonderfully rich volume features nearly 500 poems from the first three millennia of verse in China. Hinton also provides a useful historical context for his selections: he has written an introduction to each poet. Given Hinton's interest in Chinese philosophy, it should come as no surprise that his approach as a translator and editor reflects his admiration for the poetry's exacting blend of the intellectual and the sensual..."

One-Eyed Panda's Journal

One-Eyed Panda — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:34:37 -0600

John Guise is a Canadian who came to Shanghai on a whim — and for a girl — after been laid off from his newspaper job in August of 2003. Four years later and he’s no longer with the girl (she moved to Japan and he found love with someone much better) but he’s has become pretty good at Mandarin, seen a large portion of the country — including a lot of factories — and spent nearly three years working at an advertising/trade media company as a copywriter for the workshops of the world. He currently does marketing for a consulting firm in Shanghai.
read more »

Paul Theroux in Asia

theforeignexpert — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:23:00 -0600

A review of a recent book by Paul Theroux that relives a classic journey:
read more »

Easternity

diaskeaus — Sat, 31 May 2008 22:30:54 -0500

Adventures in the Asian Imagination

Pop China

rpatnode — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:49:00 -0600

A blog tracking various popular media in China (music, movies, TV, video games, literature, etc.) and the social issues that surround them.