CLRCUK (April): Zhou Daxin – Voice of Contemporary China

3:30 pm BST/ 10:30 pm CST / 10:30 am EDT

Free Zoom English Event with subtitled Chinese

Please note this event will be recorded for later social media rebroadcast.

The road to prosperity is paved by the poor…

Join us for the launch of The Sons of Red Lake, Zhou Daxin’s newest novel in translation.

In The Sons of Red Lake, Zhou Daxin tells the story of an ambitious young woman who refuses to accept the constraints of life determined by the village she comes from.

The novel takes place in Nuannuan’s village which neighbours the ever-egnimatic Red Lake. Tales of ancient kings relaxing in luxury by the lake have long suffused the village, though Nuannuan and her floundering husband are the first to exploit the tourism potential when they stumble upon ancient treasure. Dealing with success like they have never seen, the couple and the community must question their money-making boundaries and their motives. A concerned nod to the problems of tourism in powerless areas, Sons offers hope to those fighting for the justice of their communities and their hearts.

About the Author

Zhou Daxin is a contemporary Chinese author and winner of several major literary honours including China’s highest award for literature, the Mao Dun Prize. Across his body of work – more than thirty novels and short stories – Zhou draws on his countryside roots and long military career for inspiration. Yet Zhou’s works also manage to surpass his upbringing. His piercing observations of Chinese society set characters in rural, urban and even allegorical environments, and touch upon challenging and often intimate humanitarian questions seldom dealt with by other authors of his generation. His works have been translated into a dozen languages including English, French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, and Greek.

About the Translators

Haiwang Yuan is Professor Emeritus at Western Kentucky University in the US, and Guest Professor of English at Nankai University, China. He is a writer, translator and translation consultant. He has authored and co-authored many books, including Tibetan Folktales, Tales from the Other Peoples of China, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Other Tales from the Han Chinese and This is China: The First 5,000 Years. Among two dozen of his translations are Songs from the Forest, There is a Fish in the Desert, Open-Air Cinema and Illustrated Stories of Chinese Characters for Children. He has consulted on the translation of two Sinoist Books titles.

James Trapp has published China-related books on language, astrology, science and technology. His translation works include new versions of The Art of War and The Daodejing. Much of his work revolves around integrating the study of Chinese language and culture, and breaking down barriers of cultural misunderstanding that still persist.

Hosted by