Eileen Chang has long been a figure of controversy, and with the release of Ang Lee’s film Lust, Caution based on her short story, it appears she’ll be a hot topic for some time to come. On a positive note, however, there’s been a renewed interest in her work, and that of Chang’s female literary contemporaries, such as Tang Xuehua, Lian Yuanxiu and Cheng Yuzhen. Indeed, all of these authors appear in a new collection of essays about life in 1940s Shanghai published by the People’s Literature Publishing House, entitled Xiaojie Ji, a collection of works by young women. According to sina.com, these modern-minded misses wrote extensively about everyday life – their careers, fulfillments and disappointments in love, and religious faith – and so provide valuable social commentary about the times.
In October, twin sisters Ma Ainong and Ma Aixin, aged 43, finished the Chinese translation of the seventh and final Harry Potter volume, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; the book should hit the shelves this month. In 2005, the translators became famous for translating the sixth installment in just one-and-a-half months. Born into a family of translators, the two women have distinctive strengths: Ma Ainong is said to weigh the use of every word while Ma Aixin prefers to focus on the overall sense of the language.
In a roundup of Chinese mainland book news, GuiZi, who wrote the screenplay for Zhang Yimou’s film Happy Times, which in turn was based on the novella by Mo Yan, recently released his latest book, A Rope Made of Water, a love story between rural teacher Li Mao and his student A Xiang. Annie Baby has also released a collection of essays entitled Plain Year, Bright Time . Annie is popular among young female readers, who have great expectations – her Padma, published in March 2006, was a bestseller in China, and the essay collection will no doubt enjoy similar success.
Hubei based-writer Fang Fang is set to release her new book Spring Comes to Tanhualin, four short stories about ordinary people’s lives in Wuhan. Incidentally, Fang has also been selected as chairman of the Hubei Writers’Association. Since Tie Ning was elected Chairman of the China Writers’ Association, it seems that more and more women are taking charge of Chinese writers’ groups.
China’s scholar star Yi Zhongtian recently turned his interest from writing history to researching contemporary Chinese society. His new book The Chengdu Way explores the reform movement in China’s rural areas. Yi gained popularity through his appearances on the CCTV history program Lecture Room. Much like his lecturing style, his new book is vivid and extremely accessible.
译文:
文坛一瞥
张爱玲一直以来都备受争议，随着李安导演，根据其短篇小说改编的电影《色阶》一问世，她又将成为炙手可热的风流人物。而这样也好，人们对她作品又产生了兴趣，同样热门起来的同时代女性文学家还有几位，像汤雪华，练元秀，程育真。 其实，在四十年代，这批作家带着她们反映生活的一系列新散文亮相于世，由上海人民文学出版社出版的《小姐集》——一部青年女性创作的文集。根据新浪网报道，这批现代思想女性作家的作品涵盖日常生活的方方面面——女性职业，情感起伏，宗教信仰——因此这些作品极具社会价值，有力反映时代主题。
十月，43岁孪生姐妹马爱农和马爱新，终于完成了哈利波特第七本也是终结版的翻译——《哈利波特与死圣》；该书于本月开始在书店有售。就在2005年，这两位翻译因为在短短1个半月内成功翻译了第六部而扬名。出生于翻译世家，这两位女性的翻译各有千秋：马爱农精于斟酌每一处用词，而马爱新则擅长把握通篇的语感。
翻阅中国内地书讯摘录看到，张艺谋导演的莫言中篇小说改编的电影《幸福时光》的编剧鬼子，出版了他的最新著作《一根水做的绳子》，描写了乡村小学教师李茂和学生阿香之间的爱情故事。
安妮宝贝出版了最新散文集《素年锦时》，安妮宝贝深受青年女性读者的喜爱，自2006年《莲花》在全国畅销之后，其新作备受读者期待，无疑也会同样受欢迎。
湖北作家方方的新出《春天来昙华林》即将面世，写了武汉百姓生活的四个故事。而方方同时被当选湖北作家协会主席。铁凝上任中国作家协会主席之后，越来越多女性开始活跃于中国文坛。
近期，中国学术之星易中天将其研究方向由历史文学转向当代中国社会。他的新书《成都方式》探究了中国偏远地区的改革进程。自从参与中央电视台的《百家讲坛》节目，易中天获得声望。 新书风格如同他的演讲一般风趣生动深入浅出。