Comments on: The Donkey-Riding Beauty on Chang'an Road (part 1)

By: the almost daily grind

the almost daily grind — Sat, 13 Dec 2003 12:30:42 +0000

The Mother Tongue

If we’re not careful, the only people who will be able to read or write anything at all in the Chinese language are going to be those Westerners who become so enamoured by the language they devote more time to…

By: paul zhao

paul zhao — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:48:37 +0000

还没看完，赞一下先，网页挺雅的

By: christie

christie — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 11:47:38 +0000

brendan, this is really a wonderful translation, and i’ve read it over about four times because i liked it so much! i can’t wait until you post up the next part. i was going to read red sorghum this winter, but i never got around to reading it. i think i’ll read it for sure this winter.

By: Kit

Kit — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 11:10:51 +0000

I liked Mo Yan’s Republic of Wine, which I thought was, well, wacky. Interesting wacky, though. I loved his description, his interesting plot twists, and his absolutely bizarre setting.

By: Prince Roy

Prince Roy — Sat, 22 Nov 2003 13:50:14 +0000

I’m gald to find another China Blog mafia brethren that shares my admiration of Mo Yan, simply the greatest writer in contemporary China. Those ignorant Swedes really goofed, as anyone knows Mo Yan should’ve received the Nobel. Thanks for providing this excellent translation.

By: Roddy

Roddy — Fri, 21 Nov 2003 18:33:04 +0000

Dammit, I meant to say that one of the stories in Shifu, . . . was made into a film called Happy Times in English, can’t remember the Chinese name off-hand, xingfu shiguang maybe? Anyway, directed by Zhang Yimou, not the greatest film, but a funny and charming one, with Zhao Benshan starring. You probably all knew that though.

Roddy

By: Roddy

Roddy — Fri, 21 Nov 2003 18:18:48 +0000

Nice work. I translated a few short stories for my first site about six months ago – been thinking about getting back into it lately . . .

I enjoy doing it, it forces you to REALLY understand what you’re reading rather than skimming over it and understanding what’s happening but not a lot of the nuances.

Roddy

By: doom

doom — Fri, 21 Nov 2003 11:54:45 +0000

I echo the above comments. Great translation which of course means great writing. Glad I found your site via BrainySmurf and Sinosplice. –Doom

By: hank

hank — Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:43:34 +0000

Brendan,
Great job on translation. Yes, I know a lot of pedantic people often state that some things can get lost in translation and that’s it’s better to read a work in its original language, but I truly feel if a work is great it can be understood in any language.
I really am in awe of your ability to do this translation and make it understandable and the language itself isn’t stale or awkward–instead your use of English is a fluid and concise prose. I look forward to the next installment.
THANK YOU!

By: hank

hank — Thu, 20 Nov 2003 10:43:10 +0000