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/lit/ - Literature

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7330440 No.7330440 [Reply] [Original]

Any recommendations for modern Chinese or Taiwanese literature (preferably from 1900 onward)?

I looked for a Chinese /lit/ chart, but couldn't find one.

I've read Ha Jin's Ocean of Words and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I guess I consider his work to be more Western in style.

Thanks in advance.

>> No.7330441

>Chinese and Taiwanese literature
>Not the same thing
Gweilo pls

>> No.7330442

>I looked for a Chinese /lit/ chart, but couldn't find one.

Then you didn't look hard enough

>> No.7330450

>>7330441
I know they're not. I'm asking for both Taiwanese and Chinese literature.

>> No.7330457

Mo Yan's Red Sorghum is very readable

>> No.7331067
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7331067

>>7330440

>> No.7331069
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7331069

>>7331067

>> No.7331072
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7331072

>>7331069

last one I have,in case you're interested in japanese lit too

>> No.7331075

>>7330450
You may need to read that implication again.

>> No.7331591

>>7331067

"Four great classics" is a misleading title.

Let's be clear: in Chinese scholarship the "classics" refer to the most culturally significant works of Chinese civilisation, which are the "Four Books and Five Classics" or 四书五经. These texts, in their most accessible translations, may not really be of much interest (nor very readable) to the dilettante.

The "four great classics" should be called the four great novels or four great classical novels, sometimes with a fifth, 金瓶梅, included amongst their ranks.

>> No.7331619

>>7330440
Reminder that if you read translations of Chinese literature you're only reading for plot, 99% of the prose style can't be translated.

>> No.7331767

Sandalwood Death by Mo Yan is one of my favorites

>> No.7331791

>>7331619
Reminder that this is true for all translated literature

>> No.7331799

>>7330440
I though Chinese people only read books about business written by Jews.

>> No.7331918

Wuxia novels are the only worthwhile Chinese lit.

>> No.7331981

>>7331791
Nah not between languages with similar roots and structures.
>>7331918
Gu Long>Jin Yong

>> No.7332013

>>7331981
this is the most pleb opinion

literally no one believes gu long > jin yong who has read both

>> No.7332015
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7332015

Tao Lin

>> No.7332086

>>7332013
Gu Long's protags are edgier most of the times while Jin Yong's follow a pretty typical hero journey. Jin Yong's world

>> No.7332091

>>7332086
>Accidentally posted without finishing sentence
Meant to say Jin Yong's world building is pretty expansive and immersive, but character wise I like Gu Long's protagonists

>> No.7332095

>>7331799
they also like kissinger who is not about bussiness

>> No.7332223

>>7332086
>>7332091

oh cool you actually read them.

so i think the issue with gu long is that his works are simply horribly inconsistent. it's well documented that between bouts of depression and alcoholism and tons of ghost writing, many of his works were simply not fleshed out, or were simply written for the sake of writing. you can easily tell by how many of his books start with an immersive story and mystery but ends up going nowhere and how often characters disappear and reappear as he forgets/remembers about them.

i think it's fine that his heroes are edgier, and it's often refreshing to not have to sit through the grow up -> find secret wushu manual -> get super fortuitous experiences that make you OP -> etc. plotline, but it's a shtick that gets old after a while imo.

did you read them in chinese or english? jin yong's prose is much better as well, which probably doesn't come across in english.

gu long also wrote wu lin wai shi, which had possibly the worst character i have ever come across in all of fiction (the girl holy fuck she was annoying)

desu gu long reminds me a lot of a web novel author, who writes things as they spring up with very little planning and revision, with the end result of a lot of stories that don't go anywhere and inconsistent characters.

>> No.7332227

>>7332095
So they just like Jews. Strange, for a billion people who value conformity above all else. They must not read a lot of western history.

>> No.7332238

>>7332223
I also think Jin Yong, far more than Gu Long or anyone else really, managed to capture exactly the kind of values and virtues and beliefs that Chinese society as a whole holds. There's a reason why Jin Yong's characters and stories are so incredibly well-known in China, even to those who have never read any of his works. It's a level of influence that I think is unmatched by, really, any comparable author in the west. Beyond "pop culture", Jin Yong manages to reach his level of influence precisely because of how well he portrayed how Chinese people view society and their place within it.

>> No.7332300

>>7332223
I read them in Chinese, and yeah Jin Yong's prose is nice but I like Gu Long's more for some reason. I think it's cos I started Gu Long with 小李飞刀 and the intro just stuck with me.

I think the reason I like Gu Long is his plot is more like a detective novel. But yeah my favorite wuxia has to be the condor heroes series followed by the Deer Duke. Dat harem ending

>> No.7332309

>>7332300
Gu longs highs rival Jin Yong but his lows are just way too low.

I'm partial to xiao ao Jiang hu myself

>> No.7332331

>>7332309
Yeah xiao ao jiang hu had too much politics and the story wasn't as memorable as the condors.