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Informal Northern Thai Group Bulletin 11 December, 2016 th 1. MINUTES of THE 411 INTG MEETING: Tuesday, 13 December, 2016: “Translating Chinese Culture”. A talk by Cindy M. Carter. 2. Next INTG meeting (412th): Tuesday, 10 January, 2017, 7:30pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai: “What is the Use of Old Books?” A talk by Graham Jeffcoate. th 3. February INTG meeting (413 ): Tuesday, 7 February, 2017, 7:30pm at the Alliance Française, Chiang Mai: “Kindred Spaces: Painting Across Worlds” A Presentation by Amy D'Apice. 4. An Exhibition by Victoria Vorreiter on Hmong Music in Chiang Mai 5. List of Future INTG meetings. 6. INTG CONTACTS: CONVENOR - SECRETARY - WEBSITE. th 1. MINUTES of THE 411 INTG MEETING Tuesday, 13 December, 2016 “Translating Chinese Culture”. A talk by Cindy M. Carter 1.1. PRESENT : Ian Baird, Hans Bänziger, Dianne Barber-Riley, Mark Barber-Riley, Tony Christiaens, Leo Ellis, Eric Eustache, Jennifer Gampell, Austin Gillanders, Verity Goitein, Reinhard Hohler, Warren Kinston, Peter Kouwenberg, Chris Lalanonne [?], John Melton, Patrick Morel, George Mumenthaler, Jenny Mumenthaler, Ran Shi, Horst Sitsch, Angelie Sitsch, Suriya Smutkupt, Colin Stratford, Dorothy Tarrant, Lennart Utterstrom, Rebecca Weldon, Alvin Yoshinaga. 27 signed. 31 were counted. 1.2. THE TALK The translation of contemporary Chinese culture for a global audience holds different significance for different groups of people. For China’s leadership and cultural policy-makers, it signifies an opportunity to expand Chinese soft power and cultural influence, and to trumpet the achievements made by China over the past several decades. For China’s independent filmmakers, authors and artists, it signifies a conduit to a global audience, a means of attaining more artistic and financial freedom, and a space in which to explore a broader range of topics. In this presentation are presented several case studies, drawn from a diverse translation practice, to illustrate some of the opportunities and challenges associated with translating Chinese contemporary literature and culture for a global and increasingly interconnected audience. I begin by describing the cultural context. I. A BRIEF SURVEY OF CHINESE CULTURAL MILESTONES, 1976-2016 1976 Death of Mao Tse-Tung and arrest of the “Gang of Four.” The Cultural Revolution (wenhua dageming) comes to an end. 1978 Economic “Reform and Opening” policies (gaige kaifang) are introduced by Deng Xiaoping and other reformists. Most Chinese universities reopen (Beijing Film Academy, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Peking and Tsinghua Universities, among others). Founding of Today (Jintian) literary samizdat publication by poets Bei Dao and Mang Ke. The rise of the “Misty” poetry movement (Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Shu Ting, He Dong, Yang Lian, Mang Ke, Bei Ling, Chou Ping, Duo Duo, Fei Ye, Ha Jin, He Dong, others). Today magazine is shut down by the authorities in 1980, and revived years later as an overseas publication. The advent of “Scar Literature” (shanghen wenxue), a genre of fiction that explored the suffering and chaos wrought by the Cultural Revolution. 1979 Founding of the “Stars Group” (xingxing huahui) by artists Ma Desheng and Huang Rui. Other Stars artists include Ai Weiwei, Wang Keping, Li Shuang, Zhang Hongtu and Zhang Wei. The Stars artists hold an unsanctioned exhibition in a park next to the National Art Museum in Beijing. Early 80s The Stars Group disbands; some of the artists move overseas. The first post-Cultural-Revolution class of filmmakers graduate from Beijing Film Academy and begin making films. They are later dubbed the “Fifth Generation” of Chinese filmmakers (Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yimou, Li Shaohong, Wu Ziniu, others). Formerly forbidden works of literature begin to appear in bookstores, including many new and reissued translations of foreign-language works. 1984 Chinese rocker Cui Jian forms his first band and begins playing concerts around Beijing. 1985-1989 The avant-garde art movement known as “the ’85 New Wave Movement” flourishes for a period of about five years. 1986 Cui Jian forms the band ADO, achieves fame with his iconic ballad “Nothing to My Name,” quits his orchestra day job and begins playing stadium concerts. Other musicians and bands follow suit. 1987 Novelist Wang Shuo begins publishing works of gritty urban fiction; detractors dub his style “hooligan literature” (pizi wenxue). 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests begin in the spring and spread nationwide. The subsequent crackdown results in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries, and is followed by curfews, university lockdowns, and restrictions on free speech and artistic expression. 1990-95 Yuanmingyuan Artists’ Village, an arts commune, forms near the ruins of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. At its height, the commune is home to four or five hundred painters, sculptors, writers, musicians and performance artists. It is disbanded by Chinese authorities in 1995. 1990 Wu Wenguang releases his indie documentary Bumming in Beijing: The Last Dreamers, ushering in the Chinese New Documentary Movement (NDM). 1993-1995 Beijing’s “East Village” art commune forms. Home to several dozen visual and performance artists, it is forcibly disbanded in 1995. Early 90s The “Sixth Generation” independent filmmakers emerge (Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhang Yuan, Jia Zhangke, He Jianjun, Lou Ye, Lu Chuan, others). Inexpensive, widely available Dakoudai (imported and spliced-together cassette tapes) expand access to foreign music. Videocassette rental shops and video-rental cafes expand access to both Chinese and foreign films. 1994 China becomes the 77th country to connect to the Internet. 1995 The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications begins providing Internet services to the public. 1996 China’s first Internet cafes open. Mid-late 90s Literary, film, music and other culture-related print journals proliferate. Affordable digital video cameras and computer editing equipment and software make it possible to produce films outside the mainstream Chinese censorship and distribution system. The dGeneration of Chinese underground filmmakers emerge (feature filmmakers Ying Liang, Jian Yi, Liu Jiayin, Robin Weng and others; documentarians Wang Bing, Zhao Liang, Du Haibin, Li Hong, Xu Xin, Huang Wenhai, et al.) Online fiction, literary websites and online translation collectives gain in popularity. 2 Pirated CDs replace dakoudai; pirated VCDs (and later, DVDs) of overseas and domestic movies and TV shows are widely available. Further expansion of the Chinese music scene, as rock, pop, punk, hip-hop and experimental musical acts proliferate. 2000 Playwright and novelist Gao Xingjian wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. 2000- Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, located in a former industrial factory complex, begins attracting large numbers of artists, galleries, exhibitions and art lovers. 2001 First Annual Beijing Queer Film Festival is held in Beijing. 2003 First Annual “YunFest” Multicultural Visual Festival is held in Kunming. 2003 First Annual Beijing Independent Film Festival is held in Songzhuang Artists’ Village on the eastern outskirts of Beijing. Songzhuang, once a sleepy farming village, is being transformed by a large influx of artists, writers, musicians and other independent creators looking for larger studios, cheaper rents and a more amenable artistic community. 2007 798 Art Zone is saved from demolition/redevelopment as a tech centre, and is designated as a protected historical and arts district. 2007 The Paper Republic (paper-republic.org), a non-profit collaborative website dedicated to the promotion of Chinese literature in translation, is founded by three translators in Beijing. At about this time, pirated CDs and DVDs are being supplanted by legal and illegal online streaming of music, videos, films and television shows—often with Chinese subtitles produced by informal online teams of volunteer translators. 2008 Beijing hosts the 2008 Summer Olympics. 2010 Jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo wins the Nobel Peace Prize. 2012 Novelist Mo Yan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. 2012- Independent film festivals (including the long running Beijing Independent Film Festival and YunFest Multicultural Visual Festival, among others) come under increased official scrutiny. By 2014, most have been shut down by the Chinese authorities. 2013 GAPP (General Administration of Press and Publications) and SARFT (State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) merge to become SAPPRFT (State General Administration of Press and Publication, Radio, Film and Television). Internet censorship is increasing during this period, with more website blocking, content deletion, scrutiny and censorship of social media. VPN usage increases apace. 2016 China relaxes foreign film import quotas somewhat (34-38 foreign films per year). Some statistics: China has 4.3 million Chinese-language websites, 700 million citizens with access to the Internet, and 1.28 billion mobile phone subscriptions. Over 440,000 books are published annually. II. TRANSLATING CHINESE CONTEMPORARY CULTURE FOR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE A. Motivations for Translation 1. Among the Chinese creative class (writers, artists, filmmakers, et al.) - Expand audience/readership; enhance global prestige; gain access to overseas publishing, distribution, prizes, festivals and travel opportunities; diversify one’s income stream; enjoy more reliable reporting of book sales and box office figures; gain a cushion against censorship; etc. 2. Among Chinese leaders and opinion leaders (politicians, cultural bureaucrats,