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Short Stories in Chinese

New Penguin Parallel Text

Edited by John Balcom
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A dual-language edition of Chinese stories—many appearing in English for the first time
 
This new volume of eight short stories, with parallel translations, offers students at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature from the world’s most spoken language, without having to constantly to refer back to a dictionary.
 
The stories—many of which appear here in English for the first time—are by well-known writers as well as emerging voices. From a story by Li Rui about the honest simplicity of a Shanxi farmer to one by Ma Yuan exposing the seamy underside of contemporary urban society, they are infused with both rural dialect and urban slang and feature a wide range of styles and points of view.
 
Complete with notes, the stories make excellent reading in either language.
Table of Contents

Introduction

“O, Xiangxue” —Tie Ning (b. 1957), translated by John Balcom

“The Ancestor” —Bi Feiyu (b. 1964), translated by John Balcom

“Dog” —Cao Naiqian (b. 1949), translated by John Balcom

“Plow Ox” —Li Rui (b. 1950), translated by John Balcom

“The Mistake” —Ma Yuan (b. 1953), translated by John Balcom

“Lanterns for the Dead” —Jiang Yun (b. 1954), translated by John Balcom

“Greasy Moon” —Jia Pingwa (b. 1953), translated by John Balcom

“Receiving the Precepts” —Wang Zengqi (1970–1997), translated by John Balcom

Notes on Chinese Texts

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A dual-language edition of Chinese stories—many appearing in English for the first time
 
This new volume of eight short stories, with parallel translations, offers students at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature from the world’s most spoken language, without having to constantly to refer back to a dictionary.
 
The stories—many of which appear here in English for the first time—are by well-known writers as well as emerging voices. From a story by Li Rui about the honest simplicity of a Shanxi farmer to one by Ma Yuan exposing the seamy underside of contemporary urban society, they are infused with both rural dialect and urban slang and feature a wide range of styles and points of view.
 
Complete with notes, the stories make excellent reading in either language.

Excerpt

Table of Contents

Introduction

“O, Xiangxue” —Tie Ning (b. 1957), translated by John Balcom

“The Ancestor” —Bi Feiyu (b. 1964), translated by John Balcom

“Dog” —Cao Naiqian (b. 1949), translated by John Balcom

“Plow Ox” —Li Rui (b. 1950), translated by John Balcom

“The Mistake” —Ma Yuan (b. 1953), translated by John Balcom

“Lanterns for the Dead” —Jiang Yun (b. 1954), translated by John Balcom

“Greasy Moon” —Jia Pingwa (b. 1953), translated by John Balcom

“Receiving the Precepts” —Wang Zengqi (1970–1997), translated by John Balcom

Notes on Chinese Texts