Manchuria Literarian
“A literarian is someone who loves literature so much that he or she wants to share it with as many people as possible...” (A Way with Words)
Hello and welcome! 大家好, 안녕하세요! I am a literary scholar in Asian studies and I created this site is to share the history, literature, and culture of northeast China. My academic research focuses on the early twentieth century, in particular the period from 1931-1945, when the Japanese empire created a state called Manchukuo. In the blog, I share conference talks and short articles from my PhD research on the interactions between Chinese and Korean writers in Manchukuo. My personal interests, however, extend beyond the Manchukuo period and into the twenty-first century. Around the site you'll also find current news and information about "northeast literature" (东北文学), including works in Korean by Korean-Chinese (조선족) writers. Finally, I also share some of the creative projects and translations I've been working on, as well as my professional journey in academia.
The Strangers' Apparel
I am very pleased to announce that my first translation was published in the 100th (and, sadly, final) issue of Renditions in December 2024 (pp. 178-187). Besides being a significant milestone for me, this news is even more exciting because two translations by Howard Goldblatt are also featured in this issue. My master’s thesis was about Howard Goldblatt’s role in helping Mo Yan receive the Nobel Prize for literature in 2012. To say this is a full-circle moment for me is an understatement!
“Sprinkling Death”: Using the Subversive Humor of Mock-Translation in the Classroom
The following abstract is from a reflective practice article published in the International Journal of Chinese and English Translation & Interpreting, December 2023.
Four students in the third-year undergraduate course CHN 3003: Reading and Translating Chinese at the University of Malta worked together to create a mock-translation of a fast-food menu. This article examines this collaborative task and evaluates its strengths and weaknesses against the theoretical framework of mock-translation, while also taking into account the socio-cultural particularities of the Maltese context. Malta is a small island nation in the Mediterranean and a former British colony. Students at the University of Malta, including those who study Chinese, are often bilingual in English and Maltese (a Semitic language) or another European language. Instructors working in the Chinese-English translation classroom may find the collaborative translation exercise a useful tool for getting students to consider the intersection between theory and practice.
Presentations
A gallery of talks from conferences, seminars, and other public engagements
