|
Books
Asimov Published, Interviewed in BeijingPosted by Joel Martinsen on Friday, March 18, 2005 at 10:25 PM
Cover story from this week's Book Review section of The Beijing News announces the publication of a Chinese translation of Isaac Asimov's complete Foundation series. The set of seven novels, including the first trilogy, the two sequels, and the two prequels, is published by Heaven and Earth Press for a list price of 210 yuan (US$25). Alongside the announcement is an interview with Taiwan SF author Chang Hsi-Kuo, and reflections by mainland SF writers Liu Cixin, Yang Ping, and Ling Chen. Perhaps the biggest coup is obtaining an interview with the man himself:
Yup, the Beijing News has scored a fictional interview with "I, Asimov". They've been taking similar liberties recently in their entertainment sections, captioning photographs of celebrities with made-up quotes. But this is definitely something else. Asimov addresses the royalties he wasn't paid in 1973 for a Chinese translation of his 1958 science text The World of Carbon, the Will Smith adaptation of I, Robot, and, um, Al Qaeda, which shares a name in Chinese with the Foundation series. A translation of the interview is available here, while the original is here. UPDATE: Roy Berman writes: "The Arabic phrase Al Qaeda actually means 'the base' or 'the foundation,' and I have heard was in fact the title of the Arabic translation of Isaac Asimov's novel. I even remember reading speculation several years ago that Bin Laden was a fan of Asimov's work and had been inspired by some of the concepts in the novel (although certainly not in a way that Asimov would have appreciated.)" |
Partner Links
Jobs in China
Recent Comments
Henry on
The Eurasian Face
Caroline W on
Big in China
Michael on
Julia Lovell on translating Lu Xun's complete fiction: "His is an angry, searing vision of China"
Brandon K. on
Clueless academic takes on popular fantasy novels
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
The latest recommended blogs and new media
From 2008
Books on China
The Eurasian Face : Blacksmith Books, a publishing house in Hong Kong, is behind The Eurasian Face, a collection of photographs by Kirsteen Zimmern. Below is an excerpt from the series:
Big in China: An adapted excerpt from Big In China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising A Family, Playing The Blues and Becoming A Star in China, just published this month. Author Alan Paul tells the story of arriving in Beijing as a trailing spouse, starting a blues band, raising kids and trying to make sense of China.
Pallavi Aiyar's Chinese Whiskers: Pallavi Aiyar's first novel, Chinese Whiskers, a modern fable set in contemporary Beijing, will be published in January 2011. Aiyar currently lives in Brussels where she writes about Europe for the Business Standard. Below she gives permissions for an excerpt.
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ Korean history doesn't fly on Chinese TV screens (2007.09): SARFT puts the kibbosh on Korean historical dramas. + Religion and government in an uneasy mix (2008.03): Phoenix Weekly (凤凰周刊) article from October, 2007, on government influence on religious practice in Tibet. + David Moser on Mao impersonators (2004.10): I first became aware of this phenomenon in 1992 when I turned on a Beijing TV variety show and was jolted by the sight of "Mao Zedong" and "Zhou Enlai" playing a game of ping pong. They both gave short, rousing speeches, and then were reverently interviewed by the emcee, who thanked them profusely for taking time off from their governmental duties to appear on the show.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky
or Feedburner |





