Jin Yong – Part 1

This podcast, we take a look at the life and times of Jin Yong, along with the genre he came to define, modern kung fu literature. We explore Jin Yong’s path to becoming China’s best selling writer, putting out more books than JK Rowling. We also look at the January 17th, 1954 kung fu match […]

Sima Qian – Letter to Ren An

This week is the last in our Sima Qian series, but it is also definitely the best. We look at how Sima Qian lost his testicles while sticking to his principles. We consider the conflict between him and Emperor Wu that percipitated his castration. I also make a big announcement.  Here is the Transcript:  My […]

Sima Qian – Biography of the Capitalists

Today, we take a look at Sima Qian’s Biography of the Capitalists, chapter 129 in the Records of the Historian. This chapter is Sima Qian’s two-millennia old defense of free market capitalism. The chapter is one of the most interesting his oeuvre because Sima Qian was condemned for it by later historians. 

Sima Qian – Southern Yue People

Today, in the second podcast in the Sima Qian series, we take a look at some of the first literary evidence we have for the Nan Yue, the People of the Southern Yue, the ancestors to modern-day the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in China and the people of Vietnam. Sima Qian describes the Han […]

Sima Qian – Series Introduction

Sima Qian is not only the first historian in Chinese history, he is also one of the greatest writers that China has ever produced. Today, writers of Kung Fu novels point to Sima Qian’s stories on fighters and assassins as the origins of the Kung Fu genre. Chinese business people point to his “Biography of […]

Children’s Book – Peek in the Farm

Today, we do something different. We take a look at a children’s book that was originally written in English, and then translated into Chinese. Strangely, the translation into Chinese was done in a way that took the English and translated it into classical poetic forms that hark back to the Tang Dynasty. Journey with me […]

Huang Zunxian Goes to Hong Kong

Huang Zunxian, a diplomat and revolutionary of poetry in the late Qing Dynasty, visited Hong Kong when he was only twenty-two. His experience in the British colony was his first real encounter with foriegners, and it sparked an abiding interest in issues outside of China. In this episode, we take a look at two of […]

New Year Podcast

Rob and I did a New Year Podcast, and I wanted to keep up that tradition. In this podcast, I talk about teaching and update yall on a few things.

Su Dongpo Goes to Trial for Poetry

Today, in our last episode of the year, we look at 1079 when Su Dongpo was tried for a poem. Bitter partisan fighting, liberals versus conservatives…except for the great poetry, this Song Dynasty fight might remind you of something closer to home.  Economist Article Mentioned in the Episode https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/12/07/giving-the-poor-a-wodge-of-cash-is-better-than-dripping-it-out My Translation Carrying [the government money] […]

Qiu Fengjia – Taiwanese or Chinese Nationalist?

Today, we look at Qiu Fengjia, a Taiwanese-born Mandarin, who, in 1895, upon hearing that Taiwan had been given to Japan as a part of the Treaty of Shiminoseki, wrote a poem expressing his sadness and confusion. We discuss that poem and Qiu’s larger legacy. 

Poetry from Sex Workers in Dalian

This week, the Chinese Literature Podcast goes where few literary scholars have gone before. We take a look at some poetry by sex workers in the city of Dalian. In the podcast, I use the poem to tackle issues of gender in China. Be forewarned, there is some explicit language in this poetry.  Anonymous I […]

Kang Youwei’s Canadian Poetry

This episode, we go to a small island off the coast of Victoria, Canada. Shortly after he was exiled from Qing China, Kang Youwei, the rockstar amongst late Qing intellectuals, found himself on Coal Island, just north of Victoria. In this episode, I look at 1.5 of the cycle of 19 poems he wrote while […]

Interview with Kyle Anderson

This week, Lee interviews Kyle Anderson, who has just published the first volume in a young adult series titled MountainSea Scrolls. This first volume is called The 9 Tailed Fox. Dr. Anderson describes the series as Narnia meets China.  Dr. Anderson has also worked in translation and academia, and his work includes the translation of […]

Mo Yan – Red Sorghum

On the previous episode, I went all the way to the beginning of Chinese literature. This episode, I explore a contemporary novel, Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum. It won Mo Yan the Nobel Prize, it has been made into a famous movie, this novel has been very influential. Let’s dive in!

Oracle Bones

Oracle Bones (甲骨文) are the oldest written Chinese texts that have ever been discovered. Today, Lee looks at what Oracle Bones are, how they were discovered in the 1890’s and reads out the translation of two of them in a podcast that takes it back to the very beginning of Chinese literature. 

New Year Episode

Our ‘traditional’ new year/end of the year podcast where we update listeners on what is happening with our lives and the podcast. This year, we sadly have to announce that Rob is no longer going to be a regular contributer to the podcast. Lee will be taking both reins, though Rob will come back on […]

Gu Cheng – A Generation

This week we have a poem by Gu Cheng 顧城, one of the wonderboys to come out of the 1980’s. He left China, immigrating to New Zealand, got a teaching job and then murdered his wife with an ax. His poetry was as sharp and succinct as his ax. Check out the debate between Rob […]

Su Dongpo Gets Drunk in Exile

In this week’s episode, we look at a series of three poems by Su Dongpo, the Song poet who was sent into exile multiple times. This series of poems is about his time in the crummiest of exiles, on Hainan Island. Drunkeness here is a metaphor for giving up on life in officialdom (though it […]

Ouyang Xiu – Reflections on Mei Yaochen Poem/Bag

This week, Rob and Lee look at a short essay where Ouyang Xiu talks about a Mei Yaochen poem that he finds woven into the fabric of a barbarian’s bag. Their discussion touches not only on the poem, but also on questions of the materiality of literature. 

Bei Dao – The Answer

Bei Dao is one of the first great poets in the Post-Mao era, and this short poem demonstrates why.