Weekend in China
May 5th, 2008A little culture:
The New York Times Book Review explores Chinese authors this weekend. By way of EastSouthWestNorth we find Xujun Eberlein of Inside-Out China with some interesting thoughts on the matter.
She seems pleased with the reviews and attention that Chinese writing in translation is now receiving, and in contrast to “Wolfgang Kubin, one of the most renowned Sinologists in Germany.”
Howard Goldblatt, America’s foremost translator of Chinese literature, disagrees with Kubin. Among the five novels reviewed in NY Times Sunday Book Review today, two were translated by Goldblatt recently. In a March interview with China’s popular newspaper Southern Weekend, Goldblatt says it’s not that China lacks great literary work; the problem is that there is not enough translation of it.
This is a promising change when we learn to get inside the minds of other cultures for non-monetary purposes.
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A little economic development:
From Xinhua, the state agency, we have the city of Jiuquan looking to take a greater roll in wind power, expanding on its traditional roll as the nation’s satellite launch center.
Altogether 28 new wind farms, with a combined installed capacity of 10.65 million kilowatts, will be built around Jiuquan,a far-flung Gobi desert city by the year 2015.
Wang Jianxin, chief of the development and reform commission of Jiuquan City, said the city’s plan to construct a wind power base of more than 10 million kw had just passed scrutiny by China Hydropower and Water Resource Designing Institute.
“We hope to accomplish a new Three Gorges Project on land,” said Wang, “for long-term development, the Jiuquan wind power base could be expanded to have a combined installed capacity of 35.65 million kw.”