losing my mind at this world getting discussed on substack. ngl kinda worried more eyeballs will destroy these communities in the same way its destroyed manga/anime and eng/american fan fic communities :/
That is... super fair actually. As a translator, I want these novels to be more valued in publishing so that translators can be fairly compensated for the labor it takes to translate them. But I think I'm like you in not trusting traditional publishing to manage these works/communities as respectfully as fans already have for decades.
Still, if there's any chance of this world getting a higher profile in a way that actually benefits fans, it has to start with newcomers actually reading the works, as opposed to forming uninformed opinions on them. Only good can come from the reading itself.
The publishing world is a huge mess. Online platform is only going to increase. At least some online platforms, like substack, have a paid subscription option sp translators can get some kind of income.
Your post reminded me of Goethe’s fascination with Chinese literature in his conversations with Eckermann and his early intuition of “Weltliteratur.”
The difference is fascinating: Goethe encountered China through scarce and heavily mediated translations, whereas today we face an overwhelming abundance of instantly circulating digital narratives. But in both cases there seems to be the same feeling that an entire literary continent lies outside the traditional Western map. Looking forward to the series.
Looking forward to this. I've deleted onto chinese internet literature from time to time, but would be great to have a guide. Translators are notoriously underpaid. I recently had an article in Cha magazine interviewing Gigi Chang on her translation practices. Book club: count me in!
losing my mind at this world getting discussed on substack. ngl kinda worried more eyeballs will destroy these communities in the same way its destroyed manga/anime and eng/american fan fic communities :/
That is... super fair actually. As a translator, I want these novels to be more valued in publishing so that translators can be fairly compensated for the labor it takes to translate them. But I think I'm like you in not trusting traditional publishing to manage these works/communities as respectfully as fans already have for decades.
Still, if there's any chance of this world getting a higher profile in a way that actually benefits fans, it has to start with newcomers actually reading the works, as opposed to forming uninformed opinions on them. Only good can come from the reading itself.
The publishing world is a huge mess. Online platform is only going to increase. At least some online platforms, like substack, have a paid subscription option sp translators can get some kind of income.
Your post reminded me of Goethe’s fascination with Chinese literature in his conversations with Eckermann and his early intuition of “Weltliteratur.”
The difference is fascinating: Goethe encountered China through scarce and heavily mediated translations, whereas today we face an overwhelming abundance of instantly circulating digital narratives. But in both cases there seems to be the same feeling that an entire literary continent lies outside the traditional Western map. Looking forward to the series.
I kind of get it, but also, you were born, apparently, you are alive, now. Live a little. Let yourself like things.
Looking forward to this. I've deleted onto chinese internet literature from time to time, but would be great to have a guide. Translators are notoriously underpaid. I recently had an article in Cha magazine interviewing Gigi Chang on her translation practices. Book club: count me in!
#delved into, not deleted! Autocorrect strikes again!