Ethnic ChinaLit

The 24-strong group of judges has announced the shortlist for the “National Literature Magazine Annual Awards” (2012 《民族文学》年度奖), as follows (eligible works must have been published in 2012 editions of the magazine):

“2012 National Literature Magazine Awards”

《民族文学》年度奖

Published in Chinese Edition

Published in Minority Language Editions Read the rest of this entry »

I recently came upon what seems to be a fairly comprehensive look at novels by non-Han writers published since 1949 that deal directly with issues of culture and identity. Entitled Ethnic Minority Novels  (少数民族小说), the Chinese-language article is unfortunately not signed, but it appears to have been written by a scholar and published in one of China’s academic quarterlies.

I’d like to summarize parts of it here.

First, a few factoids:

• China officially recognizes 55 non-Han peoples as native to the PRC
• There are over 500 writers in the China Writers Association who consider themselves members of a minority ethnicity
• Since the 1970s, China has published over 300 novels by minority writers dealing with ethnic themes