Comments on: King Gesar: Tibetan Epic in Modern Chinese Prose

By: Malin N

Malin N — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:03:35 +0000

So far there are a few books in the series that are not (yet?) translated into English. Since English in this case, very much plays the part of transit language, this means that those novels are not translated at all. We’re talking about two Slovenian novels, one Slovakian novel, one Lithuanian novel, one Chzeck novel three Chinese novels (although, as you said, the rights to King Gesar have been sold to a copule of countries), one Polish novel and one Japanese novel. I have no idea if these books eventually will be published in English, but if you know anything about that or anything else about the series, please contact me!

Best,

Malin

By: Anna GC

Anna GC — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:55:07 +0000

I think the Chinese has expanded their “branch” of the series with some works of their own. And there are other novels that haven’t been translated in English so far, from Polish, Portugese and Swedish, for instance.

By: Victoria Dixon

Victoria Dixon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:00:44 +0000

Thanks for the reading list!

By: brucehumes

brucehumes — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:21:07 +0000

Canongate has now contacted me to say that it “hopes” to have “King Gesar” published within 2011.

By: brucehumes

brucehumes — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:46:54 +0000

Good point. No, it is not a “sure thing” that King Gesar will ever make it from Chinese to English.

However:

*** It doesn’t make much sense for Canongate to commission works in Chinese and leave it at that. The Myths Series is all about sharing ethnic culture with the global village.

*** Su Tong’s Binu and the Great Wall is already out in English from Canongate.

*** Reporting from the Frankfurt Book Fair, the UK’s “The Independent” wrote that “Among those Chinese publications picked up for the overseas market were everything from a series of history books titled “Cultural China,” to the “Scientific and Technological Development Roadmap,” to Tibetan author Alai’s popular novel, “King Gesar.”

*** In an article entitled “Mission Royale” (Sep 7, 2009), “The China Daily” points out that a translator has not yet been found, but notes that while speaking at the Beijing Book Fair in September this year, famous translator Howard Goldblatt said “he has been urging Alai for a new book and that he would gladly take on the new task [of translating 'King Gesar'].”

In the meantime, I’ve sent an e-mail to Canongate and will update if I get a response.

In my personal opinion, “King of Gesar” will certainly be translated into English, even if the Chinese government has to subsidize it, because a foreign publisher’s commissioning of the book in Chinese — not in Tibetan, mind you — is quite a coup for China’s claim to its benign “stewardship” of Tibet and Tibetan culture.

By: jdmartinsen

jdmartinsen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:27:56 +0000

I’ve enjoyed Alai’s previous work, and I expect that this will be a readable novel however he ends up treating the original myth.

Is translation a sure thing? I know that Li Rui and Ye Zhaoyan both contributed novels to the world myth series (the legends of White Snake and Chang’e, respectively) that haven’t appeared in English. I wonder if the project generated novels in other languages that haven’t been translated?