Chinese author addresses cultural differences

Author Bi Feiyu, a frequent visitor to global book fairs, has developed an understanding of literary differences between China and the West.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese author is keeping a level head as he makes a name for himself internationally. Cecily Liu reports in London.

Soon after Bi Feiyu's 2008 novel Three Sisters was published, the Chinese author gave a book-reading in London. He was part-way through the reading when a member of the audience stood up.

"She stood up when the main female character, Yumi, called her boyfriend 'brother'," Bi says.

"She felt upset and thought my novel touched on an incestuous topic. It was a misunderstanding caused by cultural differences."

Indeed, Yumi was addressing her boyfriend as "brother" because in Chinese society, brother and sister are terms of endearment and respect. One can even address strangers on the street as older brother or older sister.

"The reader couldn't understand the meaning even through translation because the cultural context is different. In the West, brother and sister can only mean blood relations, and the fact she felt shocked by what I had written gave me an insight into Western culture," Bi says.

Bi then explained the context, and the woman understood.

"I felt it was important for me to explain properly."

Bi, 50, one of China's most celebrated authors, and a native of Jiangsu province, was recalling this incident during a chat at this year's London Book Fair in early April.

In China, his works have gained much recognition. He has won the Mao Dun Prize and Lu Xun Award, which are highly respected literary awards named after the great Chinese writers. His novel The Moon Opera was long-listed for The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2008 and Three Sisters won the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2011.

As someone who frequently attends book fairs and authors' symposiums abroad, Bi has met many authors and developed a great understanding of cultural and literary differences between China and the Western world.