Journal opens new page for literature

An English journal helps Chinese literature reach a wider audience.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Those few journals are dominated by Western scholars or businesspeople with their special tastes and a desire to cater to their readers often by rewriting Chinese works. It is a common practice instead of honoring them as pieces of serious literature that should not be altered at will.

But things are beginning to change with the appearance of a Chinese professor with a new journal, Chinese Literature and Culture, based in China and published in the United States, with the backing of Chinese writers and literary journals as well as translators and scholars worldwide.

Since the journal was launched last year, it has published the works of a number of active Chinese authors, including West Window by Su Tong, The Story of Hu Wenqing by Wei Wei and A Dinner for Three by Sun Pin.

Chu Dongwei, founder and editor-in-chief of the print and online journal, is an associate professor at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. A translator himself, he is also editor of a collection of Zen Buddhist texts under the title The Wisdom of Huineng, Chinese Buddhist Philosopher: The Platform Sutra and Other Translations.

Chinese Literature and Culture, published three times a year, is devoted to translations of Chinese texts (works from the past or by contemporary authors), essays of cultural criticism and original writings－fiction or nonfiction－dealing with the China experience or life in Chinese communities around the world.

Chu says the intended reader is the educated public, and the idea is to promote cultural exchange and the positive influence of Chinese culture. In this process, individual authors and translators will have a chance to reach a wider audience, he says.