Translator and poet Canaan Morse joins us to discuss his translation of Peach Blossom Paradise, a Chinese historical novel written by Ge Fei. In this conversation, we unpack the book's relationship to utopia, revolution, and Communist history. We also learn more about Canaan's background and the publication process at NYRB Classics. Listeners unfamiliar with the plot may want to wait until they've read the book to tune in.
Books and authors (and songs!) mentioned:
The Invisibility Cloak
Mo Yan
Kang Youwei
White Deer Plain by Chen Zhongshi
Water Margin by Shi Nai'an
To Live by Yu Hua
Li Shangyin
Matteo Ricci
Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin
Ulysses by James Joyce
Diary of a Madman by Lu Xun
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
"Stench" by Cao Kou (read Canaan's translation here: https://www.thewhitereview.org/fiction/stench/)
"Chang Hui Jia Kan Kan"
Yang Xiaobin
Seamus Heaney
Wang Wei
Hanshan
19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei by Eliot Weinberger
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
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