Chinese Literature, Chinese films, and Chinese stuff

[Demogorgonzola]

Hey y'all. Anyway I recently tried looking for a way to purchase Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio online, and I came across both the John Minford translation as well as the Herbert Giles one. The thing is, while I had already enjoyed Minford's rendition of "Story of the Stone", I was disappointed to read his comment in the introduction to "Strange Stories" that he left out certain parts because he felt they were irrelevant. I was also disappointed to find that the Giles translation, while longer, neutered a lot of the more scandalous content to render the work more palatable to a Victorian audience. So I am curious, does anyone know where I can find the original version, in the original language, either online or otherwise? Thanks.

Same goes for a lot of Chinese media. I'm looking for some of King Hu's films, for example. And Tsai Ming Liang's films are a ***** to find.


So yeah maybe we can expand this thread to talk about availability of Chinese Media in the west.

[heartwing]

When I was doing research on China for a story I was writing, I was able to track down Zhang Yimou's films "Red Sorghum" and I think "To Live" and "Raise the Red Lantern." I remember the process of trying to get things was rather involved. It's been a while, but I do remember having some difficulties. I also purchased a book about Chinese film that I have around here somewhere.

Good luck with finding the original of Strange Tales.

[Pompey Bum]

I remember seeing a (free?) app in the IPad App Store that had complete works of Chinese literature in Chinese. The regular classic novels were there, but I don't remember if they had Strange Stories, too. They may have. I can only find Giles in English on Gutenberg and Internet Archives. Sorry I couldn't do better by you. For what it's worth, Sun Wukong's war on Heaven (from Journey to the West, obviously) is my favorite piece of literature from any culture. I only know it in English, though.

Good luck with your search and let us know if you find movies with subtitles.

[Danik 2016]

I am astonished how it has become easier to find complete films on You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTt9Mb0a13E

[heartwing]

Sweet, Danik. Thanks for the heads up about this. I sadly lost some of my Chinese materials, including film, during the end of a marriage gone bad. Oy vey, TMI. I'm pretty sure my ex tossed some things. So I am so happy to find the films I enjoyed some of these cost quite a bit on Amazon right here on youtube.

So, here, Red Sorghum, a beauty. I love Roger Ebert (in his review and synopsis in Chicago Sun-Times), "There is a strength in the simplicity of this story, in the almost fairy-tale quality of its images and the shocking suddenness of its violence, that Hollywood in its sophistication has lost."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVTrnFSHfvI

Also another directed by Zhang Yimou "Raise the Red Lantern." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yo8bvg0MAg