I'm learning Mandarin Chinese and I want to try reading a chink novel in its original language for practice. It has to be something with an official English translation so I can compare. What's a good option? Pic probably unrelated because of outdated language.
And yes, I've already seen the screencap from that /int/ thread telling you not to learn Chinese, you don't need to post it.
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i'd be interested also, maybe something like a chinese Hemingway
read 金瓶梅 instead... I think?
Chinese literature isn't particularly special so you would do well to grab a random book that has a dual-language print
three body problem
Tao Te Ching IMO
bumping for interest
Learn the symbols. There is no need to learn the actual language.
you can read the book The Classic Chine Novel
and make your choice based on it.
It overviews all the major chinese novels.
what screencap you talking about
hehe, beat me to it, user.
seriously hough, I would suggest the Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, 聊齋志異 because 1. they're short, 2. there are a couple of English translations out there; and 3. they're fun.
OK, so they're in classical Chinese (or semi-classical), but so is everything else worth reading.
How the fuck is that possible
Wouldn't most of the text be in gibberish random characters 閣揆哦呢誒呢嗯懊惱腦鬧鬧啊垃圾坑航恩內呢
From what I've experienced, English to Chinese does NOT translate well
Not OP, but I'm interested in reading classical Chinese lit untranslated. Would it come easily to me if I learned Mandarin or should I just jump into learning Classical? The fact that the great works of Chinese literature are often separated by many centuries kind of makes me wonder how much the language varies from work to work. I've also heard that 紅楼夢 is written is Beijing dialect. Would just learning classical Chinese from some online course prepare me for all this? I know Japanese, not that that makes too much of a difference.
No need to learn Mandarin, you can jump right in if you want.
Get yourself some good study materials (there are a bunch available now):
Pulleyblank's Grammar (online);
A good reader such as Fuller or Rouzer;
and Kroll's dictionary (also on Pleco).
Mathews dictionary you can download or purchase.
If you like poetry I suggest Archie Barnes book, Chinese Through Poetry.
That should be a good start.
I will tell you something, user: there are 2, not 1, translations of Ulysses in Chinese. And the good news for curious you is that one of the translators has written a memoir of sorts about how he proceeded - in English, it's called "Shamrock and Chopstick", well worth a read if you're interested in Joyce and/or Chinese lit.
>screencap from that /int/ thread telling you not to learn Chinese
anyone has it? what does it say?
I also found this.
>Learn the symbols. There is no need to learn the actual language
wt actual honest-to-god f
>learn the symbols
>not language
What?
Camel Xiangzi (Rickshaw Boy in English) would be a good choice. Or Lu Xun's short stories- tougher, but obviously a whole lot shorter.
Why did this get screencapped and repeatedly posted, anyway? It's a bog standard 'unhappy expat' whine with added idiocy.
>guys China has a saying which is an exact equivalent of 'you get what you pay for'
>this is compelling evidence that everyone's unscrupulous there
China BTFO forever. Also I am now seeing negative line imprints everywhere I look.
Ty user, spare the condescension next time
Lame. First, so what the fuck do Chinese people do? Maybe instead of trying to be multi-culti “life is the same everywhere” he should’ve actually learned the culture of the place he was living in. Also
>surprised that country where people were eating each other 50 years ago doesn’t give a shit about possibly-fatal injuries.
I’d love to see someone like this go to Southern Europe
Look into Su Tong: many of his novellas like Rice and Raise the Red Lantern are in both languages and not terribly complex. Also he's just a good author at capturing the miserable Chinese mindset during the 20th century. My favorite of his books is Boat to Redemption
if you are reading things that aren't there into a one line message mate, you are going to have some serious fun with Ulysses...
A bit late but japanese will help immensely since japanese highschoolers study chinese classics, try looking for kobun with reading guides
Maybe something by Mo Yan, like "life and death are wearing me out"
Ma Jian's novels/stories/memoirs are enjoyable.
Liao Yiwu's writings: now that's a writer with a capital double-u. pen.org
I never cared for Gao Xingjian, too pretentious, too deliberately euro-inspired. In other words, too Yea Forums.