On the money or way off the mark: What the critics say about Kubin's comments
Ever since German sinologist Wolfgang Kubin's opinion on contemporary Chinese literature was made known, many Chinese writers and other experts have responded in different ways. Following are a few examples.
Trash is most visible
The stuff Kubin mentioned is not literature. When you say literature, would you think of Mian Mian and Wei Hui? No. You would think of Mo Yan, Jia Pingwa, Li Rui, Wang Anyi, Zhang Chengzhi. These are two different things. Wei Hui's Shanghai Baby was translated into many foreign languages not because it's good literature, but because people were curious and voyeuristic. It's just like the sea pushing waves on to the beach. What is most noticeable is the trash. But the sea is deep, and most stuff is not easily visible.
Chu Tian-wen, writer residing in Taiwan
Mind your language
Proficiency in foreign languages is not an absolute. In today's world of globalization, there is an urgent need for other languages. If you know only your mother tongue, you can misunderstand some of the foreign authors. This problem is exacerbated by low-quality translation. The experience of using a foreign language can increase your sensibility of your own language, so a writer should treat a foreign language as your mother tongue, and use your mother tongue as if it were another language.
Dung Kai-cheung, novelist residing in Hong Kong
Missing the fundamentals
Kubin described some of the phenomena in contemporary Chinese literature, which is pretty accurate and common sense. But if you look deeper, you'll notice he did not touch the fundamentals. Lin Yu-tang and Hu Shih were not pure literary writers, nor was Lu Xun. Only Eileen Chang could be counted as one. But we also had Shen Congwen, who stood above them all as a literary writer, and he did not know any foreign language. None of our ancient greats knew any foreign language.
Huang Canran, poet and translator residing in Hong Kong
Fact and fiction
Kubin is publishing a 10-volume history of Chinese literature. Nobody in the world is doing that. I'm pretty sure he knows Chinese literature. But he may not have read many contemporary novels. With his workload, how can he finish so much fiction. Maybe he read some and was disappointed.
Xiao Kaiyu, poet now residing in Berlin
Weak argument
When I first heard of his opinions, I was interested. I wanted to know how he evaluated those works he sees as trash. But when I saw the details of his argument, I was deeply disappointed.
Zhang Yueran, "new-concept" writer
Losing the plot
Kubin is arrogant and cliquish, which is rare among Western sinologists. He looks down upon Chinese literature and only says good things about those who are docile to him. He is a pretty good poet, but I doubt whether he has read any of the books that he calls trash. He has also trashed me, saying he wouldn't read my books because they are popular.
Hong Ying, best-selling poet and novelist residing in London
(China Daily 04/10/2007 page18)
