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Some book thoughts
Oct. 28th, 2024 09:54 amI have been having an absolutely terrible time with traditionally published Chinese fantasy (by Chinese authors) this year. The only ones I’ve enjoyed were The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang, and The Blood Orchid by Kylie Lee Baker. Every other one I’ve read has been a one- or two-star read. :(
As an example, I recently read The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan, which I was really looking forward to, but it was just so mediocre to me. (I know people argue that BIPOC authors should be allowed to write mediocre books, but at the same time, am I not allowed to be disappointed when mediocre books are published when so many talented authors of color are languishing because they're deemed "not relatable" or "not marketable enough"?)
One of the issues I had with the book was that the Chinese fantasy elements felt so superficial. Apart from the reincarnation/red thread of fate concept, if you took out the dragons, the teahouse, and the emperor, this could have easily been a generic Western fantasy. Hell, the book even features fae beasts and will-o-the-wisps already.
I've been ruminating a lot lately on the topic of what makes Chinese fantasy "culturally Chinese" and how much that matters. To be honest, it wasn't until I started reading danmei novels that I realized fantasy novels set in China by authors in China do feel very different from fantasy novels by diaspora authors, in terms of how (fantasy) China is depicted - the cultures, the traditions, the language.
I mean, the system of pronouns and honorifics in ancient China is extremely complicated, and while I don't expect a diaspora author to necessarily know when an ancient Chinese person would refer to themselves as 本官 or 小的 or (family name) 麿 (heck, I don't necessarily know either), I think it's worth trying to convey some of the speech patterns rather than just having everyone talk like a 21st-century English-speaking American. (Personally, I love writing Chinese fantasy characters introducing themselves like "My family name is X, my given name Y" to emulate "我姓 X，名 Y".)
I can really tell now when a Chinese diaspora author is aware of Chinese folklore and cultural nuances. I had that feeling while reading Justinian Huang, Joan He, and Judy I. Lin's novels.
But I'm also personally wrestling with the fact that I don't like ideas of cultural "purity" or gatekeeping diaspora authors from writing fantasy. And I have enjoyed Chinese fantasy novels by Sue Lynn Tan, RF Kuang, and Kylie Lee Baker that feature Western values and/or storytelling traditions in certain ways.
I think it comes down to, for me, feeling like a diaspora author has done some research on ancient China, instead of just taking some superficial elements and running with their imagination of what ancient China is like (because isn't that the exact same thing white people do?).
All this is, of course, not even getting to how traditional publishing is dominated by white people who are the arbiters of what should be published even when they have no knowledge of Chinese culture or storytelling. Sigh.
As an example, I recently read The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan, which I was really looking forward to, but it was just so mediocre to me. (I know people argue that BIPOC authors should be allowed to write mediocre books, but at the same time, am I not allowed to be disappointed when mediocre books are published when so many talented authors of color are languishing because they're deemed "not relatable" or "not marketable enough"?)
One of the issues I had with the book was that the Chinese fantasy elements felt so superficial. Apart from the reincarnation/red thread of fate concept, if you took out the dragons, the teahouse, and the emperor, this could have easily been a generic Western fantasy. Hell, the book even features fae beasts and will-o-the-wisps already.
I've been ruminating a lot lately on the topic of what makes Chinese fantasy "culturally Chinese" and how much that matters. To be honest, it wasn't until I started reading danmei novels that I realized fantasy novels set in China by authors in China do feel very different from fantasy novels by diaspora authors, in terms of how (fantasy) China is depicted - the cultures, the traditions, the language.
I mean, the system of pronouns and honorifics in ancient China is extremely complicated, and while I don't expect a diaspora author to necessarily know when an ancient Chinese person would refer to themselves as 本官 or 小的 or (family name) 麿 (heck, I don't necessarily know either), I think it's worth trying to convey some of the speech patterns rather than just having everyone talk like a 21st-century English-speaking American. (Personally, I love writing Chinese fantasy characters introducing themselves like "My family name is X, my given name Y" to emulate "我姓 X，名 Y".)
I can really tell now when a Chinese diaspora author is aware of Chinese folklore and cultural nuances. I had that feeling while reading Justinian Huang, Joan He, and Judy I. Lin's novels.
But I'm also personally wrestling with the fact that I don't like ideas of cultural "purity" or gatekeeping diaspora authors from writing fantasy. And I have enjoyed Chinese fantasy novels by Sue Lynn Tan, RF Kuang, and Kylie Lee Baker that feature Western values and/or storytelling traditions in certain ways.
I think it comes down to, for me, feeling like a diaspora author has done some research on ancient China, instead of just taking some superficial elements and running with their imagination of what ancient China is like (because isn't that the exact same thing white people do?).
All this is, of course, not even getting to how traditional publishing is dominated by white people who are the arbiters of what should be published even when they have no knowledge of Chinese culture or storytelling. Sigh.
