A Dictionary of Maqiao
Encyclopedia
A Dictionary of Maqiao is a novel
written by Chinese writer Han Shaogong
. It was first published in 1996 and has been translated into English by Julia Lovell
. Yazhou Zhoukan
selected it as one of the top 100 greatest Chinese novels in the 20th century.
Maqiao is a village in Hunan
province, China
. This novel is written in the form of a dictionary, or more accurately, encyclopedia
. It collects 115 ‘articles’ on Maqiao village life from the perspective of a young student sent there by the Down to the Countryside Movement
. These ‘articles’ do cohere into a story.
After this book was published, someones criticised that it violates the copyright
of Pavic
's novel, Dictionary of the Khazars
. The author, Han Shaogong, brought a defamation case against the critics and won this case.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Chinese writer Han Shaogong
Han Shaogong
Han Shaogong is a Chinese novelist and fictionist.Han was born in Hunan, China. While relying on traditional Chinese culture, in particular Chinese mythology, folklore, Taoism and Buddhism as source of inspiration, he also borrows freely from Western literary techniques...
. It was first published in 1996 and has been translated into English by Julia Lovell
Julia Lovell
Dr. Julia Lovell, born in 1975, is a prize-winning translator who has also written on China for The Guardian, The Times , The Economist, and The Times Literary Supplement.Her translations include works by Lu Xun, Han Shaogong, Eileen Chang and Zhu Wen...
. Yazhou Zhoukan
Yazhou Zhoukan
Yazhou Zhoukan , literally as "Asia Weekly", is the only Chinese language international affairs newsweekly which has been published for over 20 years...
selected it as one of the top 100 greatest Chinese novels in the 20th century.
Maqiao is a village in Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
province, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. This novel is written in the form of a dictionary, or more accurately, encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
. It collects 115 ‘articles’ on Maqiao village life from the perspective of a young student sent there by the Down to the Countryside Movement
Down to the Countryside Movement
The Down to the Countryside Movement was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As a result of the anti-bourgeois thinking prevalent during the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong declared certain privileged urban youth would be sent to mountainous...
. These ‘articles’ do cohere into a story.
After this book was published, someones criticised that it violates the copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
of Pavic
Milorad Pavic (writer)
Milorad Pavić was a Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian. He was also a candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature....
's novel, Dictionary of the Khazars
Dictionary of the Khazars
Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel is the first novel by Serbian writer Milorad Pavić, published in 1984. Originally written in Serbian, the novel has been translated into many languages...
. The author, Han Shaogong, brought a defamation case against the critics and won this case.