As China's influence rises in the world, it is worth noting that Chinese literature, which has been often neglected in Europe, has aroused more and more attention among Europeans in recent years. Of the Chinese novels on the shelves of bookstores in Europe, those focusing on the theme of women, or Chinese feminine literature, have become bestsellers from time to time.
Since 2001, more than ten Chinese feminine literature books have been listed as bestsellers in various European countries. The book, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, written by Chinese novelist Da Sijie, who now lives in France, has attained a sale of 250,000 copies there.
How is it that these books have found favor with the picky European readers? According to the director of the German Oriental Literature Research Institute, "Oriental art" is one of the major reasons to explain the phenomenon.
In addition, through these novels, European readers can see very clearly that Chinese women, in contrast to their usual depiction as mysterious women, are in fact real people with profound thoughts and complex characters, just like their Western counterparts.
"Most Europeans do not understand the life of the Chinese people, especially the life of Chinese women. These books have thus opened a window for Europeans to get to understand them, to experience the subtleties in their life, and to touch their basic emotions," said a German woman.
These novels have their own features. Some are noted for their personal elements depicted in the novel. Some attract readers with their moving plots. Some are enchanting because of the unique imaginations in the novel.
Meanwhile, most European readers see that these novels reflect some of their own image. The little Chinese seamstress in the novel mentioned above, for instance, actually represents the typical Chinese folk culture. She was finally attracted by Balzac, the embodiment of the European culture.
The German news magazine, Der Spiegel, attributes the rising popularity of the Chinese feminine literature to its being “both a literature phenomenon and a social one.” For a nation's literature to be understood better by people in other countries, both the internal and external factors will play a role in the process. European readers' increasing interest in Chinese feminine literature results from China's rising strength in its economy, which has fired Europeans with the enthusiasm for a better understanding of China and its culture.
The leading role of Western literature and the influence it exerts on world literature reached its peak in the past century. In the new century, Asian writers, especially Chinese writers, will become the major source in the literature circle, said the director of the German Oriental Literature Research Institute.
(Chinanews.cn June 14, 2006)
