In my innocent youth, I was a paragon of virtue, but after wandering for so long in the red dust of this world I had joined the forces of evilIn the sixty third episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction we are Dancing Through Red Dust (原谅我红尘颠倒 / Yuánliàng Wǒ Hóngchén Diāndǎo), a nightmarish lurch through the PRC (il)legal system dreamed up by the Shandong webnovelist-turned-dissident Murong Xuecun. Presiding over the court with me is Murong’s esteemed translator, editor, publisher, and friend: Harvey Tomlinson. What have judges to do with the Jinpingmei? What has loss to do with licentiousness? How does Buddhism end up parceled in with backhand business? You shut up and listen. We’ll deliver the verdict.-// NEWS ITEMS //Strange Beasts of China lands a spot on the NYT’s 100 Notable Books of 2021How an American fell in love with China and Chinese - Great SCMP article on/by translator/Mr Paper Republic, Eric AbrahamsenNew & queued TrChFic Patreon episodes: 2046, The Road Home, Taiwan symposium, Faraway, and a kehuan battle royaleSinoist Books have upgraded their website-// WORDS OF THE DAY //(晚 & 碗 - wǎn & wǎn - ‘evening’ and ‘bowl’)(色 - sè - here meaning ‘carnality’)-// MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE //Leave Me Alone by Murong Xuecun himselfThe Strike - Harvey’s experimental syntax novelRed dust 红尘 - a Sino-Buddhist conceptThe Plum in the Golden Vase and a horrible Jin Ping Mei anime dollRunning Around Beijing by Xu ZechenNorthern Girls by Sheng Keyi

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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