Filip Noubel
@nasredinhoja.bsky.social
Journalist&researcher on Central Europe, Central Asia, China, Taiwan. Literary translator&reporter. Cosmopolitan found between Taipei, Tashkent and Prague. Drinks tea only. GlobalVoices CapsUnlock Asymptote Journal. All views my own. All about context
#China #Diaspora lit "Many tidbits from ancestral stories found their way into my novels but it was research that did the most to fill the blanks when it came to understanding my parents. For my debut novel, one research topic was about #QuQiubai." lithub.com/how-writing-... @vivianwu.bsky.social
How Writing My Books Helped Me Understand My Chinese Parents
I was one of those: a rebellious teenager with traditional Chinese parents. I chafed at my father’s strictness, at his expectations of absolute obedience, his insistence on perfect grades. I ran in…
lithub.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:09 AM
#China #Diaspora lit "Many tidbits from ancestral stories found their way into my novels but it was research that did the most to fill the blanks when it came to understanding my parents. For my debut novel, one research topic was about #QuQiubai." lithub.com/how-writing-... @vivianwu.bsky.social
#Taiwan literature "For decades, Taiwanese (Taigi) poetry was widely seen as commercially unviable. Then Un Jio̍k-kiâu (温若喬) rewrote the script." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...
Taiwanese poet Un Jiok-kiâu turns Taigi poetry into a bestseller - Focus Taiwan
For decades, Taiwanese (Taigi) poetry was widely seen as commercially unviable. Then Un Jiok-kiâu (温若喬) rewrote the script.
focustaiwan.tw
February 11, 2026 at 1:57 AM
#Taiwan literature "For decades, Taiwanese (Taigi) poetry was widely seen as commercially unviable. Then Un Jio̍k-kiâu (温若喬) rewrote the script." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...
#Taiwan literature #Ecuador #SanMao #三毛 #萬水千山走遍 "Traversing Myriad Rivers and Mountains remains among the most widely read Chinese-language accounts of #LatinAmerica" #AsymptoteJournal www.asymptotejournal.com/nonfiction/t... @vivianwu.bsky.social
from Travels in Ecuador - Asymptote
By the Shore of Silver Lake: Present Life—Ecuadorian Journey (II)I hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief.My friend Marco wasn’t home, so I left a message with his father. At least...
www.asymptotejournal.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:17 AM
#Taiwan literature #Ecuador #SanMao #三毛 #萬水千山走遍 "Traversing Myriad Rivers and Mountains remains among the most widely read Chinese-language accounts of #LatinAmerica" #AsymptoteJournal www.asymptotejournal.com/nonfiction/t... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Last islands of free thinking in #China's bookstores: "There is no need to live in #Beijing anymore. The interesting people have all gone abroad or moved back to their home region." chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/29/b... @vivianwu.bsky.social @chinabooksreview.com
How China’s Independent Bookstores Survive | China Books Review
Even as restrictions tighten in Beijing, independent bookstores in Chengdu have flourished — showing how offline community and public debate can thrive. But it’s hard.
chinabooksreview.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Last islands of free thinking in #China's bookstores: "There is no need to live in #Beijing anymore. The interesting people have all gone abroad or moved back to their home region." chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/29/b... @vivianwu.bsky.social @chinabooksreview.com
"Soon to turn 67 in mid-February, Kim has translated more than 20 books by #Taiwanese authors into #Korean, establishing himself as the preeminent conduit for Taiwanese #translation in #SouthKorea." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...
Love by accident: A South Korean translator's commitment to Taiwan literature - Focus Taiwan
"I was a foreign wanderer when I came to Taiwan a year ago," Kim Tae-sung quipped, reflecting on a transition that was as unexpected as it was deliberate.
focustaiwan.tw
February 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM
"Soon to turn 67 in mid-February, Kim has translated more than 20 books by #Taiwanese authors into #Korean, establishing himself as the preeminent conduit for Taiwanese #translation in #SouthKorea." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...
Reposted by Filip Noubel
{𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓} 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
We're very pleased to announce that we have formed a collaboration with the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing to republish selected reviews of translated titles from their platform.
⧉ chajournal.com/2026/02/03/l...
We're very pleased to announce that we have formed a collaboration with the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing to republish selected reviews of translated titles from their platform.
⧉ chajournal.com/2026/02/03/l...
February 3, 2026 at 3:42 AM
{𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓} 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
We're very pleased to announce that we have formed a collaboration with the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing to republish selected reviews of translated titles from their platform.
⧉ chajournal.com/2026/02/03/l...
We're very pleased to announce that we have formed a collaboration with the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing to republish selected reviews of translated titles from their platform.
⧉ chajournal.com/2026/02/03/l...
"German veteran #translator Karin Betz, currently translating the award-winning Taiwanese novel "#Taiwan Travelogue" #台灣漫遊錄, has spent decades bringing Taiwanese and Chinese literature to German readers." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...
Translator Karin Betz introduces Taiwanese literature to German readers - Focus Taiwan
German veteran translator Karin Betz, currently translating the award-winning Taiwanese novel "Taiwan Travelogue" (台灣漫遊錄), has spent decades bringing Taiwanese and Chinese literature to German readers...
focustaiwan.tw
January 29, 2026 at 5:13 PM
"German veteran #translator Karin Betz, currently translating the award-winning Taiwanese novel "#Taiwan Travelogue" #台灣漫遊錄, has spent decades bringing Taiwanese and Chinese literature to German readers." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026...
#Bookstore resistance in #Hongkong "Since 2019, as media outlets have shuttered and street slogans have faded into silence, a handful of independent bookstores have emerged against the odds." english.cw.com.tw/article/arti... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Hong Kong’s Independent Bookstores Fight to Keep the Lights On｜International｜2026-01-27｜web only
Since 2019, as media outlets have shuttered and street slogans have faded into silence, a handful of independent bookstores have emerged against the odds. Why have they chosen this path amid such hist...
english.cw.com.tw
January 28, 2026 at 11:54 PM
#Bookstore resistance in #Hongkong "Since 2019, as media outlets have shuttered and street slogans have faded into silence, a handful of independent bookstores have emerged against the odds." english.cw.com.tw/article/arti... @vivianwu.bsky.social
#China #Tibet "recent titles worthy reading from a reported account of Chinese scammers in Southeast Asia and a narrative of Catholic resurgence in the 1980s, to an academic study of revolutionary emotion after Mao". chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/13/n... @vivianwu.bsky.social
New China Books: Resolute Reading | China Books Review
Resolving to read more in 2026? We have you covered with five recommendations, from an essay collection of Tibet to a colloquial history of China’s hot-button issues.
chinabooksreview.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:27 AM
#China #Tibet "recent titles worthy reading from a reported account of Chinese scammers in Southeast Asia and a narrative of Catholic resurgence in the 1980s, to an academic study of revolutionary emotion after Mao". chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/13/n... @vivianwu.bsky.social
#China fiction+non-fiction #translation "Identity issues. Migrant stories. Company profiles. Lost daughters. Daddy issues. Round-up of notable books on or from China, nonfiction and literature, nominated by experts." chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Best China Books of 2025 | China Books Review
Identity issues. Migrant stories. Company profiles. Lost daughters. Daddy issues. Our annual round-up of notable books on or from China, nonfiction and literature, nominated by experts.
chinabooksreview.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:23 AM
#China fiction+non-fiction #translation "Identity issues. Migrant stories. Company profiles. Lost daughters. Daddy issues. Round-up of notable books on or from China, nonfiction and literature, nominated by experts." chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/18/b... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Social commentary on #China's society "Horror fiction if that is the best term for it — is a genre that readers might associate less with China, yet it stretches back centuries and is just as alive and kicking today." chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/06/e... @vivianwu.bsky.social @chinabooksreview.com
Chinese Horror with Xueting C. Ni | China Books Review
Horror writing has an unsavory reputation in China, but comes with a long history and is full of biting social commentary. The translator of a recent collection explains what lurks beneath.
chinabooksreview.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Social commentary on #China's society "Horror fiction if that is the best term for it — is a genre that readers might associate less with China, yet it stretches back centuries and is just as alive and kicking today." chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/06/e... @vivianwu.bsky.social @chinabooksreview.com
"2025 has seen a bumper crop for #Chineseliterature in #translation. We recommend 5 titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction from #HongKong." chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/09/t... @vivianwu.bsky.social @chinabooksreview.com
Translated Chinese Literature: New Fiction | China Books Review
2025 has seen a bumper crop for Chinese literature in translation. We recommend five recent titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction from Hong Kong.
chinabooksreview.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:39 AM
"2025 has seen a bumper crop for #Chineseliterature in #translation. We recommend 5 titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction from #HongKong." chinabooksreview.com/2025/12/09/t... @vivianwu.bsky.social @chinabooksreview.com
My long interview on #Taiwan identity and relations with the #CzechRepublic for the #French service of #Czech state radio. francais.radio.cz/taiwan-la-cr... @radiopraguefr.bsky.social @vivianwu.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 11:09 AM
My long interview on #Taiwan identity and relations with the #CzechRepublic for the #French service of #Czech state radio. francais.radio.cz/taiwan-la-cr... @radiopraguefr.bsky.social @vivianwu.bsky.social
"5 titles by authors from the broader #sinosphere. #HongKong #Taiwan #Malaysia #China #US : stories about our interconnected world." chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/18/w... @vivianwu.bsky.social
What China's Reading: Books from the Sinosphere | China Books Review
Five new books from the wider world of sinophone literature, including a Taiwanese book on Covid quarantine and a Malaysian Chinese memoir of loss.
chinabooksreview.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:30 AM
"5 titles by authors from the broader #sinosphere. #HongKong #Taiwan #Malaysia #China #US : stories about our interconnected world." chinabooksreview.com/2025/11/18/w... @vivianwu.bsky.social
" #migrant workers and new immigrants were celebrated for their contributions to #Taiwan's literary landscape at 10th Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants." #tagalog #vietnam focustaiwan.tw/society/2025...
Migrant workers, new immigrants honored at literature award in Taipei - Focus Taiwan
Migrant workers and new immigrants were celebrated Sunday at Taipei Main Station for their contributions to Taiwan's literary landscape, with many awardees using the moment to express both their grati...
focustaiwan.tw
November 24, 2025 at 3:14 AM
" #migrant workers and new immigrants were celebrated for their contributions to #Taiwan's literary landscape at 10th Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants." #tagalog #vietnam focustaiwan.tw/society/2025...
"#Chen Yao-chang #陳耀昌 was recognized as a novelist devoted to #Taiwanese history, with "Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa." recounts the Rover Incident between Indigenous groups and an American merchant ship, which escalated into further conflict." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2025...
Doctor, author Chen Yao-chang dies at 76 - Focus Taiwan
Chen Yao-chang (陳耀昌), the physician who performed Taiwan's first bone marrow transplant and the author of the historical novel "Puppet Flower" (傀儡花), has died at the age of 76.
focustaiwan.tw
November 18, 2025 at 2:54 AM
"#Chen Yao-chang #陳耀昌 was recognized as a novelist devoted to #Taiwanese history, with "Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa." recounts the Rover Incident between Indigenous groups and an American merchant ship, which escalated into further conflict." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2025...
A new #translation of a #余华 novel:"To reject Mao-era revolutionary realism and romanticism, #YuHua wrote surreal fiction. His phantasmagoric stories generally avoid direct mention of politics, but they perform political work." chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f... #文城 #土匪文学 @vivianwu.bsky.social
Yu Hua: Fictional Cities | China Books Review
The bestselling Chinese novelist foregrounds individual suffering in the chaos of modern Chinese history. In his latest novel in translation, gratuitous violence shows the limits of fiction.
chinabooksreview.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:42 AM
A new #translation of a #余华 novel:"To reject Mao-era revolutionary realism and romanticism, #YuHua wrote surreal fiction. His phantasmagoric stories generally avoid direct mention of politics, but they perform political work." chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/30/f... #文城 #土匪文学 @vivianwu.bsky.social
Intellectual resistance in #China: "Following speculation #Chengdu’s Youxing Bookstore #有杏书店 would close, amid tributes from supporters, it appears the bookstore and events space has been granted a reprieve and will remain in business." chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/11/tran... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Translations: As Tributes Pour In, Chengdu’s You Xing Bookstore Gets a Reprieve From Feared Closure
Following more than a week of speculation that Chengdu’s You Xing Bookstore (有杏书店, Yǒu Xìng Shūdiàn) would soon close, amid an outpouring of tributes from customers and supporters, it appears that the...
chinadigitaltimes.net
November 12, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Intellectual resistance in #China: "Following speculation #Chengdu’s Youxing Bookstore #有杏书店 would close, amid tributes from supporters, it appears the bookstore and events space has been granted a reprieve and will remain in business." chinadigitaltimes.net/2025/11/tran... @vivianwu.bsky.social
"Time Tunnel offers a new selection of stories and essays, some translated for the first time into English, drawn from every stage of the career of the great Chinese writer #EileenChang" #張愛玲 #chineseliterature #translation www.nyrb.com/products/tim... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Time Tunnel
Now in English for the first time, stories about love, sex, and migration by “China's Virginia Woolf.”
www.nyrb.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:39 AM
"Time Tunnel offers a new selection of stories and essays, some translated for the first time into English, drawn from every stage of the career of the great Chinese writer #EileenChang" #張愛玲 #chineseliterature #translation www.nyrb.com/products/tim... @vivianwu.bsky.social
#Taiwan's novelist Yang Shuang-zi #楊双子 will give talks in India in November, including at the #MumbaiLitFest, under the theme "Taiwan #India Literary Dialogue." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2025... #literature #translation #台灣漫遊錄
Taiwanese novelist Yang Shuang-zi to embark on India speaking tour - Focus Taiwan
Taiwanese novelist Yang Shuang-zi (楊双子) will give three talks in India in November, including one at the influential Mumbai LitFest, under the theme "Taiwan-India Literary Dialogue: The Indian Journey...
focustaiwan.tw
October 20, 2025 at 11:54 AM
#Taiwan's novelist Yang Shuang-zi #楊双子 will give talks in India in November, including at the #MumbaiLitFest, under the theme "Taiwan #India Literary Dialogue." focustaiwan.tw/culture/2025... #literature #translation #台灣漫遊錄
#Taiwan #translation "I was compelled by the idea of translation as a test of my allegiances. But this metaphor is far from how I actually experience the process. Unlike a test, there is no right answer or a way to “pass” in translation, which is an art of compromise". lithub.com/between-chin...
Between Taiwanese and Mandarin: Translation as a Test of Allegiance
During my first semester of teaching in Taiwan, I was in the middle of a lesson on “Monsters and Ghosts” when a student’s hand shot up. His question was not really related to the content: “Teacher,…
lithub.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:42 AM
#Taiwan #translation "I was compelled by the idea of translation as a test of my allegiances. But this metaphor is far from how I actually experience the process. Unlike a test, there is no right answer or a way to “pass” in translation, which is an art of compromise". lithub.com/between-chin...
"The heroine resists the deliberate silence and forced erasure that has plagued countless #women in #China. As #FangFang writes, generations of Chinese women have been rendered voiceless by the patriarchy." #方方 #Chineseliterature chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/09/f...
No Country for a Woman | China Books Review
Women in China have suffered abuse, silencing and erasure — despite the Communist Party’s slogans about women’s liberation. Two novels by the Wuhan writer Fang Fang show how gendered oppression persis...
chinabooksreview.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:39 AM
"The heroine resists the deliberate silence and forced erasure that has plagued countless #women in #China. As #FangFang writes, generations of Chinese women have been rendered voiceless by the patriarchy." #方方 #Chineseliterature chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/09/f...
A 2016 interview with #LaszloKrasznahorkai www.asymptotejournal.com/interview/an... #AsymptoteJournal #Nobel #literature
An interview with László Krasznahorkai - Asymptote
Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai's literary signature is his disenchantment with the period, “the dot” that he considers “an artificial border between sentences.R...
www.asymptotejournal.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:22 AM
A 2016 interview with #LaszloKrasznahorkai www.asymptotejournal.com/interview/an... #AsymptoteJournal #Nobel #literature
Reposted by Filip Noubel
OH WOW! Congratulations to our contributor, László Krasznahorkai, for winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature!!! 😍🥳
wordswithoutborders.org/.../view/lsz...
wordswithoutborders.org/.../view/lsz...
László Krasznahorkai - Words Without Borders
László Krasznahorkai is the recipient of the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature, the 2015 Man Booker International Prize, and the 2013 Best Translated Book Award in Fiction.
wordswithoutborders.org
October 9, 2025 at 11:02 AM
OH WOW! Congratulations to our contributor, László Krasznahorkai, for winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature!!! 😍🥳
wordswithoutborders.org/.../view/lsz...
wordswithoutborders.org/.../view/lsz...
Resharing my article about #CanXue given #NobelPrize #literature rumors - would be amazing indeed! #Chineseliterature #残雪 www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2023/01... @vivianwu.bsky.social
Tunnel of Forking Paths: On Can Xue’s Dystopian Moral Fable, Mystery Train - Asymptote Blog
For the author, the deconstruction of language allows her to explore themes close to her oeuvre, but also to her personal experience.
www.asymptotejournal.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Resharing my article about #CanXue given #NobelPrize #literature rumors - would be amazing indeed! #Chineseliterature #残雪 www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2023/01... @vivianwu.bsky.social