Writing Lives: from China in the 1930s to Britain in the 2020s

Ling Shuhua 凌叔华 (1900-1990) and Life-Writing

The prolific translator of Chinese literature, Nicky Harman, introduces the fascinating life and short stories of feminist writer Ling Shuhua. Her presentation is followed by a creative self-writing workshop led by UK-based Chinese author and tutor, Yan Ge.

This event is free of charge, but please register at the link below. On registration, you will be sent a Ling Shuhua short story in Nicky Harman’s translation, and suggestions for further reading.

You may register for the talk only (4-4:45pm) or for the talk and the writing workshop (4-7pm).

NB: The event will be in English and no knowledge of Chinese will be required or expected for either part.

Please note that spaces for the writing workshop will be limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis. If you register for the workshop and then are unable to attend please let us know as we may operate a waiting list. Refreshments will be provided for participants during the workshop.

There are two choices for tickets:

1. Register here if you'd like to attend ONLY the presentation
2.  Register here it you'd like to attend BOTH the presentation and the workshop

 

Part 1: Presentation, with Nicky

Ling Shuhua, one of China’s earliest feminist authors, wrote powerful short stories in which women and girls grapple with feelings and dilemmas that we can empathise with, and which reach out to us over nearly a hundred years. The story we will focus on, ‘Boredom’, is possibly her most autobiographical – in it, an educated woman finds herself isolated in a provincial backwater. She rages inwardly against the social constraints that stifle her but can manage only one small act of rebellion.

Key facts about Ling Shuhua:

• In the 1920s and 30s, China was being torn apart by rival warlord factions. Yet Ling Shuhua focusses almost exclusively on the interior world of women and girls.
• Ling Shuhua exchanged letters with Virginia Woolf in 1938-1939, in which each described their struggles as a woman and a writer in times of war.
• From 1947 onwards, Ling Shuhua was based in the UK, where she became friends with writers and artists in the Bloomsbury Group; she stopped writing and became known instead for her traditional Chinese paintings.

The presentation will be followed by a workshop, in which participants can try their hand at life-writing for themselves, under the guidance of an experienced tutor and successful (bilingual) author Yan Ge. Both sessions will be in English.

Part 2: Creative Writing Workshop on Characterisation, with Yan Ge

There is no story without characters. In a story, we follow the focal character’s perspective, watching events unfold via actions, dialogue and thoughts, all told in the narrator’s voice. In this workshop, we are going to explore various types of characters ­– from ordinary to extraordinary, from stereotypical to specific, from allegorical to fictional – and delve into what makes them convincing and captivating.

NB: All participants at the workshop will be invited to submit their finished pieces for a competition (judged by Yan and Nicky) and the chance to win a voucher for an Arvon creative writing workshop.

……………………………..

Speakers

Nicky Harman is a prize-winning Chinese-to-English translator. She works on Paper-Republic.org, which promotes Chinese literature, blogs, teaches summer schools and judges translation competitions. She is working on a collection of Ling Shuhua’s short stories.

Yan Ge is a fiction writer in both Chinese and English. The English translation of her novel Strange Beasts of China (tr by Jeremy Tiang) was a New York Times Notable Book of 2021. Her English language debut short story collection Elsewhere came out via Faber (UK) and Scribner (US) in 2023. She lives in Norwich with her husband and son.

This event has been made possible due to an award by the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Literature Matters  These awards are intended to reward and enable literary excellence and innovation.

………………………………………..