Dave Haysom
@spittingdog.net
Translator of 李洱 Li Er’s *Cherries on a Pomegranate Tree* and 文珍 Wen Zhen’s *Nothing but the Now* (2023). Managing editor of *Pathlight* (2014-2018). Occasional critic and regular teacher of literature. Based in Beijing since 2007.
Neil Armstrong never knew one of his greatest legacies live in Chinese public washrooms, where a parody of his famous "one small step" quote is plastered above every urinal, urging men to walk closer to avoid spillage. "One small step forward, one big step for civility".
see also 海子 Hai Zi (translated by Ye Chun): This Thoreau’s got brains There is nothing else in his hands He grabs a stick and the stick hits me hits me hard the way spring hits me dialogue.earth/en/nature/83...
Hermits and butterflies: the resurgence of nature writing in China
Translator and editor Dave Haysom traces the revival of the genre, from poet recluses of the past to a darker shade of dystopia that colours writing today
dialogue.earth
Dave Haysom@spittingdog.net · 3w agohighly recommend the essay “Thoreau and I” by 苇岸 Wei An (translated for Pathlight by Eleanor Goodman) dialogue.earth/en/nature/98...
highly recommend the essay “Thoreau and I” by 苇岸 Wei An (translated for Pathlight by Eleanor Goodman) dialogue.earth/en/nature/98...
Thoreau and I
An essay from the late poet and environmentalist Wei An on a connection with the 19th Century writer spanning epochs and cultures
dialogue.earth
Dave Haysom@spittingdog.net · 3w ago“For millions of Chinese readers, Walden is no longer simply a nineteenth-century American book about going to the woods. It has become a twenty-first-century survival strategy” —Julia Du lithub.com/why-thoreau-...
“For millions of Chinese readers, Walden is no longer simply a nineteenth-century American book about going to the woods. It has become a twenty-first-century survival strategy” —Julia Du lithub.com/why-thoreau-...
Why Thoreau and Walden Resonate With Chinese Youth
When I translated Walden in 2012, I was not a Thoreau scholar. I was an immigrant chasing the American dream: two kids, two cars, two houses, a long commute to a corporate job. Translating Walden b…
lithub.com
Writers tend to bristle at the adage, “Life is stranger than fiction.” In this latest “What China’s Reading” column, we share five Chinese-language titles that find a deeper truth through art. Read Na Zhong's latest column on Chinese-language reads: chinabooksreview.com/2026/06/23/w...
My translation of ADRIFT IN THE SOUTH, the debut memoir of Chinese worker-poet Xiao Hai 小海, out with Granta Magazine Editions today. A landmark work of the migrant worker literature movement, it showcases one of China’s liveliest emerging voices. #XiaoHai #chineseliterature #translatedliterature
China’s Most Famous Modern Writer: From Fiery Rebel to Cute Communist Mascot - by Andy Higgins, who just finished a short stint in China after a long absence. Now he’s back in Eastern Europe, writing about Orban. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/w...
China’s Most Famous Modern Writer: From Fiery Rebel to Cute Communist Mascot
nytimes.com
‘These investigations didn’t answer my key question, which wasn’t how but why. Isn’t writing itself the only meaningful, fulfilling – however hard-going – part of being a writer?’ Yan Ge on the Chinese plagiarism scandal exposed on RedNote, from the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...
Yan Ge | It cannot read the human heart
A friend in China messaged me on WeChat. ‘What are your thoughts on the plagiarism scandal?’‘What scandal?’ I...
lrb.co.uk
Read Tabitha Speelman's essay on China's independent bookstore scene: chinabooksreview.com/2026/01/29/b...
“no cheese latte for me thanks” you say, but wait until you learn how many different types of cheese you can find in one cup of Starbucks coffee.
not a surprise to observers paying attention to the enduring popularity of Shakira Gazelle.
big news! could not be more excited to be translating《小花旦》by Wang Zhanhei 王占黑. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
I've written on the curious arrival of the Monkey King within its Southern gothic landscape in SINNERS, Ryan Coogler’s audacious and genre-defying box office success, in the latest issue or @worldlittoday.bsky.social, devoted to the art of review. worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/septemb... 。。。。。
hey, I see you’re reading a book there huh? some interesting words there, in your book? I once read a book too, actually, would you like me to tell you about it?
After a plagiarism scandal upended China’s literati, a spate of bestselling books published by amateur writers has changed what Chinese readers consider as literature. Read Na Zhong's latest What China's Reading column: chinabooksreview.com/2025/07/29/w...
yes the sights were lovely but what I shall remember of Paris always is the infinite variety of instrumental Hotline Bling covers. accordion Hotline Bling, jazz piano Hotline Bling, steel drum Hotline Bling. the Eiffel Tower lurks around every street corner and so too does panpipe Hotline Bling.
Beijing audience reaction to Mission Impossible – Final Reckoning: at least three boyfriends continually whispering a plot explanation to girlfriends; sporadic swearing and fist shaking when Beijing threatened with nuke attack; general warmth and enthusiasm for Tapeesa the dog sledding lady.
there were only 8 other people in my Beijing IMAX holiday weekend screening of Thunderbolts, but by the end of the film there were 8 enthusiastic fans of Red Guardian.
so far season 2 of Andor is nicely validating my decision to teach it to my English students alongside Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent (a novel about a government deliberately instigating an act of terrorism to justify the suppression of revolutionaries).
my translation of The Hedgehog by Zheng Zhi 郑执 is in The Paris Review www.theparisreview.org/fiction/8386...
The Hedgehog by Zheng Zhi, translated by Jeremy Tiang
I found out only later that when my ma called Ensign Wang a lunatic, she’d meant it literally—he really was a mental patient.
theparisreview.org
The Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing - welcome to Bluesky! @writingchinese.bsky.social -
The Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing (@writingchinese.bsky.social)
A centre for contemporary Chinese writing at the University of Leeds. For authors, translators, publishers, everyone. https://writingchinese.leeds.ac.uk/
writingchinese.bsky.social
