New literary voices from China: JIANG Fangzhou

In a conversation with JIANG Fangzhou Dr. Petra Thiel introduces this Chinese author and her special writing style.

What does it do to us when the world suddenly changes? In her latest collection of short stories, which she completed during the Corona pandemic, Chinese author JIANG Fangzhou lets her characters float like satellites through unknown worlds, always searching for a hold and a connection to others. Not only in her short stories, such as "The Rainmaker", which appeared in German translation for the first time in 2018, but also in her often autobiographically tinged texts the 31-year-old author JIANG Fangzhou addresses the lives of young women in Chinese metropolises, their struggle with social conventions and the desire for individuality. JIANG is considered the voice of a generation whose upbringing was shaped by rapid modernisation processes in urban China and who are longing for the recognition of alternative lifestyles. But not only as a writer, also as an editor and talk show guest, she shows herself to be a precise observer who does not avoid uncomfortable questions. Her latest short story collection in which she turns to speculative literature for the first time was published In October 2020. In this collection JIANG sends her protagonists into distant universes; dates and places are deliberately kept vague. In readings and conversations with the author we approach the "phenomenon JIANG Fangzhou" and a literary voice from China that is still new to us.