China's boom boosts interest in English-language fiction about country, writers say

The rise of China as an economic power has sparked interest in English-language fiction about the country, bringing success to several bilingual authors, writers of the genre said Tuesday.

Despite the China-fiction craze, only a few authors will be remembered once the novelty wears off, according to writers speaking at the annual Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

"The Chinese economy and market and politics play such an important role in the world. It's hard to ignore its literature," writer Yan Geling said at a talk at the festival, sponsored by the same group of companies that sponsors Britain's Man Booker Prize.

"If you look at the business side (of publishing) for instance in America, there's huge interest in China and everything related to China," fellow author Li Yiyun said at the event.

Yan and Li are part of a new group of mainland Chinese who have enjoyed success writing fiction about their home countries in English after moving to the United States.

But Li, author of the award-winning short story collection "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers," said only the truly accomplished writers will be remembered when the current fascination for China dies down.

"If you look at literature, it's always a pyramid. It's always the best that will be read in 100 years," she said.

The proliferation of English books about China offers good exposure to Western audiences, Li said, but added, "once they get over that China is so exotic, it's so mysterious, I think that's where real literature comes in."

Yan, an established Chinese-language writer before making her English debut with "The Banquet Bug," said she enjoys writing in Chinese and will continue to do so despite her success in English.

"Chinese is such an ancient, wonderful, graphic language that I can't give up," she said.

Yan, who lived in the U.S. but is now based in Taiwan, said she has different voices when writing in Chinese and English.

"My English identity is bold, young and more straightforward, whereas my Chinese self is more subtle _ it's older and complex," she said.

Li, who studied science before switching to writing, said she won't try to publish in Chinese.

"I really felt that I became a writer in the English language and that English became my first language in writing. It's very hard for me to imagine going back to Chinese," she said.

Li, who grew up in Beijing and now lives in Oakland, California, said she likes living in the U.S. because "that distance between China and wherever I am is very important for my writing."

Highlighting their bilingual backgrounds, Yan and Li spoke in fluent English to a largely Western audience in Hong Kong on Tuesday but chatted privately in Chinese.