Beijing Comrades

Description

Translated by Scott Myers

Published in the English language by The Feminist Press – all foreign rights excluding Chinese and French available

Synopsis

When Handong, a ruthless and wealthy businessman, is introduced to Lan Yu, a naïve, working-class architectural student—the attraction is all consuming.

Arrogant and privileged, Handong is unsettled by this desire, while Lan Yu quietly submits. Despite divergent lives, the two men spend their nights together, establishing a deep connection. When loyalties are tested, Handong is left questioning his secrets, his choices, and his very identity.

Beijing Comrades is the story of a torrid love affair set against the sociopolitical unrest of late-eighties China. Due to its depiction of gay sexuality and its critique of the totalitarian government, it was originally published anonymously on an underground gay website within Mainland China. This riveting and heartbreaking novel, circulated throughout China in 1998, quickly developed a cult following, and remains a central work of queer literature from the People’s Republic of China. This is the first English-language translation of Beijing Comrades.

“One of the most significant Chinese novels of our time.

About the Translator:

Scott E. Myers is a PhD student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, where his research focuses on contemporary queer literature and cinema from the PRC. He holds master’s degrees in comparative literature from New York University and in Chinese translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where he taught as visiting professor of Chinese translation before coming to Chicago.