The Great Translation Movement and Me

I recently learned of the Great Translation Movement, a fascinating project begun shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An anonymous group is posting translations of Chinese material, approved by government censors, but not intended for international distribution.

It turns out that according to an article in The Atlantic, my book Bending Spines: The Propagangandas of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Repupblic, had at least some influence on the originators of the project.

Can I say that I am delighted, minor though my part in this great project may be?

I’m Banned Again in China

Back in 2012 a Chinese translation of my book Bending Spines: The Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic appeared.  Shortly after publication the Chinese government ordered the publisher not to distribute further copies.  About a year after that, the ban seems to have been lifted.

A Chinese contact tells me that the ban is again in force and that the book is again unavailable.

Some copies did circulate and there are a variety of interesting comments on Douban, a Chinese book site.

The Chinese government exerts substantial control over what can appear, both in print and on the Internet.  A reader of this blog informed me that copies of an atlas were seized from his school, since one of the maps depicted Taiwan in a different color than the People’s Republic of China. I was surprised that the book was published in China to begin with, given its suggestion that Marxism-Leninism (and by extension its Chinese variant) were comparable in some ways to Nazi Germany.

I’d welcome further information from any Chinese readers.

Bytwerk Book Unbanned in China

Back in August 2012 I reported that my book Bending Spines: The Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic had been banned on the Chinese mainland, although it remained available in Hong Kong.  A visitor to the blog tells me that the ban has been lifted and the book is now available. I'd appreciate reports from other Chinese readers.  His note follows:

“I just bought and read the Chinese translation of your book. I understand why the Chinese mainland government wants to ban the book, but now the book is available again. 

There are some interesting points in the book that reminds me of what the Chinese government has done in the past (specifically before and during the Cultural Revolution), but many statements don't apply any more. 

There is still a propaganda department in the Chinese Communist Party, but right now cultural diversity is at its peak since the founding of PRC (which is not really a achievement). The Internet has greatly changed the lives of the Chinese people. Though the government has a strict Internet censorship policy, the effect remain limited since there are so many people online. The great fire wall also banned many foreign sites, but we can still visit those banned sites using VPN or other methods, and Internet censorship will face a bigger challenge when IPv6 become more and more popular.”

 I’d appreciate reports from other Chinese readers.  

Update on a Blacklisted Book

After some further investigation, this is what seems to have happened.  The Chinese publisher of my book Bending Spines sent out some copies to a major Chinese mail order company.  After those had been shipped, they got a call from a government official instructing them not to ship any more.  Apparently, they were not ordered to recall the copies already released.  Perhaps as many as a thousand copies are thus “in the wild” in China.  It is anyone’s guess if and when the government may change its mind and allow further distribution.

Bytwerk Book Banned in China

My book Bending Spines: The Propagandas of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic has been translated into French and Chinese.  The Chinese edition appeared in July, and Chinese contacts tell me that was banned shortly afterward by the Chinese government.

I’m trying to get more details, which I will post here as I learn them.  Apparently the book’s discussion of totalitarianism and propaganda did not meet the approval of the Chinese authorities.

UPDATE:  The book remains available in Hong Kong.