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Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Ouyang Yu gives his unique insight into Chinese and Western language and cultures, and makes us reflect on our own habits of thought from new angles. (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Chi, whose understanding of Chinese as a language and culture will hopefully improve through English.
  • Epigraph: Restless till death if the language doesn't amaze. Du Fu
  • Epigraph: Words close, meaning far. Mencius
  • Epigraph: How long a time lies in one little sword! Shakespeare

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Kent Town, Norwood, Payneham & St Peters area, Adelaide - North / North East, Adelaide, South Australia,: Wakefield Press , 2007 .
      Extent: xiv, 205p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-205)
      ISBN: 9781862547650

Works about this Work

Staying Alive : Contemporary English Application of Biji Dave Drayton , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 17 no. 2 2013;

'This article examines how the ancient tradition of biji notebook writing has been applied and appropriated in the 21st century by authors working in the English language. It traces the journey the biji, a traditional Chinese written form with origins in the third century, has taken and examines how it has been transformed in its contemporary use. Through a critical reading of three such biji collections – Douglas Coupland’s Survivor, a creative non-fiction hybrid that appeared in an anthology of new takes on old forms titled Vikings, Monks, Philosophers, Whores: Old Forms, Unearthed; Owen Kelly’s Sexton Blake & the Virtual Culture of Rosario: A Biji, a fractured academic essay; and Ouyang Yu’s On the Smell of an Oily Rag: Speaking English, thinking Chinese and living Australian, which he defines as biji feixaoshuo or ‘pen-notes non-fiction’ – the evolution of the biji form beyond China will be traced and examined.

While there is distant tradition of biji for these contemporary authors to draw upon, there remain historical, cultural, and/or linguistic barriers between that tradition and their current practice. In this sense, they are pioneers, working to re-establish those characteristics in a radically different written world.' (Author's abstract)

Whimsy and Wonders Lost in Translation Marion Halligan , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 April 2008; (p. 13)

— Review of On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian Yu Ouyang , 2007 single work criticism
Non-Fiction Fiona Capp , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 15 March 2008; (p. 26)

— Review of On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian Yu Ouyang , 2007 single work criticism
In Short : Nonfiction Bruce Elder , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 March 2008; (p. 31)

— Review of On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian Yu Ouyang , 2007 single work criticism
In Short : Nonfiction Bruce Elder , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 March 2008; (p. 31)

— Review of On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian Yu Ouyang , 2007 single work criticism
Non-Fiction Fiona Capp , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 15 March 2008; (p. 26)

— Review of On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian Yu Ouyang , 2007 single work criticism
Whimsy and Wonders Lost in Translation Marion Halligan , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 April 2008; (p. 13)

— Review of On the Smell of an Oily Rag : Speaking English, Thinking Chinese and Living Australian Yu Ouyang , 2007 single work criticism
Staying Alive : Contemporary English Application of Biji Dave Drayton , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 17 no. 2 2013;

'This article examines how the ancient tradition of biji notebook writing has been applied and appropriated in the 21st century by authors working in the English language. It traces the journey the biji, a traditional Chinese written form with origins in the third century, has taken and examines how it has been transformed in its contemporary use. Through a critical reading of three such biji collections – Douglas Coupland’s Survivor, a creative non-fiction hybrid that appeared in an anthology of new takes on old forms titled Vikings, Monks, Philosophers, Whores: Old Forms, Unearthed; Owen Kelly’s Sexton Blake & the Virtual Culture of Rosario: A Biji, a fractured academic essay; and Ouyang Yu’s On the Smell of an Oily Rag: Speaking English, thinking Chinese and living Australian, which he defines as biji feixaoshuo or ‘pen-notes non-fiction’ – the evolution of the biji form beyond China will be traced and examined.

While there is distant tradition of biji for these contemporary authors to draw upon, there remain historical, cultural, and/or linguistic barriers between that tradition and their current practice. In this sense, they are pioneers, working to re-establish those characteristics in a radically different written world.' (Author's abstract)

Last amended 24 Feb 2010 15:17:04
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