Strange Beasts of China

According to The Washington Post, Yan Ge's Strange Beasts of China is a modern, urbanized form of the Chinese classic The Classic of Mountains and Seas.[3] Recently, Strange Beasts of China was adapted into a TV Series.[4] Yan Ge knows that Chinese censorship will eliminate much of her story in the series, but has come to terms with it.[4] She says that since she wrote the book a long time ago, she will not be offended by the omissions in the adaptation.[4]

The writing style that Yan Ge uses in Strange Beasts of China is commonly referred to as Fabulism.[5] According to Asian Review of Books, Fabulism is "writing as not-knowing, a form in which no concessions to reality need be made."[5] The fabulist tradition was used by writers like Italo Calvino, who wrote Cosmicomics.[5] Yan Ge says that all authors do is make things up based on existing events; "As for the actual stuff of life, we know absolutely nothing about it."[5] Yan Ge writes of a recognizable urban China that is enhanced by the fables of her strange beasts.[5]

Yan Ge's Strange Beasts of China features an unnamed narrator in the city of Yong'an, a large industrial and urban area. One feature that sets Yong'an apart from other large cities in China is the presence of different sorts of beasts.[3] The unnamed narrator is a self-identified cryptozoologist. She was a zoology student who eventually dropped out of school and now makes a living as a journalist writing beast stories.[6] The story is told chronologically, with each chapter focusing on a different species of beast.[3] When she is not tracking down stories of beasts, the narrator is chain-smoking and drinking, alone or with company, at the Dolphin bar.[3]

Throughout the novel, the narrator meets and, inevitably, becomes emotionally involved with each type of beast.[7] Along with the narrator, other significant characters are her cousin, cousin's daughter (her "niece") Lucia, past professor, and professor's assistant Zhong Liang. As the story progresses, there is a tense love-hate relationship fostered between the narrator and her professor. She grows closer to Zhong Liang, the professor's new assistant.[7] As the plot line progresses and new types of beasts are introduced, layers of connection and involvement between the narrator's friends and certain beasts are unveiled and explored.[7] The exposure of how beasts can be involved in so many aspects of the narrator's life starts to break down the artificial separation between humans and beasts as the narrator questions her identity and the identity of the human race itself.[7]

There are nine types of beasts introduced: sorrowful beasts, joyful beasts, sacrificial beasts, impasse beasts, flourishing beasts, thousand league beasts, heartsick beasts, prime beasts, and returning beasts. After every description, Yan Ge ends with the statement, "otherwise, they are just like regular people."[7]

Sorrowful beasts have, "scales on the insides of their left calves and fins attached to their right ears. The skin around their belly buttons is dark green."[7] The defining characteristic of sorrowful beasts is that they cannot smile. If a Sorrowful beast smiles, it dies.[7] Because female sorrowful beast can mate with male humans to produce human children, female sorrowful beasts became a sort of prize and a symbol of status for rich men in Yong'an. Male sorrowful beasts are believed to be unable to mate with humans, so the dexterous male beasts can be found working as textile weavers. Their attractive female counterparts tend to be retail saleswomen. These female sorrowful beasts, once married off to humans, had to have hormone shots to suppress their primal nature. However, they retain the beastly habit of squawking for the three days during a full moon, losing the ability to speak.[7]

Joyful beasts are parasitic to humans, usually feeding off children. They live for a very long time, and eventually leave their hosts in the form of a phoenix. They are unlike sorrowful beasts in that they actually appear happy most of the time.[8]

Sacrificial beasts get their name from the legend that they sacrificed themselves a long time ago so that humans could inherit the world. The sacrificial beasts in present time live in a vicious cycle of self-destruction that ultimately leads to death.[9]

Impasse beasts feed on human despair. Like parasites, they absorb despair from humans, causing their hair to grow from the nourishment. When an impasse beast is killed, all of the despair that it devoured is released.[9]

Flourishing beasts are grown like plants. When a flourishing beast dies, it is cut into eight pieces and buried like a seed. New beasts begin to grow from the plant, but if they do not grow into maturity, they are cut down and turned into furniture that is highly valued by humans.[7]

Thousand League beasts, commonly believed to be extinct, are rumored to be able to see into the future. This foresight caused catastrophe, as there was intense trauma associated with the ability to know what is going to happen before it happens—whether one wants to or not.[8]

Heartsick beasts are not naturally found beasts, but they are manufactured by humans. They act as role models for human children. After a certain period of time, the beasts are removed from their companion child and the family.[10] These beasts are bought from stores, and upon ordering, the child gets to choose the face of the created beast.[9]

Prime beasts live for short periods of time, but endure great suffering. To try to save their offspring from suffering, prime beast mothers murder their children. If the children survive, they grow up to kill and devour their parents' flesh.[9]

Returning beasts are rumored to live under the city of Yong'an, where they take care of the "city of the dead."[7]

The novel can be interpreted as a social commentary on society's mistreatment and control over minority groups. The beasts are treated as an other-group due to their differences.[3] The beasts are forced to fit into a human-centered society. For example, the beasts that do not serve a function are killed, and those that do, are exploited for resources, such as their flesh, or labor, such as teaching children.[11] The book questions human nature and whether humanity is what makes people moral along with questioning morality in general.[12]

In regards to religion, the novel draws from themes found within Buddhism. For instance, it can be interpreted that the story references the six realms in Buddhism, specifically the realm that contains animals. This is the only realm visible by humans, so the protagonist would be witnessing a domain of samsara when writing her accounts of the beasts.[13]

This book was originally published in 2006 in Chinese, and was translated into English in 2021 by Jeremy Tiang.[3] Even though the English version of the book has been well received,[1][2] there are criticisms with how the book is translated.

First, there are no footnotes to explain culture specific references. For example, one character is named Zhong Kui, which also happens to be the name of a demon killer in Chinese mythology, which could be notable considering the book is about beasts. Another reference would be two characters being named "Cloud" and "Rain" respectively. The phrase "clouds and rain" is a Chinese euphemism for sex, a detail that is not clearly conveyed in translation.[13]

Additionally, each chapter begins with a brief description of the beast which, in the original writing, was written in Classical Chinese. This writing style differs from the rest of the text. In the English translation, the style of writing in the brief description matches the rest of the book. The change of style can also be seen in the dialogue. The Chinese version had a very strong Sichuanese dialect which gave it a distinct style; however, this distinction was lost in the English translation.[13]

Strange Beasts of China has been well received by critics, appearing on both The New York Times Book Review's list of 100 Notable Books of 2021[1] and The Washington Post's list of Best science fiction, fantasy and horror of 2021.[2] It was also a runner-up for the 2021 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.[14]