Yan Lianke

La muerte recorre las calles de la otrora próspera aldea Ding. Sus habitantes desaparecen igual que las hojas de los árboles en otoño. Una extraña fiebre se lleva sus vidas. Es la enfermedad de quienes hace ocho años vendieron su sangre por unas pocas monedas. Narrada por el pequeño Xiao Qiang, esta novela, de una sobrecogedora belleza, nos adentra en la historia de la aldea Ding, una de tantas afectadas por el escandalo de la sangre contaminada de la provincia china de Henan. Los aldeanos, incitados a vender grandes cantidades de su propia sangre, con la que se enriquecieron unos pocos, son ahora victimas de la mayor epidemia conocida en el pais. Abandonados e ignorados por las autoridades, solo pueden esperar la llegada de la muerte.De esto trata esta brillante novela: de la mezquindad del ser humano, del miedo, de la muerte, de la soledad y la soberbia. Carmen Moreno. Culturamas"El sueño de la aldea Ding se presenta como una piedra de toque fundamental para apreciar los logros de la nueva narrativa china (...). El dolor de Yan Lianke ha merecido la pena pues le ha conducido a la consecucion de una indiscutible obra maestra en la que el aliento poetico y profundamente musical no le merma veracidad a una tragedia coral estrechamente vinculada al implacablecapitalismochino de nuestros dias". Jesus Ferrero, El PaisEl autor que mejor puede explicar esta pandemia que estamos viviendo, por diversas razones, puede ser Yan Lianke. El mismo recordaba a sus estudiantes hace tiempo: que guardasen memoria de lo que estaban viviendo.Txani Rodriguez, Radio EuskadiEl sueño de la aldea Ding, a ratos descarnado, a ratos oniroide, es siempre un aldabonazo en la conciencia. Pero, por encima de todo, es una novela redonda que funde los mejores hallazgos de la tradicion china y de la literatura occidental. La Nueva España

Los besos de Lenin es una de las obras más celebradas de la literatura contemporánea China, y Yan Lianke uno de los autores chinos vivos más célebres e independientes del país, galardonado por esta obra con los prestigiosos premios Lu Xun y Lao She. Los besos de Lenin fue tambien finalista del "Man Booker International en 2013". El libro, editado por primera vez en España y traducido directamente desde el chino, constituye una fabula satirica ambientada en la China moderna, en la que el absurdo, la ternura y la critica son hilados con una prosa preciosista que entronca con lo mas profundo de la tradicion poetica china.SINOPSIS: El caluroso verano amarillea en el diminuto y apartado pueblo montañoso de Buenavida, hasta que, repentinamente, se ve alterado por la aparicion de copiosas nieves. Ante la mirada atonita de sus habitantes, las cosechas y el campo quedan sepultados en un instante bajo un blanco y gelido manto. ¿Que pueden hacer entonces los aldeanos para evitar el hambre y la desgracia? Pronto un joven funcionario llegara al pueblo dispuesto a solucionar el problema. Su ambicioso plan pretende explotar las extrañas habilidades que presentan algunos de los lugareños creando un espectaculo itinerante y, con el beneficio obtenido, adquirir a Rusia el cuerpo embalsamado de Lenin para reubicarlo en las montañas cercanas a la pequeña localidad, esperando con ello atraer a millares de turistas. El sueño de un futuro glorioso, en el que nadie tenga ya que trabajar, pronto cala entre la mayoria de los habitantes, pero el exito del espectaculo de habilidades resultara tener tambien un alto precio.Los besos de Lenin ha sido unanimemente aclamado por la critica, que lo incluyo entre los mejores de 2012 apareciendo en las selecciones de mejores libros realizadas por THE NEW YORKER o el NEW YORK TIMES. En 2019 el periodico El Pais selecciono este libro entre los 5 libros imprescindibles para entender China.Ganadora del LAO SHE LITERATURE AWARD in 2004, Ganadora del Lu Xun Award en 1997

La pequeña aldea de Explotia, situada entre las cristalinas aguas del río Yi y las imponentes cumbres de la sierra de Balou, pasará, en escasos cincuenta años, de tener unos pocos cientos de habitantes a transformarse en una megalopolis de mas de veinte millones de almas capaz de rivalizar con Pekin y Shanghai. Esta titanica transformacion, que se cimenta sobre la corrupcion, la prostitucion y la ambicion desmesurada (representada por los respectivos lideres de los dos clanes dominantes: el alcalde Kong Mingliang y la poderosa empresaria del sexo y la noche, Zhu Ying) acarreara inesperadas consecuencias para Explotia y sus habitantes.Una vez mas, Yan Lianke, uno de los mas grandes maestros de la literatura china contemporanea, nos sorprende con esta Cronica de una explosion, un texto que muestra las profundas heridas abiertas en la sociedad china actual y nos ofrece una imagen especular del gigante asiatico que, al igual que la diminuta aldea, ha vivido durante las ultimas decadas cambios tan increibles y profundos que, muchas veces, sus resultados parecen sacados de una fabula fantastica.

En una pequeña aldea escondida en los montes Balou, You Sipo, una campesina local, trabaja día y noche para sacar adelante la cosecha mientras desespera por el futuro de sus hijos, a quienes en la aldea todos apodan los cuatro imbeciles You. You Sipo no tiene quien la ayude, solo el fantasma de su marido la acompaña en la busqueda de una solucion a sus problemas. Un dia, de la forma mas sorprendente, aparece una cura para la maldicion familiar, sin embargo, el precio es tan alto e inconcebible que tal vez solo una madre estaria dispuesta a pagarlo. Una historia poderosa, bella y perturbadora sobre el sacrificio que acarrea asumir, hasta sus ultimas consecuencias, el compromiso de la sangre, de la familia y del amor cuando nos enfrentamos a las condiciones mas adversas. "Cancion celestial de Balou" es Yan Lianke en estado puro.

En la China de 1967, en pleno apogeo de la revolución cultural y el culto a la figura de Mao, Wu Dawang empieza a trabajar como ordenanza en casa de un importante cargo del ejército chino. Su único objetivo es cumplir, como buen hijo de la revolución, con su trabajo y optar así a unas mejores condiciones de vida para él y su familia. Pero Liu Lian, la aburrida esposa del comandante que lo ha contratado, le hace saber que sus servicios deben ir más allá de lo establecido. Cada vez que cuelgue el cartel con las palabras «Sirve al pueblo», Liu Lian quiere que acuda a su habitación para satisfacerla sexualmente. Inicialmente reticente, Wu Dawang acaba sucumbiendo a sus encantos y enamorándose de ella. La pareja, ajena a la revolución cultural que domina el conjunto de la sociedad china, se encierra en casa llevando a cabo su propia revolución sexual. En efecto, la apasionada pareja descubre que destrozar estatuillas y retratos de Mao es el más estimulante de los afrodisíacos.

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL 2017 With the Yi River on one side and the Balou Mountains on the other, the village of Explosion was founded a thousand years ago by refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption. But in the post-Mao era, the name takes on a new significance as the rural community grows explosively from a small village to a town to a city to a vast megalopolis. Behind this rapid expansion are three rival clans linked together by a web of ambition, madness and greed. The four Kong brothers; Zhu Ying, the daughter of the former village chief; and Cheng Qing, who starts out as a secretary and goes on to become a powerful political and business figure in her own right, transform their hometown into a Babylon of modern times -- an unrivalled urban superpower built on lies, sex and thievery. Brimming with absurdity, intelligence and wit, The Explosion Chronicles considers the high stakes of passion and power, the consequences of corruption and greed, the dynamics of love and hate, as well as the seemingly boundless excesses of capitalist culture. 'One of the masters of modern Chinese literature' Jung Chang 'One of China's most successful writers . . . [Yan Lianke] writes in the spirit of the dissident writer Vladimir Voinovich, who observed that "reality and satire are the same"' Evan Osnos, New Yorker

With the Yi River on one side and the Balou Mountains on the other, the village of Explosion was founded a thousand years ago by refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption. But in the post-Mao era, the name takes on a new significance as the rural community grows explosively from a small village to a town to a city to a vast megalopolis.Behind this rapid expansion are three rival clans linked together by a web of ambition, madness and greed. The four Kong brothers; Zhu Ying, the daughter of the former village chief; and Cheng Qing, who starts out as a secretary and goes on to become a powerful political and business figure in her own right, transform their hometown into a Babylon of modern times -- an unrivalled urban superpower built on lies, sex and thievery.Brimming with absurdity, intelligence and wit, The Explosion Chronicles considers the high stakes of passion and power, the consequences of corruption and greed, the dynamics of love and hate, as well as the seemingly boundless excesses of capitalist culture.

One dusk in early June, in a town deep in the Balou mountains, fourteen-year-old Li Niannian notices that something strange is going on. As the residents would usually be settling down for the night, instead they start appearing in the streets and fields. There are people everywhere. Li Niannian watches, mystified. But then he realises the people are dreamwalking, carrying on with their daily business as if the sun hadnt already gone down. And before too long, as more and more people succumb, in the black of night all hell breaks loose.

'One of China's greatest living authors and fiercest satirists' Guardian In the ninety-ninth district of a sprawling labour camp, the Author, Musician, Scholar, Theologian and Technician are undergoing. Re-education, to restore their revolutionary zeal and credentials. In charge of this process is the Child, who delights in draconian rules, monitoring behaviour and confiscating treasured books. The inmates - and hundreds of intellectuals just like them - must meet challenges set by the higher-ups: to grow an ever-spiralling amount of wheat per li of land, and to smelt vast quantities of steel. The stakes are high: they can win their freedom if they are awarded enough of the small red blossoms, medium red blossoms and pentagonal stars given out for effort, obedience and informing on others. But when bad weather arrives, followed by the 'three bitter years' of the Great Famine, the intellectuals are abandoned by the regime and left on their own to survive. Divided into four narratives, echoing the four texts of Confucianism and the four Gospels of the New Testament, The Four Books tells the story of one of China's most controversial periods. It also shows us the power of camaraderie, love and faith against oppression and the darkest possible odds. It is the winner Of The Franz Kafka Book Prize 2014, Nominated For Czech Award Magnesia Litera 2014, Hua Zhong World Chinese Literature Prize 2013, Finalist For The Man Booker International Prize 2013, Winner Of The Hua Zhong World Chinese Literature Prize 2013, Shortlisted For The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2012, Shortlisted For The Prix Femina Etranger 2012, Shortlisted For The Man Asian Literary Prize 2011, Winner Of The Lao She Literature Award 2004, aaand Winner Of The Lu Xun Award 1997.

In the ninety-ninth district of a sprawling labour camp, the Author, Musician, Scholar, Theologian and Technician - and hundreds just like them - are undergoing Re-education, to restore their revolutionary zeal and credentials. In charge of this process is the Child, who delights in draconian rules, monitoring behaviour and confiscating treasured books.But when bad weather arrives, followed by the three bitter years, the intellectuals are abandoned by the regime and left on their own to survive. Divided into four narratives, The Four Books tells the story of the Great Famine, one of Chinas most devastating and controversial periods.

Una terrible sequía asola sin piedad la sierra de Balou, la tierra se resquebraja y las cosechas se malogran. Los habitantes de una pequeña aldea, temiendo por sus vidas, deciden huir en busca de un clima mejor. Sin embargo, un anciano se queda atras, acompañado por su perro ciego, para vigilar la unica planta de maiz que ha brotado. Cada dia que pase sera una victoria sobre la muerte.Yan Lianke, uno de los mas grandes maestros de la narrativa china contemporanea, ha creado esta bellisima parabola sobre el amor, la vejez, la soledad y la fuerza de la vida; una alegoria luminosa y conmovedora, que rinde homenaje y dignificala vida campesina, sus rigores y sacrificios.Se trata del cuarto titulo de este autor que publica Automatica Editorial tras El Sueño de la Aldea Ding, Los besos de Lenin y Cronica de una Explosion. Dias, meses, años ha sido galardonada con el prestigioso premio Lu Xun y es un clasico en su pais.

En un pequeño pueblo de la sierra de Balou vive el joven Li Niannian, de catorce años. Una tarde, después de ponerse el sol, Niannian se da cuenta de que algo inusual está sucediendo. Los aldeanos parecen actuar dormidos; uno tras otro, van cayendo en un extraño episodio de sonambulismo colectivo. Ante los ojos del muchacho, da comienzo un desfile de vecinos que, como victimas de una extraña epidemia, se levantan en mitad de la oscura noche para entregarse a sus deseos mas ocultos y desatar un infierno. Con el paso de las horas, los saqueos y la violencia se extienden por la region. Mientras tanto, los funcionarios y lideres locales se hunden en el libertinaje o en delirantes fantasias de grandeza, ajenos al drama del pueblo. La pesadilla solo terminara cuando llegue la mañana y el sol vuelva a salir, pero el tiempo parece haberse detenido y, a la hora del alba, una insondable oscuridad llena aun el cielo hasta donde alcanza la vista.Yan Lianke, nos sumerge en esta historia siniestra y cautivadora en la que acompañamos a Li Niannian, a sus padres, e incluso al propio autor, transformado aqui en personaje, en un intento desesperado por salvar el pueblo del caos y la locura.

The new masterpiece by eminent Chinese writer Yan Lianke . . . two revolutionaries take matters disastrously into their own hands while conducting a crazed affair MARGARET ATWOOD on TwitterA breakneck adventure story following the erotic love affair of party cadres Aijun and Hongmei during Chinas Cultural RevolutionThis is the story of the freewheeling love affair between married soldier Aijun and Hongmei, a beautiful young woman from his village in the Balou Mountains.Intoxicated with one another, Aijun and Hongmei hurl themselves into their towns revolutionary struggle. Spending their days and nights stamping out feudalism, writing pamphlets and organising rallies, they become inseparable: they are the engines of history.But as their political activity reaches new heights, so does the danger of getting caught... A blistering tour-de-force... Sensuous and riveting MADELEINE THIEN, Booker-shortlisted author of Do Not Say We Have NothingFascinating... This tale of an illicit tryst during the Cultural Revolution is a stinging satireThe Times**A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST FICTION IN TRANSLATION BOOK 2021**

One of the masters of modern Chinese literature Jung ChangA searing novel that traces the destruction of a community in communist China.Told through the eyes of Xiao Qiang, a young boy, this deeply moving novel shares the tragic story of the blood-contamination scandal in Chinas Henan province.Looking for a way to lift Ding Village from poverty, its directors and organisers open blood-plasma collection stations, hoping to sell the plasma to those in need. At first the scheme is a commercial success. Soon, however, whole communities are wiped out after contracting HIV. As Xiao narrates the fate of Ding Village, his family is torn apart by suspicion and retribution.The defining work of his career... A devastating critique of Chinas runaway developmentGuardian

Multi-prizewinning and internationally acclaimed Yan Lianke -- Chinas most controversial novelist (New Yorker) -- returns with a campus novel like no other following a young Buddhist as she journeys through worldly temptationTo tell the truth, religious faith is really just a matter of believing stories. The world is governed by stories, and it is for the sake of stories that everyone lives on this earth.Yahui is a young Buddhist at university. But this is no ordinary university. It is populated by every faith in China: Buddhists, Daoists, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims who jostle alongside one another in the corridors of learning, and whose deities are never far from the classroom.Her days are measured out making elaborate religious papercuts, taking part in highly charged tug-of-war competitions between the faiths and trying to resist the daily temptation to return to secular life and abandon the ascetic ideals that are her calling. Everything seems to dangle by a thread. But when she meets a Daoist student called Mingzheng, an inexorable romance of mythic proportions takes hold of her.In this profoundly otherworldly novel, Chinese master Yan Lianke remakes the campus novel in typically visionary fashion, dropping readers into an allegorical world ostensibly far from our own, but which reflects our own questions and struggles right back at us.One of Chinas greatest living authorsGuardianHis talent cannot be ignored New York TimesChinas foremost literary satirist Financial Times

A FINALIST FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZEDeep within the Balou mountains lies a small rural town populated by disabled people. Blind, deaf and disfigured, the 197 citizens of the Village of Liven have until now enjoyed a peaceful, mutually supportive life out of sight and mind of the government. But when an unseasonal snowstorm wipes out that years crops, a county official dreams up a scheme that will raise money for the district and boost his career. He convinces the villagers to set up a travelling freak-show, to include Blind Tonghuas Acute Listening Act and Deafman Mas Firecrackers-on-the-Ear. With the money, he intends to buy Lenins embalmed corpse from an ailing Russia and install it in a splendid mausoleum in the mountains to attract tourism to this sleepy district. However, as we all know, even the best intentions can go awry.

One of the masters of modern Chinese literature Jung ChangThis gripping dystopia contrasts the reality of life in China today with the sunny optimism of the Chinese dream.One dusk in early June, in a town deep in the Balou mountains, fourteen-year-old Li Niannian notices that something strange is going on. As the residents would usually be settling down for the night, instead they start appearing in the streets and fields. There are people everywhere. Li Niannian watches, mystified. Until he realises the people are dreamwalking, carrying on with their daily business as if the sun hadnt already gone down. And before too long, as more and more people succumb, in the black of night all hell breaks loose. Set over the course of one night, The Day the Sun Died pits chaos and darkness against the bright Chinese dream promoted by President Xi Jinping. We are thrown into the middle of an increasingly strange and troubling waking nightmare as Li Niannian and his father struggle to save the town, and persuade the beneficent sun to rise again. Praise for Yan Liankes books: Nothing short of a masterpiece GuardianA hyper-real tour de force, a blistering condemnation of political corruption and excess Financial TimesMordant satire from a brave fabulist Daily Mail Exuberant and imaginative Sunday Times I can think of few better novelists than Yan, with his superlative gifts for storytelling and penetrating eye for truth New York Times Book Review

A brilliantly comic satire about a love affair from the visionary, world-class storyteller.Set in 1967, at the peak of the Mao cult, this is the tale of a forbidden love affair between Liu Lian - the bored wife of a military commander - and a young soldier, Wu Dawang.When Liu Lian establishes a rule that Wu Dawang must attend to her needs whenever the households wooden Serve the People! sign is removed from its usual place, he vows to obey. What follows is both an enthralling love story and a deliciously comic satire on the political and sexual taboos of Maos regime.Drips with the kind of satire that can only come from deep within the machinery of Chinese communismFinancial Times