The newest in Chinese culture: trends and developments in film and literature in 2023/24

The podcast sketches a panoramic view of the latest developments in film and literature in Mainland China. In the conversation hosted by Marcin Jacoby, František Reismüller and Piotr Machajek from the SWPS University's China Horizons research team discuss Internet literature and reading patterns, analyse market trends in the cinema, and converse about hot social issues in films and novels of the last few years. Some time is also devoted to looking at the challenges facing Chinese writers and filmmakers, from systemic constraints to economic trends, and at possible future developments. Join us to get a fresh, insider's look at Chinese culture.
This podcast presents the results of research funded by the European Commission.
The project “China Horizons – Dealing With a Resurgent China” (DWARC) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700

František Reismüller
Sinologist, translator, specializing in modern Chinese and Taiwanese culture
He received his Ph.D. degree from Charles University in Prague for researching Chinese avant-garde literature of the 1980s. He published articles about the authors like Ma Yuan and Can Xue and the relationship between their works and the era in which they were published. His research interests focus on Chinese and Taiwanese culture and socio-political history. František translated a number of books and shorter works from Chinese to Czech, from which the most important are professors Kang-I Sun Chang’s (孫康宜) memoir Journey through the White Terror (走出白色恐怖; 2021), a collection of short stories and essays by Chinese female writer Can Xue (殘雪; 2013), and the ongoing translation project of the comics series Cattedamerung (貓劍客) by Yeh Yu-Tung (葉羽桐). He is an active contributor to the project Sinopsis.

Piotr Machajek
Sinologist
PhD Candidate in Literary Studies at SWPS University’s Doctoral School in Warsaw. He graduated from the University of Warsaw obtained his Master’s Degree in Chinese-English Translation and Interpreting at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His main research interests include contemporary Chinese literature, world literature, cross-cultural literary interactions, and literary theory. He has also gained experience as a translator from Chinese to Polish, and an editor of translated texts. Occasionally, he contributes to events that popularize Asian literature in Poland.

Marcin Jacoby
Sinologist, translator, cultural manager
His areas of expertise include the Chinese cultural sector, cultural diplomacy in East Asia, ancient Chinese literature and thought, and Chinese art theory. For the last few years he has concentrated on analyses of pre-Qin political texts, mostly the Lüshi Chunqiu and the Zhanguoce. In modern China research, he is interested in the historical and cultural roots of transformational processes, and in the tension between tradition and modernity.
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”