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Taiwan books to be available in mainland bookstores

Books published by Taiwan publishers, subject to restrictions on the Chinese mainland, are now expected for sale in mainland bookstores for the first time.
The third Cross-Straits Book Fair will open in Xiamen, a costal city of East China’s Fujian Province, from October 26 to 31. Most of the mainland publishers and Taiwan’s 100 biggest publishers have been invited to attend the fair, said the organizing committee.
The fair will provide a platform for previewing and ordering book samples, with the exception of book displays, sales and copyright trading. All of the Xinhua distribution groups and bookstores on the mainland will come and order Taiwan books, according to the organizing committee. Citizens will be able to buy Taiwan books in the Xinhua bookstores nationwide in the near future.
Other activities during the fair include business cooperation talks between the mainland and Taiwan publishers, cultural exchanges and lectures by famous writers.
At the fair, comic and animation products and Internet games will also be exhibited for the first time.
The book fair is sponsored by the Xiamen Municipal Government, the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Press and Publication, the Publishers Association of China, Taiwan Publishing Association and Taiwan Book Distributors Association.
About 500 booths, including 150 for Taiwan publishers, will be set up in five exhibition halls covering 33,300 square meters and a sales area of about 10,000 square meters.
The past two book fairs were held in Xiamen in July 2005 and in Taipei in September 2006 respectively.

Genghis Khan’s code published in bilingual edition

Chinese researchers have republished Genghis Khan’s code of laws, considered the world’s earliest legal ban on homosexuality.
Genghis Khan’s Code, published by the Beijing-based Commercial Press, contains Chinese and English text as well as interpretations of the laws based on research findings.
In article 48 of what is believed to be the world’s first constitution, Genghis Khan banned homosexuality, saying, “men who commit sodomy shall be put to death,” according to experts with Inner Mongolia’s research institute of ancient Mongolian laws and sociology after 14 months spent compiling the code.
Experts say this was because Genghis Khan wanted to expand the Mongolian population, which was around 1.5 million, to compete with the 100 million rivals of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that dominated what is now central China.
Genghis Khan’s code of laws also highlighted environment protection, the researchers have found. The code stipulated that the death penalty was applied to those who damaged the grassland with unauthorized excavations or caused fires.
It also prohibited hand washing or drowning someone in a river.
Reproduction of the code was based on the research findings of the experts, who referred to literature on Mongolian history as well as other classics including Marco Polo’s travelogue to find the content of the code, as its original text was lost more than 600 years ago.
Genghis Khan, whose grandson Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), unified the Mongol tribes and conquered most of Eurasia.

Sci-Fi genre elevated in China as conference closes

The 2007 China (Chengdu) International Science Fiction and Fantasy Conference concluded on Sunday in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, with the presentation of the Galaxy Award of 2006 for best science fiction writers and books.
The annual award is sponsored by the Science Fiction World magazine, China’s most respected sci-fi publisher, and is generally regarded as the top award in the genre.

The Most Popular SF Author Award went to Robert J. Sawyer from Canada.
 
Robert J. Sawyer was dubbed “the dean of Canadian science fiction” by the Ottawa Citizen in 1999 and is the double winner of Canada’s top award for science fiction and fantasy literary works Aurora Awards.
 
Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin took home the Special Science Fiction Award for his book Three-Body and Wang Jinkang was honored with a Best SF Short Story Award for Ultimate Explosion. Both Liu and Wang are seen as masters in Chinese sci-fi circles.

 
Chang Jia, a young science fiction writer in China, receives the best science fiction story award for his book Kunlun
 
However, the next generation was also accounted for with younger writers such as Chang Jia (pen name) being rewarded with a Best SF Short Story award for his book Kunlun.
 
“The Chengdu science fiction and fantasy conference offered a rare opportunity for science fiction and fantasy writers, critics, researchers and fans from both home and abroad to share their views and their writing experiences together and this has strengthened their mutual understanding and fostered a deeper friendship,” said Li Hongfu, vice chairman of Sichuan Provincial Association for Science and Technology at the closing ceremony. “I believe this conference will bring about a positive influence on science-fiction and fantasy literature, in China and around the world.”
 
The conference attracted some 70 science fiction and fantasy writers, critics, researchers, and astronauts as well as over 5000 fans. These congregated to twenty-three lectures and an imaginative literature summit which focused on different aspects of science fiction and fantasy writing.
 
After the Chengdu conference, science fiction and fantasy writers will move on to Yokohama, Japan for the World Science Fiction Convention, which will open on September 1.

 (China.org.cn by staff reporter Yuan Fang in Chengdu, August 27, 2007)