Final Fantasies, Green Train Nation, Maternal Métier, and a Countryside for Old Men

Tantalized by Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies and the Harry Potter franchise, China found itself craving more. In a quiet corner of the Chinese internet, one of the men who would become the “Seven Gods” of Chinese fantasy literature (Pan Haitian) wondered aloud if Eastern mythology could be added to a Western-style fantasy world. With that, Novoland was born, complete with mermen, mountain giants, and flying archers. Chinese fantasy has not been around long, but already online publishing and an emphasis on screenwriting are taking hold. We delve deep into the past and future of one of China’s fastest growing literary genres (see page 26).

With our feet planted rigidly back in the real world, we get the magazine back on track with “Green Train Blues.” Train 4471 from Beijing is a little different from the sleek high-speed marvels crisscrossing the country—coal stove, cramped quarters, and going at about 25 miles an hour. Once these trains served as an important public space in nation wrestling with its identity, but today this idiosyncrasy of engineering is moved aside (quite literally) as modernity passes it by (see page 34).

In “Maternal Instinct,” we look at the booming industry of the yuesao, a profession in which women help young mothers through the first month of maternity—for a hefty sum. The traditional concept of “sitting the month” in China has been a source of curiosity for many outside of the country, and it’s a whole lot easier when you have a professional to do the heavy lifting. However, like any burgeoning industry, the yuesao market is experiencing growing pains (see page 40).

From the beginning of life to the later years, “The Old Country” looks at China’s aging countryside and the infrastructure in place to care for people where all the young have left for the cities. In many cases the elderly are left to raise their grandchildren; a generation apart, the pensioners struggle to fill the gap left by their children, and the authorities strive to find a reliable, legislative answer to the problem (see page 46).

This issue also saw the passing of the 120th anniversary of the Commercial Press, so check out Time Machine to learn more about an assassination that shook the world of Chinese publishing (see page 70). Art Attack brings you a healthy dose of humor (see page 52), Tech Support has all you need to know about the bike-sharing revolution (see page 60), and On the Road takes you down to Deqing, Zhejiang (see page 64).

This will be my last issue at The World of Chinese, and it has been a pleasure (mostly) to work with the incredible editorial staff at TWOC over the last four years. They will continue to produce one of the finest, most beautiful, and most conscientious English-language magazines in China for many more years to come.

Managing Editor Tyler Roney