安娜·卡列尼娜 (Anna Karenina)

The November–December 2020 issue of Peón de Rey No. 149 features an exclusive interview with four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): “侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): Dos dragones; una voluntad” [“侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): Two dragons, a will”] conducted by Jorge I. Aguadero Casado. Amongst the many topics they discussed, perhaps none were more interesting than the literary one (pp. 46-47), which may be of particular benefit to readers of any time and culture. And thus here is a list of books — probably not a definitive one — 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) would take with her to a desert island:

I was wondering about her literary tastes — this is a topic that I love to share with people from other cultures: “I love reading. Since I was a kid! I started with the classics of literature”. Chinese classics? Well, I am one of those who get excited reading 月下獨酌 (Drinking Alone by Moonlight) by 李白 (Lǐ Bái). I was just thinking that Levon Grigori Aronian, a connoisseur of 杜甫 (Dù Fǔ)’s work, would like to join us in this conversation. “No, Western classics, to be sure. It is funny that I do not know the English titles of these books, since I usually read its translations into Chinese. But among my favourites is Anna Karenina”. Of course, Tolstoy... “I am one of those who continually confound Dostoevsky with Tolstoy, though their works are very different. The passionate love of Anna Karenina comes clear to me, but the names dance in my head. Does it happen to you too? I remember, for example, that Oliver Twist was translated with something like ‘A boy under a cloudy sky’. It is completely different! Sometimes translations make it tough...” Then we exchanged views on foreign film titles in Spain. She couldn’t believe that such an imagination might be possible. And so, amid joyous laughter, a nice friendship was born. “Of course, I also know Chinese classics, which are not so well known to the West”, 逸凡 (Yìfán) said. “And subsequently I became very interested in reading biographies”. For example? “Both Chinese and Westerners personalities”, she said. “And writers. One of my favourite authors is Stefan Zweig. I came to know him by his biography of Maria Stuart, as well as by his operas. I also liked much The World of Yesterday, because of his description of Europe. No doubt it is one of my favourites. I have also read essays on personal growth such as A Message to García. I would say the author is Spanish, although I might be wrong. However, sometimes I prefer lighter readings, such as Agatha Christie’s novels”. I noticed that 逸凡 (Yìfán) signals her interest in the conversation by nimbly moving her hands, as if she is putting together a Rubik’s Cube. “There’s another feminist author very popular, whose name now I cannot remember, who cultivated the same style. I like her too”. An important difference between China and the West is that we are completely unaware of your culture — it is not taught at school. Instead, my Chinese acquaintances move around at their ease between universal classics... “Yes, it’s quite true. I guess China’s millenary culture is not of easy accessibility for Westerners due to the Chinese characters. Indeed, this is a matter which often is made more complex by misleading translations”.