Really beautiful set of stories. I will say that I wish there were more themes regarding gender in the stories, but at the end of the day, women and nonbinary people don't need to write exclusively on those topics!

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories is a collection of translated Chinese SFF from female and nonbinary creators. I was really looking forward to picking this one up and was in no way disappointed. The prose throughout this collection was stunning; you can tell that every bit of it was carefully considered. The audiobook was also well-done and I particularly appreciated hearing the pronunciation of the Chinese words used, such as in the essays on translation. Speaking of which, the nonfiction essays explaining different aspects of the relationships between gender, translation, and Chinese literature were by far my favorite part of this collection. Not only were they intriguing and informative on their own, but they also enhanced my enjoyment of the stories themselves.

Though an anthology can never average out to a five star read, I very much enjoyed my time with this one and would recommend anyone who enjoys SFF short stories to give it a try. Below are my thoughts on each story or essay, though I'm purposefully keeping the summaries brief to try not to spoil anything.

The Stars We Raised 逃跑星辰 by Xiu Xinyu 修新羽, translated by Judy Yi Zhou 周易 - 3.5 stars
- A story of a lonely boy growing up and caring for a star, as told by one of his classmates. A bit ambiguous, I'm not sure I fully grasped the narrative, but it conveyed a lot of emotion.

The Tale of Wude’s Heavenly Tribulation 五德渡劫记 by Count E E 伯爵, translated by Mel “etvolare” Lee - 3.5 stars
- Lighthearted story of a fox having to outsmart a trickster and pass a test of lightning on his way to achieving immortality. This one was mostly just a bit of fun for me.

What Does the Fox Say? 狐狸说什么？by Xia Jia 夏笳 - 4.5 stars
- An exploration of linguistics and AI, an algorithm generating a story, and how meaning is derived. The note I wrote after finishing it was "slightly unhinged, overall a great time."

Blackbird 黑鸟 by Shen Dacheng 沈大成, translated by Cara Healey 贺可嘉 - 4.5 stars
- Very atmospheric story set at a nursing home about the refusal to let go. Just the right amount of creepy and didn't overstay its welcome.

The Restaurant at the End of Universe: Tai-Chi Mashed Taro 宇宙尽头的餐馆之太极芋泥 by Anna Wu 吴霜, translated by Carmen Yiling Yan 言一零 - 5 stars
- My first favorite in this collection. Hard to explain much without spoiling, but I loved the structure (a bit of a story within a story) and how things are gradually pieced together. Once again, great atmosphere, with two opposite settings: a vibrant space restaurant and a frigid snowy vista.

Essay: The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction by Jing Tsu 石静远 - 4 stars
- An essay about the history of Chinese scifi and its relationship with gender. Honestly I felt like some of it went over my head, but even still I learned a lot.

Baby, I Love You 宝贝宝贝我爱你 by Zhao Haihong 赵海虹, translated by Elizabeth Hanlon 韩恩立 - 3 stars
- Zero out of ten for the protagonist, he's a fucking asshole. Deals with themes of parenthood, virtual reality simulation, and the hard work it takes to raise a child. Not my cup of tea, but I suppose my infuriation points to it being well written and is kind of the point since I think it's meant to be a disturbing critique of modern society.

A Saccharophilic Earthworm 嗜糖蚯蚓 by BaiFanRuShuang 白饭如霜, translated by Ru-Ping Chen 陈汝平 - 4 stars
- A shorter one about an ambitious but homebound woman, her lover, and her (anthropomorphic) plants. I was surprised by how much I liked this, the imagery really worked for me.

The Alchemist of Lantian 蓝田半人 by BaiFanRuShuang 白饭如霜, translated by Ru-Ping Chen 陈汝平 - 4.5 stars
- Another short one, about a (more-or-less) immortal alchemist who's very fed up with life. Absolutely loved the protagonist's voice; I think the audiobook in particular really made this one.

The Way Spring Arrives 春天来临的方式 by Wang Nuonuo 王诺诺, translated by Rebecca F. Kuang 匡灵秀 - 4 stars
- A imagery-rich story on the changing of seasons and the cycles of life, following a girl who must bring about spring with the help of many fish and her young protégé. I enjoyed this depiction of the gods and all of earth's processes being manually initiated. I'm curious as to the choice for this to be the title story, though it certainly made for a great cover.

Essay: Translation as Retelling: An Approach to Translating Gu Shi’s “To Procure Jade” and Ling Chen’s “The Name of the Dragon” by Yilin Wang 王艺霖 - 5 stars
- I very much appreciate the background this provided around all the decisions translators have to make to maintain the balance between preserving the original text and making it approachable for a new audience. The in depth explanations of some of the specific choices Yilin Wang made for these two stories were so interesting, including transliteration versus translation, how much explanation to provide for things that would be general knowledge to Chinese readers, and choice of pronouns. I'm glad I had both the audiobook and the ebook to hear the pronunciation alongside how things were written, but then again I'm very much a geek for linguistics.

The Name of the Dragon 应龙 by Ling Chen 凌晨, translated by Yilin Wang 王艺霖 - 4.5 stars
- Human's never-ending thirst for power and a dragon who just wants to be left alone. Lush and bright descriptions in what is essentially a very depressing story.

To Procure Jade 得玉 by Gu Shi 顾适, translated by Yilin Wang 王艺霖 - 3.5 stars
- A legendary spring no one has been able to find and a resourceful man just trying to make ends meet. This one surprised me with the direction it went it.

A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language 衡平公式 by Nian Yu 念语, translated by Ru-Ping Chen 陈汝平 - 4 stars
- I really enjoyed the concept of this, imagining an alien species who have hereditary memory capsules and the lengths we'll go to to avoid extinction. However, there were a couple places where I simply got confused about what was being described.

Essay: Is There Such a Thing as Feminine Quietness? A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective by Emily Xueni Jin 金雪妮 - 5 stars
- I loved this essay and especially how understandable it was, with a specific example pulled from the subtitles of the Mulan live action. Explores how translators' choices when one word can be mapped to multiple words in another language can support stereotypes, and questions whether a translator can "ungender" parts of a text while maintaining the authenticity of the translation.

Dragonslaying 屠龙 by Shen Yingying 沈璎璎, translated by Emily Xueni Jin 金雪妮 - 5 stars
- Dragonslaying is an exclusive, torturous, and costly art undertaken for the entertainment of the rich. This one was incredibly dark, gory, and depressing. Another favorite of mine.

New Year Painting, Ink and Color on Rice Paper, Zhaoqiao Village 年画 by Chen Qian 陈茜, translated by Emily Xueni Jin 金雪妮 - 4 stars
- An unusual painting is unearthed and found to be connected to tales of a small village and a bullied girl. We get a bit of a look into how legends form, and how much might be the truth. I really enjoyed the perspective this was told from of a young art restorer.

The Portrait 画妖 by Chu Xidao 楚惜刀, translated by Gigi Chang 张菁 - 3.5 stars
- The best painter in the land is stumped in completing his work A Hundred Beauties when he cannot cannot capture the last woman's soul. I'm not sure why I didn't quite connect to this one, but it's definitely beautifully told.

The Woman Carrying a Corpse 背尸体的女人 by Chi Hui 迟卉, translated by Judith Huang 錫影 - 4 stars
- A repetitive tale of a woman carrying a corpse. Feels allegorical. I'm sure this is saying something very important, I'm just not sure what it is.

The Mountain and the Secret of Their Names 山和名字的秘密 by Wang Nuonuo 王诺诺, translated by Rebecca F. Kuang 匡灵秀 - 4.5 stars
- Interesting take on the old moving into the new. A village directly in the path of satellite launch debris. A young boy taught shamanism by his grandfather who grows to be a young man and comes to see magic as an algorithm based on his ancestors' names and the secrets the mountain holds from all it's lived through.

Essay: Net Novels and the “She Era”: How Internet Novels Opened the Door for Female Readers and Writers in China by Xueting Christine Ni 倪雪亭 - 5 stars
- I've heard more and more about Chinese web novels and their popular adaptations in the past couple years, but had hardly an inkling of how the industry works and how it came about, let alone the impact it's had on allowing for works by female writers for female readers in China. This was so informative, outlining the history of this new publishing phenomenon and many popular examples. There's so many works mentioned in this essay that I want to look further into.

Essay: Writing and Translation: A Hundred Technical Tricks by Rebecca F. Kuang 匡灵秀 - 5 stars
- I'd never thought of translation as a way to improve your own writing, though it makes sense. In my own experience, there's so much more you realize about your native language while learning a second one, and I can only imagine how much more that would extend to all the technicalities of translating from one language to another that she describes.

This collection is both entertaining and educational!

Throughout the stories told and essays shared, the writers and translators did a marvelous job of making a collection that’s easily consumable to a western audience, while still keeping its authentic Chinese roots in place. Not only did I learn a lot about Chinese mythology, culture, and even the history of women writers by reading this anthology, but it even inspired me to continue taking my foreign language lessons!

The Way Spring Arrives (subsequently also my favorite story in the collection, followed closely by The Stars We Raised) is a remarkable entry point to the world of Chinese literature if you’re unfamiliar with it and overall a delightful read; exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up!

I definitely recommend this collection to anyone curious about foreign literary styles and interesting in seeing a commonly western genre interpreted through a lens not often advertised to western audiences.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Tordotcom for providing me with this Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!*

Sum It Up:
The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories is a collection of Chinese fantasy stories from female and non-binary creators exploring the extent of the Asian dispora across universes of the past, present and future. Never before published in English, this award-winning team of authors, editors, and translators have compiled this anthology to “represent both the richly complicated past and the vivid future of Chinese science fiction and fantasy.”

What Worked and What Didn’t:
The Way Spring Arrives brings together a series of Chinese stories that connect with “fantasy” on a varied scale. This anthology also included several critical essays exploring gender in fantasy and other thought-provoking questions rooted in tradition and storytelling.

What could have made this work stronger was shifting one of the essays “The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction” to the very front. This essay did a great job of setting the stage and the tone for the goal that this group of folks was seeking to surpass. While placed at #6, it still stands out, but doesn’t reach its full potential.

Another element that could have helped this collection shine, was the inclusion of sections or themes to categorize the stories under. This would have helped focus the reader as they shifted between each section and brought some overall cohesion to the flow of the work.

My Favorite Stories:
I really enjoyed “The Woman Carrying the Corpse” as an unexpected allegory for mental health and conscious interaction with our lives. I think it stands out as a very visual representation for most of us who regularly deal with the burdens that are described in the tale.

Another favorite was the short piece “What Does the Fox Say,” which brought forward a lot of beauty and humor in a very succinct selection of words. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the author’s notes at the end of the story which added context and further appreciation overall.


Overall, The Way Spring Arrives set out with the lofty goal of sharing very impactful, culturally significant stories through the voices of female and non-binary writers, editors, and translators. While it did a great job of meeting that milestone, there were a few additional changes that may have strengthened the overall presentation of the works independently and together. I rated this anthology with a 3 out of 5 and would love to see reviews from folks who are able to read the stories in their original languages!

As a reader, I have a comfort zone. It’s sci-fi/fantasy, it’s murder mysteries, it’s books about America, or 20th century Hollywood or Victorian England. I haven’t read anything in translation since I finished undergrad years ago. Reading The Way Spring Arrives was like jumping in and out of my comfort zone repeatedly. It’s a genre I’m used to, but from a culture I know pathetically little about.
There’s some top notch, will-recommend-to-my-short-story-book-club-later, sci-fi and fantasy in here (“The Way Spring Arrives” and “Baby, I Love You” come to mind though there were many others). There were also some stories that were just absolutely wild— stories that walk that very sci-fi line of so imaginative you’re enthralled, but then spend the next several minutes going “wtf did I just read?” (“A Saccharophillic Earthworm,” what the heck happened there? Someone please swap theories with me). Others were simply delightful like “Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai-Chi Mashed Taro” which is a spin off of the Douglas Adams book and “What Does the Fox Say” a flash piece about linguistics and Ylvis.
And then there were a group of stories I would categorize as “I am a dumb American white person with no cultural context for this and need to do some further research.” I haven’t read a story in a while that I just fully did not understand, and this anthology had a few. That’s on me, though, not the book. The book tried to help me understand wherever possible.
There were a bunch of really good essays about translation that helped me understand not only the challenges the translators were facing, but also some of the broader context of Chinese sci-fi. Rebecca F. Kuang (author of The Poppy War) has an excellent essay about it as does Yilin Wang. Yilin Wang’s is particularly interesting as it is an essay about translating two stories that appear in the book after the essay. So, unlike some of the others, you know the translator’s thoughts and have some context going into the two short stories.
I also found Jing Tsu’s “The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction” really engaging. It told me a lot about women in Chinese literature historically and about how China first encountered the sci-fi genre (as we know it) as an import in the era of Jules Verne. It’s one of those essays that helps you understand while showing you just how much there is you don’t know.
Each story and essay is entirely its own thing. There are all types of subgenres, tones, subjects, and styles. If you can pick this up and find nothing you like, I’d be shocked. I learned a ton reading this and enjoyed some quality short stories that I hope I can nominate for awards next year.

Who this is for: Anyone who likes sci-fi and/or short fiction. Also, anyone who has ever thought about translating something and went “wow, that seems hard, I can’t believe people can do that.”

5/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: anthologies, short stories, Chinese literature, language and linguistics, gender, translation

This review has been posted to Gooreads and Instagram as of 3/7 and will be posted to my book review blog on 3/22.


The Stars We Raised: Xiu Xinyu, transl. Judy Yi Zhou
4/5 stars

I thought the idea of stars just hanging around on earth was interesting. I liked that the children did what children do best and made a game out of it. I thought that aspect made it more realistic, and I liked how the transitions showed growth.

The Tale of Wude’s Heavenly Tribulation: Count E, transl. Mel ‘etvolare’ Lee
4.5/5 stars

I enjoyed reading about Wude’s misadventure. This was an entertaining story and I liked the hints that there could be future stories about the characters.

What Does the Fox Say: Xia Jia
5/5 stars

I quite enjoyed this one as well. It’s clever in its use of language and narration, and I liked reading the author’s note afterward about how the story came about.

Blackbird: Shen Dacheng, transl. Cara Healey
5/5 stars

This one was interesting. It didn’t go the way I was expecting, but it did go an interesting route.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai-Chi Mashed Taro: Anna Wu, transl. Carmen Yiling Yan
5/5 stars

I really enjoyed this story. The mixing of a very sci-fi realm with one that’s more aligned with ‘normal’ history was interesting, and I liked how time was played around with. The imagery was rich as well, which I always enjoy. Mo was a fun character too and I liked her addition to things.

The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction: Jing Tsu

It’s kind of hard to rate an essay. This one poses some good questions about the role of gender in the past and present (and of course future) of sci-fi. Interesting read.


Baby, I Love You: Zhao Haihong, transl. Elizabeth Hanlon
4/5 stars

I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. The writing was good and I was invested in the story. However, the narrator is unlikeable and some of the things in there I don’t really agree with (i.e., the whole biological clock stuff and a woman who wants kids changing her mind just because she interacted with some kids).

A Saccharophilic Earthworm: BaiFanRuShuang, transl. Ru-Ping Chen
5/5 stars

I like how I couldn’t tell if this was truly fantasy or just something cooked up by Flora at first. It was an interesting take on loss and love and relationships.

The Alchemist of Lantian: BaiFanRuShuang, transl. Ru-Ping Chen
4/5 stars

This one had some humor to it. It’s an interesting concept, to be resentfully immortal.

The Way Spring Arrives: Wang Nuonuo, transl. Rebecca F. Kuang
5/5 stars

I liked the imagery and the mythology in this one. I wasn’t a huge fan of Goumang, but the rest of the story was good.

Translation as Retelling: An Approach to Translating Gu Shi’s ‘To Procure Jade’ and Ling Chen’s ‘The Name of the Dragon’: Yilin Wang

This was a good overview on translation and the intricacies of the job. I liked getting to know some background of some of the choices of these translations.

The Name of the Dragon: Ling Chen, transl. Yilin Wang
3.5/5 stars

This story was fairly quick and brief. I get the dragon was upset about having to serve humans, but I don’t really get the point of the story.

To Procure Jade: Gu Shi, transl. Yilin Wang
4.5/5 stars

This one plays on language and meaning, which I enjoyed. I felt somewhat bad for Deyu at the end, considering what he’d gained since leaving the palace, but it was still a good story.

A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language: Nian Yu, transl. Ru-Ping Chen
5/5 stars

This is definitely one of my favorites. I really liked the different planets and the differing issues that are faced on each of them. There’s definitely a moral dilemma in here (as well as several allegories for climate change).

Is There Such a Thing as Feminine Quietness? A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective: Emily Xueni Jin

This essay was another good one about translating and language. I liked how this one specifically focused on words in specific contexts and how to best choose a translation. Gender is heavily taken into account here, and I find the different ways ‘quiet’ can be translated depending on context from English to Mandarin to be quite fascinating.

Dragonslaying: Shen Yingying, transl. Emily Xueni Jin
4/5 stars

This is well written and I liked the magic of the world, but it’s also horrifying.

New Year Painting, Ink and Color on rice Paper, Zhaoqiao Village [Tk]: Chen Qian, transl. Emily Xueni Jin
5/5 stars

I liked this one as well. There was a good mix of reality and fantasy, and I liked the curse aspect of things.

The Portrait: Chu Xidao, transl. Gigi Chang
4/5 stars

This story didn’t go where I was thinking it would. It was interesting how it turned out.

The Woman Carrying a Corpse: Chi Hui, transl. Judith Huang
5/5 stars

This was an odd little story, but I liked the twisting wordiness of it.

The Mountain and the Secret of Their Names: Wang Nuonuo, transl. Rebecca F. Kuang
4/5 stars

I liked the role of the mountain in the story. I wish we’d gotten to see a bit more of the grandfather, though.

Net Novels and the ‘She Era’: How Internet Novels Opened the Door for Female Readers and Writers in China: Xueting Christine Ni

This was a really interesting essay on the rise of net novels in China and the role they played in creating a more egalitarian form of literature. I wasn’t familiar with this topic and found the essay to be quite educational and interesting.

Writing and Translation: A Hundred Technical Tricks: Rebecca F. Kuang

This was another interesting piece that explored translation. I’m currently taking a class on translating right now (German to English), and I find it interesting to read about how various translators think about the act.

This collection is stunning.
I can think of no better anthology to read during the month of March, as we welcome spring in the northern hemisphere and celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. Seventeen speculative fiction short stories and five essays, all written, translated, and curated by women and nonbinary authors challenging gender norms in Chinese science fiction.

It’s always hard to review an anthology with so many valuable pieces. As with any anthology, there were some stories I connected with more than others, but overall they left me with the strong sense of disquiet I often crave from speculative fiction. Many of the stories take a deep dive into the human elements of storytelling, yet without abandoning the elements that make for good science fiction (small changes to societal elements or scientific realities).

The majority of Chinese science fiction I’ve read previously has been written by men, and I admit I spent some time comparing some of these stories to the most famous of them, Liu Cixin’s Three Body Problem. The difference is palpable. From the chapter 6 essay The Futures of Gender in Chinese Science Fiction by Jing Tsu, “This volume shows that there is also a difference between science fiction *about* women and other marginalized genders and the ones written *by* them…” As obvious as it may seem, this anthology epitomizes that statement’s ethos. The written space created and curated by women has a different feel, that I didn’t know I was lacking until I read it.

The Way Spring Arrives has five essays, serving as pillars of the collection for me. Ranging from topics on gender to the nature of translation (and gendered translation), they orient the uninitiated to the project and provide insight for Chinese to English translations, and the concept of translation and situating the translator. RF Kuang’s essay, for example, asks what she as a Chinese American author, should assume for a Western audience in either her original fiction or her translation. She ponders if it even matters if she learned Sun Tzu from her father or from Wikipedia.

The roots of contemporary Chinese literature, including science fiction, connect to the broader lineage of Chinese storytelling. I urge you to pick up this collection if you are a fan of contemplative science fiction, books in translation, women’s voices in genre fiction, or gender roles in literature.

We’re getting two different collections of translated short story collections within a single year! What a blessed time to be Chinese diaspora. The Way Spring Arrives covers a broad array of topics, from hard sci-fi stories like ‘A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language’, more traditional xianxia style works like ‘The Tale of Wude’s Heavenly Tribulation’, and stories that seamlessly blend the two together.

My personal favorites of this collection both fall under the last category. ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai-Chi Mashed Taro’ by Anna Wu, translated by Carmen Yiling Yan crosses the worlds of Douglas Adams with a historical Ming dynasty setting. Initially whimsical, the tone switch to somber reflective piece left me with a surprising feeling of melancholy. The book’s title story, ‘The Way Spring Arrives’ by Wang Nuonuo, translated by Rebecca F Kuang, retells the scientific mechanisms of a seasonal shift from winter to spring, seamlessly integrating the Chinese mythological pantheon.

For me, the highlights of this collection weren’t the stories themselves, but the essays on CN->EN (and vice versa) translation, the history of SFF in China (and the rise of webnovels), considerations of gender in translation, and more, spliced between the short stories. For anyone interested in the history and the impact of webnovels in China, Xueting Christine Ni’s essay ‘Net Novels and the ‘She Era’: How Internet Novels Opened the Door for Female Readers and Writers in China” gives a detailed run-through. Since I do heavily read translated CN webnovels, the art of translation and the different considerations translators factor into their work has been an interest of mine and these essays were extremely thought-provoking. One particular quote that really stuck in my mind follows:

By staying absolutely true to the stereotypes that such gendered adjectives impose, are we as translators also complicit in reinforcing those stereotypes? Can actively ungendering those gendered adjectives be counted as pushing against gender roles, or is that siply butchering the original text and language?

“Is There Such a Thing as Feminine Quietness? A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective” by Emily Xueni Jin
Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5. The Way Spring Arrives encompasses a dazzling array of Chinese Science Fiction, curated and authored by female and non-binary creators, and includes essays giving insight into the history of Chinese SFF and translation processes.

As a reader, i try not to build expectations with these early copies for in more than one occasion they were not met, affecting the authors because of a personal, subjective and biased factor. However, the pitch of this read immediately grabbed my attention, as a nonbinary sci-fi and short story collection lover. I'm glad to say all expectation was met.
This is an incredible sci-fi fantasy collection of stories that revolve within Chinese culture, it presents a dynamic approach to the merge of culture and fantasy, and the amount of perspectives is notable within the presentation of its varied stories.
It does suffer from a pacing issue, common within short story collections, that distracts from its reading as a whole. In my experience as a book reviewer and an avid participant of book communities online and offline, short stories tend to be conflicting, most readers would rather rate stories individually as their consideration as a whole, more often than not, decreases its star rating. Statistically, not every reader is going to love every single story.
Issue easy to remedy by changing the pace in which we read short stories, one daily is better than many in one sitting; at least that is the most relevant solution to this disjunctive within my own reading circles and i think is applicable in this particular collection.

It is great, dynamic, fun, and something i see myself re reading in the future.

This is a collection of Chinese fantasy and sci fi short stories and essays written, edited, and translated by a female and nonbinary team. Some stories were magical, some fantastical, some sci fi, some folklore…It was a little bit of everything, and it was good.

One story had a nod to Douglas Adams, so of course that won my heart. It had a robot Marvin who was a waiter at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The essays on translating and the choices the translator makes were very interesting. They brought a new perspective to me on what goes into translation and how word tone and specific choices can change the feel of a story.

I enjoyed everything that was included, and that’s not always the case with short story collections. It comes out next week on March 8. Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan-Tor/Forge, and Tordotcom for my copy.

I thought that the stories in this work were a great mix of different themes and voices, I was particularly delighted to read the selection of essays on science fiction, women and translation - which only cemented how important this anthology is!
I would recommend this both to people who already know they love short stories and also to those wanting to experience them for the first time - more so than most compilations I feel like there was a real sense of unity in a very mixed bag of stories!
I can't single out any stories that particularly spoke to me beyond the titular 'The Way Spring Arrives', but I actually count this as an asset as I also cannot think of any stories which I didn't enjoy - and that NEVER happens. All that points to an incredibly well balanced collection for which I tip my hat to the editors.
I'd be really interested to read more from the authors in this collection (and the translators!) and I'd also be keen to read other anthologies on a similar theme in the future. I'll be recommending this to friends for sure.

With essays from the editors exploring the changes in Sci-Fi and the wave of women-cishet, nonbinary and trans now making inroads into the genre, the intricacies that are involved in translating a character-based, written language; and what that means to the target language and who is translating, this collection was such a pleasure to read.

The stories all held to the cultural influences and practices of nation, but also saw the ways in which technology and outside worldviews can also be integrated into their storytelling. It was clear when the themes depicted spoke to our present times and the hubris and selfishness of humans, the sheer disconnect when it comes to fortune and poverty, the adverse effects on the environment...

he Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories is a collection of Chinese science fiction and fantasy stories and essays written, translated and edited by a team of female and nonbinary creators. The stories are quite varied, ranging from soft fantasy featuring fox cultivators, to magical realism starring immortal grandmas, to innovative futuristic end-of-the-world science fiction. There are over twenty stories and essays in this collection and I have a lot to say about each of them but I'll narrow down my review to some of my favourites.

The title story, The Way Spring Arrives(1) is a sweet, romantic little tale, not just of one man's love for a woman but of mankind's love for our world. It's the story about the birth, life and death of spring, written in beautiful, delicate prose. The Name of the Dragon(2) is a story about the lengths to which people are capable of going in order to exploit those around them, including magnificent, special creatures like dragons. To Procure Jade(3) is a sort of love letter to nonbinary people that tells the story of a legendary spring of jade that offers eternal youth to women and wealth to men. This story is not only beautifully written, but masterfully translated as well.

A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language(4) is this collection's crown science fiction story full of twists and turns, and it's fascinating not only from a scientific standpoint, but from a linguistic and environmentalist one as well. Finally, Dragonslaying(5) is a story about mermaids, and it was my absolute favourite from the entire collection. A poignant, mind-boggling and heart-breaking masterpiece that I won't stop thinking about for a long time.

Of the essays, I truly enjoyed all of them, as a lover of books and someone who's studied linguistics and languages (Mandarin being one of them). There's a lot to be said about the technicalities of translation, especially when working with such a complex, character-based language like Mandarin. I also loved learning more about the phenomenon of net novels and the way the internet allowed female authors like Mo Xiang Tong Xiu to achieve a level of success they most probably wouldn't have had they not posted their novels and grown their audience online.

I highly recommend this collection to all lovers of science fiction and fantasy, translated literature and Chinese culture.

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories comes out on March 8. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, as well as the authors, editors and translators of these stories for the advanced reader copy.

1 The Way Spring Arrives, written by Wang NuoNuo, translated by Rebecca F. Kuang

2 The Name of the Dragon, written by Ling Chen, translated by Yilin Wang

3 To Procure Jade, written by Gu Shi, translated by Yilin Wang

4 A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language, written by Nian Yu, translated by Ru-Ping Chen

5 Dragonslaying, written by Shen Yingying, translated by Emily Xueni Jin

This is an amazing anthology--and overall project--that mixes some really fascinating stories in translation (and at least 1 flash fiction by a Chinese writer writing in English) with some solid, insightful academic-style essays about close reading, translation in general, language, and femininity and (Chinese) culture more generally. Most of the voices, other than R(ebecca) F. Kuang, were new to me, and it was a great experience to read such an array of sci-fi and speculative fiction from varied perspectives, drawing from cultures and legends I'm not particularly familiar with. I'm so glad Tordotcom is releasing this, and I hope it sparks a trend of more women-and-nonbinary-author led collections of translated work from different countries/cultures, writing in different genres. Not to be too US/English-centric about it, but it would be awesome if this became a series of sorts.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*

This is a brilliant collection of short stories and essays, unlike anything I’ve read before. I was drawn to the stunning cover and incredible subtitle (a visionary team of female and non-binary creators, heck yes!!), and having previously only read one of the authors, R.F. Kuang, I was excited to discover some new contemporary fantasy/sci-fi writers.

Throughout the 22 chapters, I was taken on poignant and existential journeys through new planets and parallel timelines and the lands of the gods, experiencing heartbreak and wonder and magic along with the characters. I also emerged with a whole new appreciation for literary translators and the intricacies of gender and genre in Chinese literature after reading the five thoughtful essays included in the collection.

I love reading short stories and I tend to prolong the experience, enjoying just one or two at a time and really letting them sit with me. I’ll be thinking about the stories in this collection for a long time.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It felt impossible to me, after reading the first three or so stories of this collection, that I would continue to enjoy this book as much the whole way through - because it's all different authors who might have styles I didn't jibe with, because those opening stories seemed too good to be true - and yet: I did. I really, really did. Every single story here is a stunner - or, at the very least, is very interesting. I really have to hand it to the editors: they created a really, really strong collection here.

The only real bump in the reading experience is, I'm sorry to say, the essays. Because the stories were so good the essays ended up feeling a bit like the teacher stopping you from reading further in a really good book to drag you through explanations of its' most basic and least compelling of themes. I think if the essays had been deep dives rather than primers I would have enjoyed them more but...I don't know. A collection of stories by women and non-binary writers is in itself a commentary on under-represented voices, so I didn't really need that re-explained to me in the form of an essay. On top of that...none of the essays really felt polished. They were more like blog posts. You'd go from a beautifully written/translated story to an essay with clunky transitions and ideas all over the place: it was jarring.

That said, this is still probably the best reading experience I have had in a long, long while. I can't get over how good every story here was. And so I would definitely recommend this book to anyone - even if this isn't your usual genre.

After enjoying quite a few translated collections of Chinese SFF short stories, I was very very excited for this one since it was first announced. And I was ecstatic when I got the arc to read. This was definitely more fun among all the collections I’ve read before and I loved how we got a mix of genres like hard sci-fi, a bit of fantasy, some contemporary, thoughtful dystopia, a historical lens and even some xianxia influences. I think the only thing I missed was having an out and out wuxia story but that’s just a personal preference. Other than the stories themselves, the idea of a collection of female and non-binary authors and translators is awesome because it gives us a hint of the vast scope of creative works being put out by these amazing authors.

The multiple essays we got about the technical and cognitive aspects of translation, both from Chinese to English and vice versa were very illuminating. I also loved getting to know the history of internet novels and it’s influence on works created by women. Overall, this was some excellent time spent and I can only hope I’ll get to read more works by all these creators in the future.

Below are my thoughts on the individual stories and essays.

The Stars We Raised by Xiu Xinyu
Translated by Judy Yi Zhou

I’m not sure I got what the story was actually about but I felt a lot of loneliness in it - a lonely boy trying to find some companionship in the stars.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Tale of Wude’s Heavenly Tribulation by Count E
Translated by Mel “etvolare” Lee

The story of a fox trying to achieve immortality through cultivation and his troubles as well as relationships with his friends, this was quite fun and entertaining.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Does the Fox Say by Xia Jia

This is not exactly a story but the author’s exploration of language and what might happen if an algorithm attempts to write a story. How the author interprets the algorithm will string its sentences together was fascinating to read about.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blackbird by Shen Dacheng
Translated by Cara Healey

Set in a elderly home, this is the story of a young nurse trying to get used to her new job and the oldest woman in the home, refusing to leave the world until she is given no choice. This felt both atmospheric and melancholic, with its very beautiful descriptions.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai-Chi Mashed Taro by Anna Wu
Translated by Carmen Yiling Yan

I don’t want to say much about this tale of the rise and fall of a noble, his love for literature and the forever ongoing battle between beauty and fate - except that this was beautifully written and despite being melancholic, I loved it.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Futures of Gender in Chinese Science Fiction by Jing Tsu

Interesting essay about Chinese science fiction, it’s historical influences, the growth of authors from marginalized genders and how this changes the way SFF is written and consumed.

Baby, I Love You by Zhao Haihong
Translated by Elizabeth Hanlon

Another fascinating story about parenting, raising children, people’s changing attitudes about having children in this day and age, and what does it take to actually love your child. This was equal parts interesting, heartbreaking and infuriating.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Saccharophilic Earthworm by BaiFanRuShuang
Translated by Ru-Ping Chen

The story of plants having the ability to experience abs demonstrate emotions and helping their humans understand their own - this was unique and very vivid and imaginative.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Alchemist of Lantian by BaiFanRuShuang
Translated by Ru-Ping Chen

Told through the POV of an immortal alchemist, we follow his travails and experience his exhaustion of living many lifetimes and suffering humans but I’m glad he gets to help atleast one person.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Way Spring Arrives by Wang Nuonuo
Translated by Rebecca F. Kuang

A story about how earth’s rotations and revolutions work and how seasons change told through the amalgamation of science and fantasy, this was a very lush and vivid tale evoking a lot of beautiful imagery in my head. I truly could feel the arrival of spring and the land coming to life again.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Translation as Retelling: An Approach to translating Gu Shi’s “To Procure Jade” and Ling Chen’s “The Name of the Dragon” by Yilin Wang

This is an essay by the author about the next two stories which they have translated and I loved how they explain their process of translation, the choices they’ve made about keeping the original mandarin words vs translating the words, and how much work goes into ensuring the story retains its cultural and mythological context while also not feeling too unfamiliar to an anglophone reader. A perfect essay to be a part of this collection.

The Name of the Dragon by Ling Chen
Translated by Yilin Wang

An enchanting tale told through the POV of a dragon which has been imprisoned by humans for centuries because human’s desire for immortality is never ending and even a powerful creature like a dragon can never satiate all of them. Very anguish invoking tale.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To Procure Jade by Gu Shi
Translated by Yilin Wang

Another story where I don’t wanna give anything much but it was super fun and I have to give credit to the main character Deyu for being such a resourceful person as well as having some good luck.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as told in a Sinitic Language by Nian Yu
Translated by Ru-Ping Chen

A very interesting but also devastating and ruthless tale about the effects of climate change, what lengths humans will go to for survival, anyone else be damned. And I thought the one point which felt extremely realistic was how despite knowing climate change would cause a lot of damage, we would choose to neglect it and destroy our planet.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Is There Such a Thing as Feminine Quietness? A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective by Emily Xueni Jin

This was an interesting essay about translation, especially when a word in one language can map to many in another lexicon and the correct translated word to choose becomes a task based on additional context. The author takes an example from the recent movie Mulan and explains the issues that can arise when translating words that may have gendered connotations and how one must be careful with not enforcing stereotypes in such instances. Very informative.

Dragonslaying by Shen Yingying
Translated by Emily Xueni Jin

This story about the age old process of how a dragon like water based creature is tortured and operated upon to change its aesthetic to please humans is brutal to read and just makes you feel revolted at the injustices being committed on the creatures as well as on the families whose occupation this is. Excellent writing though because it’s very vivid but that just makes it more of a difficult read.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

New Year Painting, Ink and Color on Rice Paper, Zhaoqiao Village by Chen Qian
Translated by Emily Xueni Jin

The story of a young girl who is bullied incessantly but turned into a goddess due to some legend that forms around her after her disappearance. This is also about karma and regret and the innocence of childhood. I found it very haunting and melancholic, but very engaging.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Portrait by Chu Xidao
Translated by Gigi Chang

I don’t wanna give away the story but just mention that every single word here is enchanting. The descriptions are utterly beautiful and evoke very strong emotions. Just gorgeous writing overall.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman Carrying a Corpse by Chi Hui
Translated by Judith Huang

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make sense what this story was about. Maybe it’s about resilience. Or maybe it’s about the fact that we get into this routine and rut in our life that we forget living and enjoying the life we’ve been given.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Mountain and the Secret of their Names by Wang Nuonuo
Translated by Rebecca F. Kuang

A seamless amalgamation of the devastation caused by satellite launch debris on nearby villages with the rituals of shamanism and the blessings of the ancestors, this story was fascinated and I was hooked all throughout.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Net Novels and the “She Era”: How Internet Novels opened the door for Female Readers and Writers in China by Xueting Christine Ni

I was most excited for this essay - one, because I love interacting with the author Christine on Twitter and have been very impress by some of her reviews and critiques on her website; secondly, because this essay topic feels very close to my heart. My journey into cnovel and cdrama fandom began with watching adaptations and reading fan translations of these so-called Net Novels by female authors, so I was very interested to get to know more about this industry. And the author does a great job tracing the history of this way of publishing, how many of these internet authors have succeeded in bypassing traditional publishing gatekeepers, and became very influential in the emergence of more three dimensional female characters across genres. I also ofcourse loved it when Christine mentioned some of the popular internet authors and their works, some of which I knew and had read or watched. The familiarity just makes me feel wonderful.

Writing and Translation: A Hundred Technical Tricks by Rebecca F. Kuang

What a way to end this collection. Because the first name that comes to mind when thinking of Chinese American authors is Rebecca and her Poppy War trilogy. And as she talks a lot about her ongoing PhD and the technicalities of translation on Twitter quite a bit, it was interesting to see her expand upon it in this essay. And I love her unique perspective as a diaspora author who’s relationship with both English and Chinese are different, which informs both her original writing as well as translation.

A beautiful and powerful collection of stunning writing from new authors to me. I purposely requested this as the premise was completely new to me, and I'm so pleased I did!

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<p>Subtitle: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and Fantasy in Translation from a Visionary Team of Female and Nonbinary Creators. Review copy provided by the publisher.</p>
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<p>Well, this was a complete joy. In addition to having several stories that were individually lovely to read, it was extremely thoughtfully composed in terms of which story preceded which other story and where the essays on translation were seeded through the volume. It's so satisfying to find an anthology that's so well-balanced and -assembled.</p>
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<p>Usually I consider an anthology a rousing success if I can call out two stories as particular favorites. In this anthology there were four--and with the way it's assembled, their translators were listed so accessibly beside the authors that it's easy to credit them here. The anthology started off in beautiful style with "The Stars We Raised," by Xiu Xinyu, translation by Judy Yi Zhou. Its poignancy set a tone that kept me eager to find out what the other stories would do.</p>
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<p>Xia Jia has long been one of my favorite Chinese authors in translation, but I'm not sure she qualifies with her quite short story "What Does the Fox Say" in this volume, because she experimented with writing it in English--in my opinion entirely successfully.</p>
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<p>Later in the anthology, "A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language" by Nian Yu, translation by Ru-Ping Chen, and "The Painting" by Chen Qian, translation by Emily Xueni Jin, were stories of types that don't usually appeal to me but in this case managed to transcend my subgenre preferences, which is high praise indeed. The other stories were interesting and charmingly done as well, but these were my favorites. I also really appreciated the inclusion of the essays about genre, gender, and translation, as I felt they added a lot to this particular volume. Very well done, will be looking for a physical copy as soon as I can get one.</p>
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