“Chinese are the most humourous people in the world”

says Liu Zhenyun, a well-known Chinese author, who is known for his humourous streak in the saddest of situations in his books.Liu Zhenyun is a famous Chinese writer, whose works include novels such as Yellow Flower Under the Sun in Hometown, Going Around in Hometown, Hometown: Noodles and Flowers (four volumes), Cell Phone, My Name is Liu Yuejin, One Sentence worth Ten Thousand, I Did Not Kill My Husband, etc. He has also penned famous short stories such as Company of New Soldiers, Chicken Feathers Everywhere, Reminiscing 1942 etc. One Sentence worth Ten Thousand was awarded with Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2011. Throughout the years, Liu’s works have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Russian, Hungarian, Serbian, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other languages.

Liu Zhenyun

Indian readers can read English version of his novels I Did Not Kill My Husband, Cellphone, and others, published by Skyhorse. “The response for the English version of my novel has been very good. The New York Times had reviewed the novel and said that Chinese also have a sense of humour and they are not serious or mysterious,” told Liu.

On asking about whether he is happy with his translated works or do translations lose the original flavor, Liu replied, “All translations are done by sinologists who are high-quality translators. They always try to maintain the original flavor.” Liu started writing when he was in college and his first book was published in 1992. “I have something to tell to the world. But, all my novels are a mix of fact and fiction as only a fiction novel cannot be of top quality,” he shared. Liu has written a novel set in the famine in 1942. “But, it has a sense of humour too as life is even sadder than the description in the novel,” he added.

His books are so interesting that they have been adapted to films as well. Two of his books - One Sentence worth Ten Thousand and I Did Not Kill My Husband – will be soon adapted into films.