"This city is too full of monsters, too enchanting, too bewitching. A paradise for artists and wanderers."- Strange Beasts of China.
Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge, translated by Jeremy Tiang, explores a parallel mythic world and its inhabitants. The fictional city of Yong'an is seen through the eyes of a novelist and amateur cryptozoologist who inadvertently grapples with the question: what really is a monster?
Each chapter starts with the protagonist’s knowledge about different beast species that live in Yong’an. What they look like, how they came to the city, their reception by the Yongan city government and human populace, as well as their current state. As the protagonist meets these fabled beasts, her fate unravels as she writes about them for her newspaper column and novels.
This book feels so bizarre and so normal at the same time. The line between fiction and reality feels non-existent as our own world is reflected in this fictional one. It almost felt cathartic reading this. The interactions between the individual characters and groups of people felt all too real. The bewitching city of Yong’an mirrors many of the world's cities and despite all their flaws, just like the species of beasts and humans in the novel, we are drawn to them.
How the beast species are treated, as having special enviable qualities, strange or different physical features, but isolated from society unless they are forced to be more like human citizens of Yong'an parallels somewhat with how ethnic minorities are treated by authorities and the majority population in many societies around the world. They are treated as a spectacle, even when they are suffering.
The authorities and group-minded public also painfully reflect societies in the real world. From following irrational advice to chew garlic in order to avoid becoming prone to dissent, to accepting euthanisation of parts of the population, Yong'an residents accept everything, just trudging along their day. Our world is reflected in this, more than we would like to admit. After all, reality is stranger than fiction.
It has been two weeks since I first read Strange Beasts of China and the characters still linger in my mind, making me want to get a paperback copy as well as look for the original Chinese version. I wish there was more, a sequel perhaps, but the end did feel right. I just can’t help but want to read more.
There will be a discussion about the book on 11/02/2020 via the Borderless Bookclub. You can purchase your own copy on the Tilted Axis Press website. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Haricha