site.btaLife Stands Above Literature—Believe in Tomorrow, Chinese Author Yu Hua Tells Readers

Chinese novelist Yu Hua, regarded as the leading living writer in his country, drew a capacity audience to Sofia’s National Archaeological Institute on Sunday, during the final day of this year’s Literary Talks, organized by the Reading Sofia Foundation.

Speaking at this year’s event themed “Archaeology of Memory,” Yu talked about his work and perspective. 

Moderated by Bulgarian author Elena Alexieva and interpreted by Yu’s Bulgarian translator Stefan Rusinov, the event mixed readings with questions on Yu’s trademark humanism.

Yu said he keeps an “even attitude” toward both the ugly and the beautiful in his fiction because “everything has a reason for existing, and my task is to write that reason.” The evening confirmed Yu Hua’s broad appeal; the hall overflowed with fans from Bulgaria and China eager to hear the author of Brothers, To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant.

Yu Hua is a Chinese novelist and essayist. Born in 1960, he is regarded by many as the greatest living Chinese writer. During his visit to Bulgaria for this year’s Literary Talks, organized by the Reading Sofia Foundation, he was interviewed by BTA’s Asen Georgiev on April 25, 2025.

The full text of the interview follows below:

What is the most important thing readers in other countries should learn about China?

For me the most important thing is that readers learn about the life and condition of the people in China.

You mention in your book "China in Ten Words" that “counterfeit news” that sometimes is the only source to address certain topics [because it is not an official medium and does not follow the official line – BTA note]. But is there not a danger that people will start believing the “counterfeit” news more than the official media?

– Currently, in China this trend has grown significantly. People prefer not to rely on traditional media for information; instead, they are turning to Douyin, which is the Chinese version of TikTok, and to WeChat, which is similar to Facebook in China [but it also has a payments system – author’s note], on Little Red Book [Xiaohongshu, another Chinese app – author’s note], where fake news abound. Those counterfeits I mentioned in my book had an original source, a model they were copying. They were imitations.

Nowadays, false information appears easily, without any basis in truth. Whenever I see some news, I check whether the same story has been covered in any official media, such as Xinhua. Until recently, I did not have the Xinhua app on my phone, but I downloaded it so I can verify the authenticity of the news. If these items do not appear in those reliable media, it means there is something wrong.

The most important thing is to verify the information I come across. Otherwise, there is often news that someone has died, which turns out to be false; this can only be confirmed by traditional, official media. When it comes to facts, they are very strict, but their approach is to follow the official position. Since I have already lived sixty-five years in China, the only thing that matters to me is to determine whether something is true or not. If you ask me what attitude I have, that is a personal matter, and I am not influenced by anyone else's position.

I suppose you yourself may take positions that influence the opinions of others, as a leader in the cultural sphere.

I am certainly not suited to be a leader, but as a writer, I can express an attitude toward reality that many of my readers share. They see what I write as a reflection of their own feelings.

In your books, you often write about the Cultural Revolution, which is a fascinating period. For you, it is a memory—something you lived through. Do you think that people who were born after that time and have no personal experience can truly understand what it was like?

Younger Chinese should be able to understand the stories I tell. My readers in China range from primary school students to elderly retirees. Everyone knows this – that my audience is broad, from people in their early teens to those over eighty! Many younger readers first learn about the Cultural Revolution through my novels, such as Brothers, To Live, and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant.

What is the role of memory in building Chinese cultural identity?

At present, preserving memory—in China and worldwide—has become more difficult. Each day brings a flood of new information, news, both true and false. It feels like snow falling endlessly as we wait for the sun to appear. We hope the snow will stop and the sun will shine. Here, the sun is our memory. Our memory keeps getting buried under more and more information. Yet, one of the strengths of memory is that it does not vanish. It stays alive in the words or writing of a few people who pass it on over time. These waves of information are like snow that quickly melts when the sun appears. My task is to keep memory alive. Clouds are not pushed away; they scatter on their own.

It is true that the field of literature is shrinking. Each year, fewer people are interested in reading, and the audience for literature is getting smaller. Artificial intelligence is also emerging as a potential replacement for writers. However, I am not worried. I teach writing at a university in China and always remind my students that good writing comes from human individuality. Only writing rooted in individuality can reach a kind of universality that connects with readers.

But after the rise of tools and companies like OpenAI, my perspective shifted. Now I tell my students: your writing must be personal, personal, and again, personal! Artificial intelligence can imitate the universality found in writing, but it cannot capture individuality. The main advantage humans have over artificial intelligence is individuality. The strength of artificial intelligence is in creating universal content. Individuality remains an essential human trait.

One of the strengths of literature is its ability to transform facts into something emotionally impactful that connects with people. Sometimes a fact may seem insignificant or easily forgotten, but through vivid description, literature can make it meaningful and memorable.

What is the reason the violence in your books is described so realistically?

It is probably connected to my experiences as a child during the Cultural Revolution, because it began when I was young. At first, there were violent street clashes between different groups, including the use of firearms. Later, there was a period when certain groups were overthrown and removed from power, with individuals being publicly criticized and beaten. So, violence was a constant part of my life during that time.