Science fiction and fantasy often concerns itself with worlds just beyond our ken — and science fiction and fantasy in translation can add another layer of mystery (some would say complication) to the proceedings, as we struggle to grasp strange goings-on while also negotiating unfamiliar cultural quirks and references. Those willing to tackle such a task will find much to enjoy in these sprightly twenty-two tales and essays, all written and translated by Chinese female and nonbinary authors and editors. While many of the stories contained within The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories flirt with inexplicability, their charm and freshness cut through translation barriers.
Given the writers involved, one might expect The Way Spring Arrives to subvert norms of gender and sexual identity — and indeed, Chu Xidao's delicate, feathery "The Portrait" literalizes the act of being seen and possessed, as the privileged male gaze of a master painter who devotes his work to objectifying women is upended by a female apprentice who outdoes him at his own art. Gender subjugation crosses species barriers in Shen Yingying's "Dragonslaying," in which "dragonslayers" are surgeons who perform procedures on fish-like creatures, transforming them into desirable women who can be sold to the rich.
For the most part, though, The Way Spring Arrives avoids direct commentary in favor of fable-like whimsy and fluidity, leavened with notes of melancholy. In Xiu Xinyu's "The Stars We Raised," stars are possessed by children like pets, then ground into brilliant dust when they fade — a fate that a sensitive schoolboy tries to circumvent, with fateful results. Earth-shaking events of another sort form the plot of Wang Nuonuo's titular story, in which a young man pursues a woman who has the power to initiate the changing of seasons. Fanciful conceits such as flying fish ushering hot water from a gigantic stove to the sea, wishes tied to the backs of meteors, and the Earth's axis being physically pulled into place gesture towards the epic strains of ancient Chinese mythology.
Many of the tales incorporate magical Chinese beasts of lore. In Count E's good-natured "The Tale of Wude's Heavenly Tribulation," a fox's attempts to "cultivate" himself towards godhood lead to humorous encounters with snakes, bears and fake thunder gods. Xia Jia's "What Does the Fox Say?" deviates from straightforward narrative entirely, spinning the well-known phrase "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" into a cavalcade of musings and leaps of imagination that reference everything from Alice in Wonderland to Virginia Woolf and Alan Turing, leaving the ultimate task of interpretation to us, the bemused readers.
The meatiest story in the collection is Nian Yu's "A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters as Told in a Sinitic Language," which chronicles the history of a race of water-dwelling beings that stretch across the galaxy and eventually encounter humankind. Touching on interstellar travel, global warming and genocide, the story is a bittersweet scrapbook of memories taken from races long lost — including, yes, the human race.
Interspersed with these fictions are essays that ponder the state of women and nonbinaries in Chinese literature, as well as the very real, vexing issues that come with translation. In her closing essay, Rebecca F. Kuang sums up the collection's value: "Translators are people who are used to being on the outside, who are used to navigating hidden spaces, and who are familiar with the challenge of making themselves understood." The Way Spring Arrives is a fascinating sampler written by outsiders investigating hidden spaces, who tackle the challenge of being understood (and seen) with aplomb.