Megan Shank is an editor, writer and translator living in Shanghai, China.
I wrote a piece for the South China Morning Post last year about Naxi Dongba, but this Times piece about Manchu far surpasses mine because it goes straight to the source: the people. Interesting video clips highlight the piece.
I’m not usually a big fan of Slate pieces. For the most part, I find them to be navel-gazing Americana. But this one resonated with me. I grew up in the state of Nebraska where “gratefulness” and “respectful address” take huge priority over all other social habits — and gratefulness is as much a cultivatable [...]
March 14, 2007
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
If starry-eyed young actors dream of making it big one day on Broadway, what do starry-eyed Broadway producers dream of? China, baby.
Next week the Nederlanders, one of the big three Broadway theater owners, are planning to announce the details of a new company they have formed that, among other things, will [...]
March 16, 2007
By JOSEPH KAHN
BEIJING, Friday, March 16 — After more than a quarter-century of market-oriented economic policies and record-setting growth, China on Friday enacted its first law to protect private property explicitly.
The measure, which was delayed a year ago amid vocal opposition from resurgent socialist intellectuals and old-line, left-leaning members of the ruling Communist [...]
I just want to put this concept out now while it’s fresh in my mind, and I’ll write more about it in the coming week. In fact, how about I make a quiz to help you determine which of these two you lean more towards, and then I’ll reveal the mysteries of both?
Clues: Would the [...]
Updated at 4.51pm:
China would find new ways to make the exchange rate of its currency more flexible, even as it sought to ensure the basic stability of the yuan, the People’s Bank of China said on Monday, while the government announced fresh gains for the country’s trade surplus.
The PBOC announcement came as China posted its [...]
Ran in the March 6 edition. Just got around to it today. I want to follow up on this piece for NWS.
By KEITH BRADSHER
HONG KONG, March 3 — In the insular world of China’s central bank they are known as the Three Xiaos, three women with similar names who oversee the greatest fortune ever [...]
I’ll never forget when I was in Henan doing research on a piece a few years back, and a farmer asked me, “how many acres can any one person get the rental rights to farm in your country?” It’s so hard to say what effects privatization will have. On one hand, there’s the possibility that [...]
I know that most Americans may react to this news with a snort saying, “I know you are (a nation of despicable human rights abusers) but what am I?” but honestly, in order for the U.S. to have any gut in addressing the world’s ills, a little reflection is in order. I also have to [...]
Newsweek Select, March 2007
These little translations are fun to do. The process with them is that I find the writer, we choose the city, I work with the writer on the copy and edit the Chinese for ideas and structure and then I translate the piece into English.
4 Hours In
西双版纳地处彩云之南,它就连名字都充满少数民族的神秘色彩。
Situated in the southern region [...]
Newsweek Select, March 2007
This is an excerpt of some of the translation I did last month. This piece was originally written in the States’ version of the magazine. About 60 percent of our articles are done this way while the other 40 percent is local content. We supplement the articles from other international editions with [...]
Can’t print the entire essay, but I’ll publish here another snippet from my second “To Shanghai with Love” essay. This one is about cycling Tianmu Shan:
Exhausted, we made our way back to the farmhouse where we took turns taking hot showers and grabbing mugs of piping hot and slightly bitter Dragon’s Well tea. Lounging on [...]
Newsweek Select, March 2007
Whether you’re in Shanghai for business or pleasure, you can settle down in comfort and style at these intimate abodes.
Lapis Casa Boutique Hotel (Taicang Road)
If you like the unique vintage furniture in your room, buy it. All the pieces in your room are for sale.
Ruijin Guest House (Ruijin Er Lu)
After [...]
Note: The headline of this story was a replica of the American headline, as was the idea itself, but I completely rewrote and modified the tips and the research for this to run in the Chinese magazine. I’ll post the English version here.
Newsweek Select, March 2007
ENVIRONMENT
Here in China, we’ve already won part of the [...]
Newsweek Select, March 2007
Successful women leaders from various fields share their experience, encourage independent thinking and remind us that with a little integrity and a lot of faith, true success is within anyone’s reach. It’s about dedication rather than destiny, they say, humble beginnings rather than supernovas. Excerpts:
Han Feng
International Fashion Designer
When [...]
Newsweek Select, March 2007
They’re here, they’re queer, they’re Chinese
Story by Peijin Chen with editing by Megan Shank (Shanghai)
Off a quiet Shanghai lane, China’s first gay multiplex is receiving its final touches.
For several months now, the club section of Pink Home has been pumping the beats and pulling in the punters, but the attached hotel and [...]
This one was for books. I didn’t think the headline translated very well, so I sort of did what I could.
Book
A Painful Happiness
Since the beginning of time, the heavens have envied talented mortals. Elizabeth Swados, an active individual within the United States’ art circle, is no exception to the rule. From the age of [...]
I’ve been back for more than a week now, and I promise to post my photos on the Flickr account and to write about my trip on this site soon–and it’s a fun-loving story involving both monkeys and mackerels, so you gotta stay tuned–but in the meantime I wanted to hook up the link to [...]