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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Chinese translation of James Joyce becomes best-seller | Chinese translation of James Joyce becomes best-seller |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A Chinese version of James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake, which took eight years to translate, has become a surprising hit in the country. | |
| Publishers said that a modest initial run of 8,000 copies of the book sold out a little over a month after going on sale. | Publishers said that a modest initial run of 8,000 copies of the book sold out a little over a month after going on sale. |
| The book was promoted on a series of billboards across Shanghai and Beijing, reportedly a first for China. | The book was promoted on a series of billboards across Shanghai and Beijing, reportedly a first for China. |
| A second edition is being printed to meet the demand. | A second edition is being printed to meet the demand. |
| Translator Dai Congrong, who grappled with the text for eight years to produce the Chinese version, told a literary forum that she had tried to keep her version as complex as the original. | Translator Dai Congrong, who grappled with the text for eight years to produce the Chinese version, told a literary forum that she had tried to keep her version as complex as the original. |
| "I would not be faithful to the original intent of the novel if my translation made it easy to comprehend," she said, according to the Associated Press. | "I would not be faithful to the original intent of the novel if my translation made it easy to comprehend," she said, according to the Associated Press. |
| The Shanghai News and Publishing Bureau said the novel's sales in Shanghai last week were second only to a new biography of Deng Xiaoping in the category of "good books," a term reserved for more serious reads. | The Shanghai News and Publishing Bureau said the novel's sales in Shanghai last week were second only to a new biography of Deng Xiaoping in the category of "good books," a term reserved for more serious reads. |
| During the 1980s and 1990s the demand for translations of foreign-language novels exploded though it has since cooled. | During the 1980s and 1990s the demand for translations of foreign-language novels exploded though it has since cooled. |
| Joyce's Ulysses was warmly received when it was first translated in the mid-1990s. | Joyce's Ulysses was warmly received when it was first translated in the mid-1990s. |
| But some critics say the latest translation, of a work that has divided critics with its stream of consciousness style and unusual language, has pandered to a superficial demand among some Chinese for high-brow imports. | But some critics say the latest translation, of a work that has divided critics with its stream of consciousness style and unusual language, has pandered to a superficial demand among some Chinese for high-brow imports. |
| "Pushed by a current of unprecedented vanity," is how Shanghai native and New York-based writer Li Jie described the "Finnegans Wake" phenomenon in a post on his microblog, the Associated Press reported. | "Pushed by a current of unprecedented vanity," is how Shanghai native and New York-based writer Li Jie described the "Finnegans Wake" phenomenon in a post on his microblog, the Associated Press reported. |
| Meanwhile, state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Jiang Xiaoyuan, a professor at Shanghai's Jiaotong University, as saying: "Joyce must have been mentally ill to create such a novel." | Meanwhile, state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Jiang Xiaoyuan, a professor at Shanghai's Jiaotong University, as saying: "Joyce must have been mentally ill to create such a novel." |