The Bewitching Braid (Portuguese: A Trança Feiticeira) is a 1993 novel by Henrique de Senna Fernandes, of Macau. It was written originally in Portuguese and published by Fundação Oriente.[1] the English translation of this novel was published by Hong Kong University Press in 2004, with translation by David Brookshaw.[2] The Chinese translation, Dà Biànzi de Yòuhuò (大辮子的誘惑), translated by Yu Hui Yuan, was published by the Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau (澳門文化司署) in 1996.[3]
| The Bewitching Braid | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 大辮子的誘惑 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 大辫子的诱惑 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | The attraction of the big braid | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Portuguese name | |||||||||||
| Portuguese | A Trança Feiticeira | ||||||||||
The novel was adapted into a 1996 film, The Bewitching Braid.
According to Brookshaw, the novel was "politically correct" as the Handover of Macau was imminent. Brookshaw compared the plot to that of Escrava Isaura.[4]
Plot
editThe novel is about a relationship between a Macanese man and a Chinese woman. The story is set in the 1930s.
Adozindo, the man, is of mixed Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese heritage; according to Brooks, his education was geared towards commercial enterprise and "rudimentary".[5] A-Leng, the woman, is of Chinese heritage.
The resolution in which the couple stays together and raises a family, according to Wang Chun, reflects Chinese culture and "especially show[s] a tendency towards a Chinese style of art appreciation."[1]
Release outside of Macau and Hong Kong
editThe HKU Press English version is distributed in the United States by University of Chicago Press.[6]
In Brazil, the novel is published by Gryphus.[7]
References
edit- Brookshaw, David (2000). "Imperial Diasporas and the Search for Authenticity. The Macanese Fiction of Henrique de Senna Fernandes". Lusotopie: Enjeux Contemporains dans les Espaces Lusophones. 7 (1): 271–282. - PDF
Notes
edit- ^ a b Wang, Chun. "MACANESE LITERATURE OF PORTUGUESE EXPRESSION". Translated by Mali Edmonds. Cultural Affairs Bureau. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ "The Bewitching Braid". Hong Kong University Press. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
- ^ "大辮子的誘惑". Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ Brookshaw, "Imperial Diasporas and the Search for Authenticity," p. 279.
- ^ Brooks, p. 278.
- ^ The Bewitching Braid. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ "A Trança Feiticeira". Gryphus. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
Further reading
edit- Suárez, José (2015). ""Exoticism, Cultural Hybridity, and Subaltern Identity in Three Macanese Novels"". Hispanic Studies Faculty Publications. University of Northern Colorado.
- Suárez, José (2020). "Novels and Short Stories from Macau: Two Different Perspectives". Journal of Lusophone Studies. 5 (1): 224–237. doi:10.21471/jls.v5i1.323. - PDF
External links
edit- The source novel on Google Books (English translation published by Hong Kong University Press, 2004, translation by David Brookshaw)
- The Bewitching Braid - Hong Kong University Press
- The Bewitching Braid - University of Chicago Press
- A Trança Feiticeira - Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau (in Portuguese)