Pierre Ryckmans (28 September 1935 – 11 August 2014), better known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Simon Leys, was a Belgian-Australian writer, essayist and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

, translator, art historian,

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

, and university professor, who lived in Australia from 1970. His work particularly focused on the politics and traditional culture of China, calligraphy, French and English literature, the commercialization of universities, and nautical fiction. Through the publication of his trilogy ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (1971), ''Ombres chinoises'' (1974) and ''Images brisées'' (1976), he denounced the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

in China and the idolizing of Mao in the West.

Ian Buruma Ian Buruma (born 28 December 1951) is a Dutch writer and editor who lives and works in the United States. In 2017, he became editor of ''The New York Review of Books'', but left the position in September 2018. Much of his writing has focused on t ...

"The Man Who Got It Right"
''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', 15 August 2013; also: Ian Buruma
"The Man Who Got It Right"
chinafile.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020.

Biography

Pierre Ryckmans was born in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

, an upper-middle-class district of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, to a prominent Belgian family living in a house on Avenue des Aubépines. He was the son of a publisher, the grandson of Alfonse Ryckmans, an

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and vice president of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, the nephew of Pierre Ryckmans, a governor general of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

, and Gonzague Ryckmans, a professor at the

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

and a recognized expert of Arabic epigraphy.

Philippe Paquet Philippe Paquet is a former champion jockey from France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Sai ...

" Le sinologue belge Simon Leys est décédé "
''

La Libre Belgique ''La Libre Belgique'' (; ), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in both Brussels and Wallonia. ''La Libre'' was ...

'', 11 août 2014. Pierre Mertens
"Réception de Simon Leys"
Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique, 30 May 1992. He attended the Servites de Marie primary school near his home, then studied Greek and Latin humanities at the Cardinal Mercier diocesan school in

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; ; ) is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud ...

. There, one of his teachers, abbé Voussure, "finished ingraining in him an unwavering Christian faith." From 1953 he studied law and art history at the

. In 1955, his father died prematurely. In May, he became a member of a delegation of ten young Belgians invited to spend a month in China. During that visit he took part in a conversation with

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

, the Premier of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.Daniel Sanderson
"An Interview with Pierre Ryckmans"
''China Heritage Quarterly'', No. 26, June 2011. As a result, he became sympathetic to the

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

regime: "I confidently extended to the Maoist regime the same sympathy that I felt for all things Chinese." He returned from the trip with the view that "it would be inconceivable to live in this world, in our age, without a good knowledge of Chinese language and a direct access to Chinese culture". Upon his return to Belgium, he finished his studies in art history and began to learn calligraphy. In the summer of 1958, he travelled to Étel, a port in French

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, to board one of the last remaining tuna boats. The account he wrote of the fishing expedition was only published 45 years later, under the title ''Prosper''. After being awarded a small bursary from the Chiang Kai-shek government, he enrolled at the Fine Arts department of the

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

. There he studied under the guidance of Puru, a cousin of

Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

, the last emperor, and did some research for his future PhD dissertation on Shitao, a Chinese painter at the time of the

Qing empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. After completing his studies in Taiwan in 1960, he was called up for military service in Belgium. Instead, he chose to become a conscientious objector and perform civil service in the field of development cooperation for the next three years. First, thanks to the intervention of Eurasian writer Han Suyin, he was able to take up a part-time student and teaching job at

Nanyang University Nanyang University () was a private university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the University of Singapore ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. However, in 1963, under suspicion of being a communist by the

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

regime, he had to pack up and leave for

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, at the time a British colony. For two years he taught at the

New Asia College New Asia College is a List of the constituent colleges of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, constituent college of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a public university in New Territories, Hong Kong. The College was founded in 1949 by a g ...

, one of the colleges of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

. He lived in a

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

squatter area, sharing with three friends a small accommodation they dubbed Wu Yong Tang (《無用堂》the "hall of uselessness") and living a life redolent of an Eastern '' Scènes de la vie de bohème''. He supplemented his income by writing summaries of articles from the mainland Chinese press and collecting testimonies from refugees from the mainland on behalf of the Belgian diplomatic delegation.Laurent Six
"Aux origines d’''Ombres chinoises'': une mission de six mois au service de l'ambassade de Belgique en République populaire de Chine"
''Textyles'', N. 34, 2008, pp. 65–77. He also gleaned information from '' China News Analysis'', a weekly publication produced in Hong Kong by the Jesuit scholar Father László Ladány. These reports would become the basis of his 1971 book ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (translated as ''The Chairman's New Clothes''). He also taught courses at the local

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

. In 1964, he married Han Fang Chang, a journalist he met in Taiwan, and became the father of twins in 1967.Biographie de Simon Leys
''Who's who''.Philippe Paquet

''Lalibre.be'', 12 December 2011. While in Hong Kong, Ryckmans was introduced to French sinologist

René Viénet René Viénet (born 6 February 1944, in Le Havre) is a French sinologist who is famous as a situationist writer and filmmaker. Viénet used the situationist technique of détournement — the diversion of already existing cultural elements to n ...

, then a member of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, by another sinologist, Jacques Pimpaneau, whom he had met at the New Asian College. René Viénet, who took the view that Chinese press reports on the

were less sanitized than the writings of Western journalists and sinologists, obtained Pierre Ryckmans's agreement for his essay ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' to be published in Paris by Champ Libre, a publishing house run by Gérard Lebovici. For his PhD thesis, Ryckmans chose to translate and comment on a masterpiece of the history of Chinese art, the treatise on painting by Shitao. It was published in 1970 by the Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises in Brussels, under the title ''Propos sur la peinture du moine Citrouille-amère de Shitao. Contribution à l'étude terminologique des théories chinoises de la peinture''.Rowan Callick
Pierre Ryckmans’ early books triggered outrage and controversy in Europe
''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', 12 August 2014. On his publisher's advice, he decided to assume a pen name to avoid being declared ''persona non grata'' in the

. He chose "Simon" as his first name, a reference to the original name of the Apostle Peter, and "Leys" as his second name, a tribute to the main character of Victor Segalen's ''René Leys'' published in 1922, in which a Belgian teenager residing in Peking in the final days of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

entertains his employer with accounts of the intrigues and conspiracies taking place behind the walls of the imperial palace. It is also suggested that his nom de plume is an allusion to a dynasty of painters from Antwerp under the name of Leys, with Henri Leys as its most famous representative. In 1970 Ryckmans settled in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and he taught Chinese literature at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, where he supervised the honours thesis of future Australian Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

. He returned to China in 1972 for six months as a cultural attaché for the Belgian Embassy in Beijing. In 1983 Ryckmans appeared on the literary talk show '' Apostrophes'' on French television. The host, Bernard Pivot, had also invited Maria-Antonietta Macciocchi, a "China expert" and author of the book ''Dalla Cina''. After the latter had waxed lyrical on the subject of the New China, Ryckmans responded ferociously, pointing out errors of fact that suggested she had not verified her sources before writing her book, a work that he judged as being "d'une stupidité totale" (totally stupid) or "une escroquerie" (a fraud). In the period 1987–93, he was Professor of Chinese Studies at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. He took early retirement, later explaining that, near the end, "deep modifications" had begun to affect universities in Australia and worldwide, "transformations ... progressively taking the university further away from the model to which I had originally devoted my life". Following his retirement he returned to Canberra, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He died of cancer in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

at the age of 78, in August 2014, surrounded by his wife and four children, Etienne, Jeanne, Louis and Marc.

Works

Ryckmans wrote in French, English and Chinese. His books on the Chinese

and on Maoist China - beginning with his trilogy ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (1971), ''Ombres chinoises'' (1974) and ''Images brisées'' (1976) - gave scathing descriptions of the cultural and political destruction in mainland China while denouncing the hypocrisy of its western defenders. In 1971, on the advice of his publisher, he decided to adopt a pseudonym before the release of ''Les habits neufs du président Mao'', in order to avoid the risk of becoming a ''persona non grata'' in the People's Republic of China. He chose "Leys" after the main character of Victor Segalen's novel ''René Leys'' (published in 1922). During the 1970s these books by Ryckmans provoked intense hostility among many Western intellectuals,Josh Freedman
The Sincere Indignation of Simon Leys
chinachannel.org, 19 March 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019. particularly the French Maoists associated with the journal '' Tel Quel'' (such as Philippe Sollers) and attracted attacks from daily newspapers such as ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

''. However, he was defended by some intellectuals such as Jean-François Revel and Étiemble. In 1996 he delivered the Boyer Lectures on the theme "Aspects of Culture", in which he argued the need to cultivate the gardens of the mind and which were later published as ''The View from the Bridge: Aspects of Culture'' (1996). Ryckmans was also a translator of Chinese literature, such as the ''

Analects of Confucius The ''Analects'', also known as the ''Sayings of Confucius'', is an ancient Chinese philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled by his followers. ...

'' and ''The Treatise on Painting'' by Shitao. His translation of ''The Analects of Confucius'' (1997) sought to introduce readers to "the real, living Confucius" rather than the official Confucian cult portraying him as "always proper, a bit pompous, slightly boring" — and appropriated by authoritarians.Rowan Callick
"Pierre Ryckmans’ early books triggered outrage and controversy in Europe"
''

'', 12 August 2014. The 2001 film '' The Emperor's New Clothes'', directed by Alan Taylor, was based on Leys' novel ''The Death of Napoleon''. Leys expressed distaste for the film, however; stating in an afterword accompanying a reprint of the novel that this "latter avatar 'The Emperor's New Clothes'' by the way, was both sad and funny: sad, because Napoleon was interpreted to perfection by an actor (

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

) whose performance made me dream of what could have been achieved had the producer and director bothered to read the book." His collection of essays, ''The Hall of Uselessness'' (2011), revealed the scope of his eccentric interests, wit and insights. His translation (2013) of

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( ; ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality, and politics have remained widely influential in cont ...

’s 1940 essay ''On the Abolition of All Political Parties'' was inspired, he said, by the "toxic atmosphere" that had started to pollute Australian politics. He wrote regularly for the English-language press — ''

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', '' Quadrant'', and ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

'' — and for the French-language press — ''

L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

'', ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and conservative news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines. ''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''L'Express'' and quickly rose to be ...

'', ''

Le Figaro littéraire ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...

'', and '' Le Magazine Littéraire''. He was a fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

, an Honorary Commander of the French Navy and member of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique. He received many awards including the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

's Prix Jean Walter, prix d’histoire et de sociologie, the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the Prix Goncour ...

de l'essai, the Prix Henri Gal, the Prix Femina, the

Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award from France. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by French b ...

, the Prix Guizot-Calvados, the Prix Quinquernal de Literature, and the Christina Stead Prize for fiction.

Bibliography

Shen Fu Shen Fu (; 26 December 1763 – after 1825), courtesy name Sanbai (), was a Chinese literature, Chinese writer of the Qing Dynasty, best known for his autobiography ''Six Records of a Floating Life''. Life Shen Fu was born in Changzhou (长� ...

, '' Six récits au fil inconstant des jours'' (Brussels: Maison Ferdinand Larcier, 1966) - translation from Chinese to French by Pierre Ryckmans, with a preface by Yves Hervouet * Shitao, ''Les propos sur la peinture du moine Citrouille-amère'' (Brussels: Institut Belge des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1970) - translation from Chinese to French and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * Kouo Mo-jo (Guo Moruo), ''Autobiographie : mes années d'enfance'' (Paris: Gallimard, 1970, Collection "Connaissance de l'Orient") - translation from Chinese to French by Pierre Ryckmans * ''La Vie et l’œuvre de Su Renshan, rebelle, peintre, et fou, 1814-1849?'' (Paris and Hong Kong: Centre de publication de l'U.E.R. Extrême-Orient-Asie du Sud-Est de l'Université de Paris, 1971. 2 volumes). * ''Les habits neufs du président Mao: chronique de la "Révolution culturelle"'' (Paris: Champ libre, 1971) * ''Ombres chinoises'' (Paris: 10/18, 1974) * Lu Xun, ''La mauvaise herbe'' (Paris: 10/18, 1975) – translation from Chinese to French and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * ''Images brisées'' (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1976) * '' Chinese Shadows'' (New York: Viking Press, 1977) * ''The Chairman's New Clothes: Mao and the Cultural Revolution'' (London:

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...

, 1979; New York: St Martin's Press, 1977) * ''Human Rights in China'' (United Daily Newspaper, 1979) * ''Broken Images: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics'' (London: Allison & Busby, 1979; New York: St Martin's Press, 1980) * ''La Forêt en feu: Essais sur la culture et la politique chinoises'' (Paris: Hermann, 1983) * Yao Ming-le, ''Enquête sur la mort de Lin Biao''. Preface by Simon Leys. (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1983) * ''Orwell, ou l'horreur de la politique'' (Paris: Hermann, 1984; Plon, 2006) * ''The Burning Forest: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics'' (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985) * ''La Mort de Napoléon'' (Paris: Herrmann, 1986)
"The Chinese Attitude Towards the Past"
(presented as the Forty-seventh Morrison Lecture, 16 July 1986; republished i
''China Heritage Quarterly''
No. 14, June 2008) * Confucius, '' Les Entretiens de Confucius'' (Paris: Gallimard, 1987) – translation from Chinese to French, notes and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans *

Richard Henry Dana Jr. Richard Henry Dana Jr. (August 1, 1815 – January 6, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of a colonial family, who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir ''Two Years Before the Mast'' a ...

, ''Deux années sur le gaillard d'avant'' (Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1990) – translation from English to French and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * ''L'humeur, l'honneur, l'horreur: Essais sur la culture et la politique chinoises'' (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1991) * '' The Death of Napoleon'' (London: Quartet Books, 1991; Sydney: Allen & Unwin Australia, 1991) * ''Aspects of Culture'' (Boyer Lectures, 1996): Lecture 1
"Introduction; Learning"
Lecture 2
"Reading"
Lecture 3
"Writing"
Lecture 4
"Going Abroad and Staying Home"
* ''The View from the Bridge: Aspects of Culture'' (Sydney: ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1996) * Confucius, '' The Analects of Confucius'' (New York/London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1997) – translation from Chinese to English and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * ''Essais sur la Chine'' (Paris: Laffont, 1998, Collection " Bouquins") * ''L'Ange et le Cachalot'' (Paris: Seuil, 1998) * ''The Angel and the Octopus: Collected Essays, 1983–1998'' (Sydney: Duffy and Snellgrove, 1999) * ''Protée et autres essais'' (Paris: Gallimard, 2001) – awarded the 2001

de l'Essai * ''La Mer dans la littérature française: de François Rabelais à Pierre Loti'' (Paris: Plon, 2003. 2 volumes.) * ''Les Naufragés du Batavia'', suivi de ''Prosper'' (Paris:

Arléa Arléa is a French publishing house created in 1986. Arléa publishes thirty new titles each year, including pocket ones. His catalog contains more than a thousand titles: the great classics of Antiquity (whether Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit or ...

, 2003) – awarded the 2004 Prix Guizot-Calvados * ''The Wreck of the Batavia: A True Story'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2005) * ''Les Idées des autres, idiosyncratiquement compilées pour l'amusement des lecteurs oisifs'' (Paris, Plon: 2005) * ''Other People's Thoughts: Idiosyncratically compiled by Simon Leys for the amusement of idle readers'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2007) * ''The Hall of Uselessness: Collected Essays'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2011) * ''Le Studio de l'inutilité'' (Paris: Flammarion, 2012) *

, ''On the Abolition of All Political Parties'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2013) – translation from French to English by Pierre Ryckmans For a more comprehensive list of his publications in various languages and editions, see WorldCat fo
Pierre Ryckmans
an
Simon Leys
see also thi
list of articles by Simon Leys
in ''The New York Review of Books''.

References

External links

* Simon Leys

MorningSun.org website, n.d. (originally published 1978). * Pierre Ryckmans

Extract from the 1996 Boyer Lectures. * David Warren
"Anatomy of a Tyrant"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', 10 June 2007. * Laurent Six
"Aux origines d’Ombres chinoises: une mission de six mois au service de l’ambassade de Belgique en République populaire de Chine"
''Textyles'', 34, 2008. * Daniel Sanderson
"An Interview with Pierre Ryckmans"
''China Heritage Quarterly'', No. 26, June 2011. * Geordie Williamson
"Simon Leys' essays reveal a writer cunning like a hedgehog"
''

'', 16 July 2011. * Pierre Ryckmans, Phillip Adams
"A Conversation with Pierre Ryckmans"
'' Late Night Live'', 11 August 2011. *

"The Man Who Got It Right"
(review of ''The Hall of Uselessness''), ''

'', 15 August 2013; also see
archive copy
* Luke Slattery

''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', 23 August 2014. * Rowan Callick
"Chairman’s New Clothes author Pierre Ryckmans dies aged 78"
''The Australian'', 11 August 2014. * Rowan Callick
"Pierre Ryckmans’ early books triggered outrage and controversy in Europe"
''The Australian'', 12 August 2014. * Michael Forsythe

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 14 August 2014. * Murray Bail
"Pierre Ryckmans: Remembering a man of letters, and a friend"
''

'', October 2014.
Pierre Ryckmans (Simon Leys) Quotes
(English and French quotes), wideworldofquotes.com website.
''The Emperor's New Clothes''
(film review), IMDb.com website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leys, Simon 1935 births 2014 deaths * 20th-century Belgian male writers Belgian emigrants to Australia Belgian sinologists Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney Academic staff of the Australian National University Prix Femina winners Prix Renaudot de l'essai winners Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chinese–French translators English–French translators Belgian writers in French Australian sinologists Australian essayists Australian male writers Quadrant (magazine) people Members of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique 20th-century translators

Biography

Works

Bibliography

See also

Further reading

References

External links