I was born in China and moved to the United States around age 10. By day, I work in communications, content strategy, and web development. By night (and weekends), I produce podcasts where I retell classic Chinese tales in English and make them more approachable for Western audiences.
I began producing the first of these podcasts in April 2014. Much of my knowledge of the stories I cover comes from reading them and listening to them on the radio as a kid. In fact, many Chinese from my generation have childhood memories of huddling around a radio, listening to master storytellers bring well-known, centuries-old tales to life, continuing a Chinese oral tradition that dates back nearly a millennium. To me, podcasts seem to be the natural next iteration in that tradition and the perfect vehicle for introducing new audiences to these stories.
Here are a few interviews I have done about this project:
- Interview on the Sinica Podcast
- Interview on Podcasting Smarter
- Interview on the Mandarin Slang Guide podcast
- Interview on Journey to the West: The Podcast
- Roundtable discussion on Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast
- Interview on Asian Fantasy Fiction Podcast
- Interview on Podbean’s Storytelling Podcast Week
You can find out more about me and my professional work at johnzhu.com.