He would like to see "a really rigorous journal devoted to such reviews of contemporary Chinese literature in English".

Mackerras thinks the list reflects a lack of appreciation of the Chinese approach to contemporary fiction.

"The kind of people who will read The Telegraph have an inbuilt assumption that it is a major function of a contemporary novel to criticize contemporary society and the politics of the day. They think Chinese novels do that much less than, say, Indian ones," Mackerras says.

But he believes awareness is improving.

"If I compare knowledge and appreciation of Chinese culture in the world now with what it was 50, 30, 20, or even 10 years ago, the situation is much better now," Mackerras says.

Gray says that all of the novels listed have sound English versions; some are even originally written in English by Asian writers. More people in the West are becoming interested in Chinese culture, he says, and Chinese movies and modern novels now receive a lot of attention.

In the meantime, the Chinese government is helping publishers and writers promote Chinese writing abroad, and good translations are more important than ever.

Castro says he read Mo Yan's Sandalwood Deaths and enjoyed it, "because the translation was very good".

But he also acknowledges that "what gets translated is often a lottery".

WHAT THEY SAY

I would put in the list The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun. Although it's tragic, I think it is both a wonderful social document for its time, and beautifully and powerfully written by a master who really knew how to construct and write a story as well as how to appeal to human emotions. And it uses irony to very powerful effect.

COLIN MACKERRAS, Australian Sinologist

The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki might have been included since it is considered the first novel in the world tradition.

MARK S. FERRARA, associate professor at the State University of New York

The list, like all lists that compare works of art, should be seen more as fun fodder for discussion than important critical judgment. It's just one subjective judgment among others. Yu Hua's To Live also could legitimately be included on such a list.

CARLIN ROMANO, visiting professor at Peking University and author of America the Philosophical

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