Interview: Han Dong & Philip Hand H an Dong was born in 1961 in Nanjing, and shortly afterwards he and his parents were banished to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. After going on to study and teach philosophy at Shandong University and colleges in Xi'an and Nanjing, Han Dong began writing and publishing poetry and by the 1990s was regarded as one of the finest avant-garde poets of his generation. He has since become increasingly influential as an essayist, short story writer, blogger and novelist. His story, ' The Wig ', was the focus of the 2012 Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize, which received over seventy entries, all translations of Dong's hilarious and enigmatic story. The winning translator, Philip Hand, spoke to the author about the drawing inspiration from the classic comedies of the Ming and Qing dynasties, his poetry and enticing the reader. PH: The central character in your story, Hu Yanjun, is somewhat hard to like -- drawn, as he is, to wearing a wig in order to assert his self-importance and unable to take it off without masturbating -- but does likability really matter in stories? HD: I don't like Hu Yanjun, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I dislike him. I guess readers won't like the character, and that could be something of an obstacle as they are reading. But this story wasn't written to make readers like it. I'm not writing for Reader's Digest -- if I were, this would certainly