SINGAPORE – Originally published 24 years ago, a Chinese-language short story written by Cultural Medallion recipient Chia Joo Ming has now been translated into English, Malay and Tamil and issued in a new 95-page multilingual volume by the National Arts Council (NAC) and National Library Board (NLB).

Titled Squat For Tradition, Sit For Modernity, the story by the acclaimed author is more scattered meditation than tightly wound thriller, gradually building up to a tragicomic inconclusion in the wry style of Chinese writer Lu Xun.