Chinese Literature

SS

Cultural Events

Conference of Translators

In August 1954 a national conference of people doing translation work, sponsored by the Chinese Writers’ Union, was held in Peking. Among the 102 people present were Tsao Ching-hua, a translator who has for over thirty years devoted his life to introducing Russian and Soviet literature; Ko Pao-chuan, translator of a collection of Pushkin’s poems; Kuo Mo-jo, translator of Goethe’s Faust; Professor Lo Nien-sheng, translator of the Greek classics, Prometheus and Medea; and Na Hsun, translator of The Thousand and One Nights.. Every translator present was a specialist in his own field. There were translators from the Russian, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish, and also experts in Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and Arabic.

The introduction of foreign literature to China in translation made a tremendous impact on Chinese writers and inspired a new growth of our own literature, After our new literary movement, which started with the May 4th Movement in 1919, many a work took shape by drawing on the rich store of realist, democratic and socialist ideas embodied in modern world literature. That is why the People’s Government has always attached great importance to and encouraged translation of literary works, a work which has been progressing rapidly during the past five years.

Available statistics show that 2,151 translated literary works were published between October 1949 and December 1953. No title had a print of less than thirty or forty thousand, and in some cases the print ran into a million. In 1953, 1 Wen (Translations), a monthly magazine published by the Chinese Writers’ Union for the purpose of introducing world literature, made its first appearance. At the beginning of 1954, twelve volumes of Shakespeare’s Collected Works, thirty-one

in all, were published separately. The whole short life of the translator Chu Sheng-hao—he died at 32—was a struggle against grinding poverty and illness. During the period of Kuomintang rule no attention was paid to his translations. But today, ten years after his death, edited and published by the Writers’ Press, they have been warmly and enthusiastically welcomed by the reading public everywhere. Articles on Chu Sheng-hao and his devoted work published in the newspapers and reviews have aroused widespread interest and sincere respect.

During the translators’ conference, Mao Tun, Chairman of the Chinese

- Writers’-Union, referred to the long his-

tory and glorious tradition of translation work in our country. Brilliant translations of Buddhist scriptures were made as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Translation of modern foreign literature started towards the end of the 19th century, when Lin Shu’s translation of Dumas’ La Dame aux Camellias was printed in wood block form in 1889. But at that time, generally speaking, translations did not attain a very high standard. It was not until after the May 4th Movement that serious and conscientious work, led by Lu Hsun, the pioneer and mentor of China’s new literary movement, was undertaken to introduce world literature. Since then, outstanding foreign works have been constantly introduced to Chinese readers in large numbers.

At this conference, translators of world literature throughout China met for the first time and exchanged information on their experience. At the same time, group discussion helped all of them understand better how important literary translation work is in the development of China’s new culture and in the promotion

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