Latin America is an "exotic land" that most Chinese people don't know much about. For Latin Americans, China on the other side of the ocean is also very unfamiliar. But at the Mexican Academy, a group of scholars and students are committed to the translation of contemporary Chinese literature into Mexico.
April 23 is the "World Reading Day". The Cultural Communication Center of the China Foreign Publishing Administration held a global cultural salon and a forum for Chinese and foreign writers. The current situation of literature dissemination in Latin America, and interaction with college students, to further strengthen the exchange of cultural scholars between China and Latin America, and promote cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Latin America. This is also the first event of the "Global Culture Salon".

"Reading during the Quarantine Period - Selected Chinese Short Stories"

The activity revolved around a new book that has not yet been published: "Reading during the Quarantine Period - Selected Chinese Short Stories". The origin of this book originated from the idea of Liljana Arsovska, a well-known Mexican sinologist and professor of the Mexican Academy.
In 2020, the new crown epidemic is raging. During the epidemic, the lives of Mexicans were also greatly affected, and university teaching was conducted online for a long time. "How can we keep everyone together during the quarantine period? Chinese literature provides a good opportunity." Liana thought that she could convene Latin American sinologists and students to translate a selection of contemporary Chinese short stories, so that everyone can overcome the opposition through this project. The fear of the virus allows Latin American readers to better understand Chinese contemporary literature, as well as understand China through contemporary fiction.

Professor Liana shares her thoughts on the translation and introduction of contemporary Chinese literature through a video link

After Liana talked about the idea with Sun Xintang, director of the Latin American Studies Center of Beijing Language and Culture University, who was teaching at the University of Chile at the time, and professor at the University of Congress of Argentina, the two immediately began to work, with Fan Tongxin, a young translator who lived at Liana's house. Together with Chinese writers, we began to compile and select the works of writers representing different generations, schools and styles of contemporary China as far as possible.
The Spanish title Los cuarenta de la cuarentena literally translates to "forty articles during the forty-day quarantine period", but it is a homonym in Spanish, which is very eye-catching and unforgettable. This book contains a total of 43 contemporary Chinese writers, each with one piece, including Mo Yan, Han Shaogong, Wang Meng, Feng Jicai, Jia Pingwa, Su Tong, Alai, Bi Shumin, etc., as well as Xu Zechen, Lu Yuan, Lu Min, Dong Xia, etc. Qingqing, Chen Peng, A Yi, Zheng Xiaolu and other new generation writers. Chinese writers are very supportive and generously donate manuscripts, and none of them charge copyright fees.
The book is edited and translated by Liana and Sun Xintang, and most of Latin American sinologists and young translators such as Luo Baolu, La Diana, Antonio Rodriguez, Juan Pablo Hauregui participated in the book. , and a graduate student at the Center for Asian-African Studies at the Mexican Academy. During the translation period, sinologists and translators had many online discussions regarding the difficulties in the text.
What makes Liana gratified is that during the translation process, many students have improved their Chinese proficiency, learned a lot of Chinese culture, and have a better understanding of contemporary Chinese literature. The distance between teachers and students is closer, and they are also closer to China.
Sun Xintang introduced that after the compilation of the book was completed, it was supported by the Chinese Writers Association, and finally the Chinese Writers Association cooperated with the Mexican Academy and was published by the Mexican Academy Press. The Mexican Academy also attaches great importance to the publication of this book, and invites translators to read the translated works, which will be published on the official channel of the Center for Asian and African Studies of the Mexican Academy.
"Latin America doesn't know enough about China. Chinese literature, especially Chinese contemporary literature, entered Mexico relatively late, and everyone doesn't understand it. It is very important to introduce Chinese literature to Latin America through translation." Na's favorite job, she has translated novels by writers such as Liu Zhenyun, Jia Pingwa, Fang Fang, Jia Pingwa, Xu Zechen, and short stories by more than 20 writers including Mo Yan, Yu Hua, and Tie Ning, and is committed to recommending Chinese contemporary literature to Mexico.
At the event, Liana shared her experience in the translation and introduction of contemporary Chinese novels through a connection. She pointed out that China has a long history and culture, and the Chinese language is extensive and profound. As a translator, without the support of cultural background, translation work often faces certain challenges. She believes that in the translation work, the mastery of language skills only accounts for 50%, and the rest depends on the understanding of culture. For example, "Siheyuan" is a unique traditional architectural form in China, but there is no corresponding vocabulary in Spanish. The cultural characteristics contained in the building need to be incorporated into the translation so that overseas readers can understand its meaning.

Sun Xintang and Liana co-edited "Reading during the Quarantine Period - Selected Chinese Short Stories"

Liana also encountered many similar problems during the compilation of "Reading during the Quarantine Period - Selected Chinese Short Stories". She believes that integrating the characteristics of Chinese culture in the translation process and explaining the differences between Chinese and Western cultures will help to help Overseas readers better understand the cultural stories behind the words.
Sun Xintang, director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Beijing Language and Culture University and professor at the Argentine Congress University, said that he is willing to work with Professor Liana to help spread Chinese literature in Latin America and help more Chinese writers' works enter Latin America. When he and Professor Liana compiled "Reading during the Quarantine Period - Selected Chinese Short Stories", they not only selected the works of Mo Yan, Wang Zengqi, Han Shaogong and others, but also included the works of some new generation Chinese writers. He believes that "selecting works in this way can more comprehensively reflect the basic situation of contemporary Chinese literature."

At the event site, the first from the right in the front row is Sun Xintang, and the second from the right is Lu Yuan

Young writer Lu Yuan shared his understanding of Latin American literature and his own experience in literary creation and publishing. He said that if the 1980s and 1990s when China introduced foreign literature was called the "Golden Age", then the last ten years should be the "Silver Age". "Chinese writers are no strangers to Latin American literature, especially Garcia Marr. The works of Latin American writers such as Alex and Juan Rulfo are already must-reads for literature lovers.”
During the on-site interactive session, the guests and college students exchanged views on topics such as Chinese and Latin American literature and translation. The guests said that with the more frequent and close cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Latin America, cultural exchanges play an important role in promoting the development of China-Latin America relations. How to break through the barriers of cultural background and make Chinese and Latin American literary works better understood by readers is still a process that requires continuous exploration.
The event was co-organized by the Center for Latin American Studies of Beijing Language and Culture University, China Writers Network, China Network Cultural Development Center, and Starlight Volunteer Association.