Global appreciation of Chinese literature in Frankfurt
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The Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest, would be "helpful to bring Chinese literature into the world," Veronika Licher, a German publishing expert, said Monday.
This year's Frankfurt Book Fair, which opens Tuesday, has selected China as its Guest of Honor. Hundreds of promotion programs have been organized by the Chinese side and its German host to allow international publishers and local readers to become better acquainted with Chinese culture and literature.
"There are hundreds of titles related to China being shown at the Fair, titles from the mainland, from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and from Chinese authors living abroad," Licher said in a written interview with Xinhua.
"The translation program going along with the invitation for the Guest of Honor -- and several other programs like that of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, for example, -- are very helpful to bring Chinese literature into the world," she added.
Thanks to China's upcoming role in the Frankfurt Book Fair, German readers now have the chance to take home several translated works of Chinese fiction and explore an obscure, far-away world.
"This year we have the chance to buy and read quite a few books, written by Chinese authors, which have been translated into German," Licher said.
Licher, a publishing counselor based in Mannheim, told Xinhua that she herself had introduced several of the new titles at an event in her local library earlier last week.
"And I was impressed how many people were interested," she added.
As a publishing expert, Licher briefed Xinhua on how the German publishing industry introduced Chinese literature into Germany.
"Much has been said about the differences of the book publishing industry in China and Germany: 579 state-owned publishing houses in China versus far more than 2000 private publishing houses, endless discounts versus fixed book prices in Germany ... but the two countries have a lot in common, too: both cultures are very fond of literature and of reading," she observed.
Licher cited the German translation of "Wolf Totem" as an example, a bestseller in China written by Jiang Rong, which was published in Germany in January.
"First of all, Jo Lusby, a Beijing resident and general manager of the British publisher Penguin in China, who is fluent in Chinese, discovered the Chinese version. It was the first title she scooped for translation to English -- and was sold for a record of 100,000 U.S. dollars for its translation rights, a sensation in publishing. The German language rights were sold to Random House at a far lower price ..." she said.
According to Licher, German publishing houses usually have a certain profile. For example, they either focus on children's books or on fiction. From the name of the publishing house, readers can easily find out what kind of books to expect. But not in China.
"The editors are responsible for choosing new titles that might fit with their profile. Unfortunately, there are not so many editors or scouts with Chinese language skills -- so for German publishers it's easier to wait for the French or English translations to read," she explained.
"Once those have come out, they can judge from the reception in the neighboring countries whether the title might be suitable for German readers, too -- which is not always the case!" Licher exclaimed.
She also said that it was more expensive to translate from Chinese to German than from English or French to German "as there are much more translators and it doesn't take so much time."
Licher told Xinhua that quite a lot of German readers were interested in Chinese culture and literature.
"I was even asked (by the German readers) to read a passage which could show the beauty of the Chinese language -- though in German," she said.
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