Editor's note:

The 2023 Beijing Cultural Forum will be held in Beijing on September 9-14. With the permanent theme of "inheritance, innovation and mutual learning" and the annual theme of "inheritance of excellent culture and promotion of exchanges and cooperation", this forum is committed to creating a platform for displaying cultural construction achievements, an exchange platform for cultural construction experience, a cooperation platform for cultural innovation and development, and a communication platform for civilizational exchanges and mutual learning.

The "East-West Question" column of China News Service specially launched a series of plans to interview some domestic and foreign experts and scholars attending the forum to conduct in-depth discussions on topics related to cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and foreign civilizations. The manuscript will be broadcast successively from September 9, so please pay attention to it.

Utrecht, 9 September (ZXS) -- Human nature is connected, and cultural exchanges will allow each other to understand each other better

——Interview with Dutch sinologist Shi Lu

China News Agency reporter De Yongjian

In Dutch sinology, Annelous Stiggelbout is regarded as a representative figure of young sinologists. A graduate of the prestigious Leiden University School of Sin, Shi Lu worked at the Dutch Embassy in China before returning to the Netherlands in 2013 to found Focus Chinees, dedicated to translating Chinese literature and promoting Sino-Dutch cultural exchanges.

From Yu Hua and Liu Zhenyun to Han Han and Zhang Yueran, from novels to contemporary poetry, from literary criticism to recommendation articles, Shi Lu has translated Chinese literature for more than ten years, examined Chinese literature, spared no effort to build a "bridge" connecting Chinese literature and Dutch readers, and is also one of the few full-time translators of Chinese literary works in the Dutch translation industry.

In mid-September, Shi Lu attended the 9 Beijing Cultural Forum in China and participated in a roundtable discussion on "Dialogue between Chinese Literature and the World". On the eve of departure, the reporter of "East-West Question" of China News Agency went to the Netherlands to interview Shi Lu to discuss topics such as Chinese literary translation, overseas promotion and even cultural exchanges between East and West.

On September 9, the 14 Beijing Cultural Forum opened. Photo by China News Agency reporter Han Haidan

The following is a summary of the interview:

China News Agency: Can you tell us about your personal experience? How did you embark on the road of Chinese literary translation back then?

Shi Lu: I have loved languages since I was a child, and when I was in middle school, I decided that I wanted to study a foreign language at university. At that time, my parents wanted to travel to China, but in the end they did not succeed, but left some books about China, I read these books first, and then went to the library to read some books about China, slowly became more and more interested in China, and finally decided to study Chinese at the School of Sinology of Leiden University.

In 2002, when I was in my third year of university, I went to China for the first time and studied abroad at Beijing Language and Culture University for a year. At first it felt like everything was different from the Netherlands, and the "culture shock" was very big, until once I told a friend "everything is different here" and the friend said "yes, but isn't it interesting", I thought it made sense, and then the opinion changed.

I am very fond of literature myself, and in 2006, Wenhuo Magazine, a quarterly Dutch magazine specializing in Chinese literature (editor's note: now discontinued), asked me to translate an excerpt from a novel, and I began to translate Chinese literary works; After returning to the Netherlands in 2013 from my work at the Dutch Embassy in China, I collaborated with another translator, Mathilda Banfield, to translate my first Chinese book, Han Han's "Youth", and then founded Reva Translations, specializing in Chinese literary translation.

China News Agency: What is the most difficult part of translating Chinese literary works? What's the most interesting part?

Shi Lu: Chinese is very different from Dutch, and there are some words that are not in Dutch, such as "kang". The Netherlands does not have "kang", there is no corresponding word, many translations are directly transliterated as "kang", and then explain that in northern China, in winter, you need to sit or sleep in a warmer place, that is, "kang"; I was translating Yu Hua's novel "Wencheng" and encountered many problems similar to "kang".

Every writer has different writing habits and different challenges when translating. When I translated Sanmao's Sahara Years, the biggest challenge was the name. Some of the names and place names in the book may have been translated by Sanmao herself, but I had never heard of it, so I had to look up the original Arabic language according to her translation, and then translate the Arabic into Dutch.

The most interesting or rewarding part is that if the book is written well or interesting, it can be seen by more people through my translation, and the feeling of "resonance" is particularly good. For example, I liked Zhang Yueran's novel "Cocoon", and after the Dutch translation was published, it was well received by Dutch newspapers and readers, and I said in my heart, "It is very well written, I already knew ...".

China News Agency: In your observations, how is the current publication of Chinese literary works in the Netherlands? How can we better promote Chinese literature to the Dutch public, especially young people?

SY: I think there are some challenges. Now more and more books are published in the Netherlands, but fewer and fewer people read books, especially young people, not only Chinese literature, but also Dutch literature.

Another problem is that Dutch readers do not know much about Chinese literature, do not know Chinese writers, and do not buy their books. The fewer these books are sold, the less published the publishing society is, the fewer Chinese literature can be seen in bookstores, and the more unfamiliar Dutch readers will be to Chinese writers, creating a "vicious circle".

For the promotion of Chinese literary works, I think we must persevere. In addition to doing a good job of literary translation, you can also hold events to invite Chinese writers to meet Dutch readers and show the charm of Chinese literature. In fact, if Dutch readers come into contact with Chinese literature and find them very good, they may also "like Chinese literature the more they look".

The 5th International Symposium on Literary Translation for Sinologists was held in Huaxi, Guiyang City. Promote the translation and introduction of excellent Chinese literary works to foreign countries and promote the "going global" of Chinese literature. Photo by He Junyi

China News Agency: You have said that you hope to maintain exchanges and communication with the younger generation of Chinese writers to help Dutch readers understand the diversity and pluralism of contemporary China.

Shi Lu: I think literature will play two important roles: on the one hand, it will tell Dutch readers that in addition to politics, economy, and influence on the world, China also has culture and art; On the other hand, from these literary works, we can see the "living Chinese" and see the heart of the Chinese; The average Dutch may have little contact with Chinese in their daily lives, but in the book you will find that everyone's joys and sorrows are no different.

Compared with the previous generation, the younger generation of Chinese writers pay attention to different themes, such as writing about loneliness, love, midlife crisis, views on their parents, contemporary life, etc., I think it will trigger the recognition and resonance of Dutch readers, and see the diversity and pluralism of Chinese literature and even contemporary China, which may deepen their understanding of China and change their previous fixed views.

China News Agency: What are your views and suggestions on cultural exchanges between the East and the West? What can you expect from the 2023 Beijing Cultural Forum?

Shi Lu: Human nature is connected, and cultural exchanges will make each other understand each other better, of course, it is a good thing, so we should strive to translate more Chinese literary works, so that these works can be "seen" by Dutch readers, showing the charm of Chinese literature; If you don't know that China has such good works and such good stories, you can't talk about "liking".

In recent years, Chinese literature has become more and more professional, such as inviting translators from all over the world to participate in the Beijing Book Fair, organizing dialogues with Chinese writers, and writing English version recommendations. We translators should also continue to work hard, not only to translate, but also to hold events, give speeches, write reviews, etc.

"The Tasks of Translators" – Dialogue between Overseas Translators and Chinese Writers was recently held at SKP Bookstore. Photo by Nan Tianci

I hope that the translation knowledge and experience accumulated in the past 2023 years can contribute to the 10 Beijing Cultural Forum, and I am also looking forward to meeting Chinese writers attending the forum and participating in interesting roundtable discussions. In short, enjoy your trip to Beijing. (End)

Respondent Profile:

Annelous Stiggelbout, Dutch literary translator, founded Focus Chinees, dedicated to Chinese literary translation and promoting Sino-Dutch cultural exchanges; He has translated the works of well-known Chinese writers such as Yu Hua, Liu Zhenyun, Sanmao, Han Han, Zhang Yueran, Lu Min, etc., and published many critical articles in the Dutch media to promote Chinese literature.