The Road to China of "Harry Potter"
China News Weekly reporter/Li Jing
Published in the 989th issue of China News Weekly on March 29, 2020
In the office filled with books by Wang Ruiqin, the editor of People’s Literature Publishing House (hereinafter referred to as “Humanities Society”), the most conspicuous are the various editions of the "Harry Potter" series. Behind the sofa, the various films of "Harry Potter" The information wall is almost nailed to the special cardboards of 9 and 3/4 platforms such as the posters and the "Premier Boxes" and "Phoenix Boxes".
The editor who introduced Harry Potter to China bluntly said that she is a "Hami fan", even though she is now 70 years old.
In October 2000, Chinese readers first met the boy with a lightning scar on his head.
Twenty years have passed. The young readers of the first generation have already walked out of campus and entered society. Most of them are already parents, but the magnificent magical world has always guarded the innocence of many people.
Last year was the 20th anniversary of the introduction of "Harry Potter" to China. Some readers left a message on the Internet: "Can you imagine? Harry Potter is 40 years old, and I am still waiting for Hogwarts' admission notice." The sharing activities held by the agency in multiple cities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Harry Potter" were crowded with readers of all ages from the post-80s to the post-00s. Many people and their children wore wizard robes to participate in the event. .
As a generation grows up, Harry Potter, who has given them courage and love, remains "magic" 20 years later.
Back then, during the introduction of "Harry Potter", there were many setbacks and doubts.
Behind this, the people who hold this set of books are the 70-year-old People's Literature Publishing House and its editors.
Who is Rowling?
The story has to go back to the end of 1999.
Sitting in the newly established editorial department of children's literature, Wang Ruiqin, the person in charge, was a little bit stressed.
This editorial department was established by then-president Nie Zhenning in an era when people generally despised children's literature, in order to broaden their thinking to cope with the tide of marketization, Wang Ruiqin himself had long wanted to do something new.
The platform is set up, where can I find a good and impactful topic selection?
This is what Wang Ruiqin ponders every day.
The Humanities Society has a large reading room. Wang Ruiqin reads English and French magazines to find ideas whenever he is free.
For a while, she noticed that the pages of European magazines were full of photos of a woman writer named JK Rowling.
At that time, the first three volumes of "Harry Potter" had been published in Britain, the United States and other countries, and it was popular in Europe and the United States.
At the end of 1999, during the promotional period of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", a promotional photo of Rowling in front of King's Cross Station appeared on the pages of almost all European magazines. Wang Ruiqin felt very miraculous. Who is JK Rowling?"
At that time, the foreign literature editorial department had a 286 computer. Wang Ruiqin asked young editors to search for information on the Internet, which was still in its infancy, and she organized the information in the magazine herself.
After careful investigation, Wang Ruiqin determined that "Harry Potter" is the good and impactful topic she was looking for.
After reporting to the president Nie Zhenning, Nie Zhenning decided to give his full support.
But the next question is, where to find this person?
The Internet in 1999 was not the same as it is today. The 286 computer did its best and did not give Wang Ruiqin the answer.
"It must be found!" Wang Ruiqin recalled to China News Weekly, "At that time, I had the belief that I was determined to get it, and I must get this book." She and the young people in the editing room were inquiring about it, and finally got a request from a newcomer. The reporter who returned from the UK got the contact information of Christopher Little, JK Rowling's agent at the time.
Wang Ruiqin half-jokingly said to the reporter: "You are simply my savior!"
At the beginning of 2000, China had not yet joined the WTO, and even a domestic publishing house of the size of the Humanities Society was unfamiliar to Western agents.
In February of that year, after successfully contacting Leet, the Humanities Society sent dozens of pages of faxes to impress the British, detailing the brilliant achievements of the Humanities Society in publishing Chinese and foreign literary books over the past 50 years.
At this time, several other domestic publishing houses also discovered "Harry Potter" and launched a fierce copyright bidding with the Humanities Society.
On the advance payment, Wang Ruiqin reported a sky-high price in the eyes of the publishing industry at that time-$10,000 per book.
For this price, the relevant leaders of the Humanities Society deliberately convened an emergency meeting at noon on the day of the offer, and finally decided to give support.
When discussing royalties with the other party, Wang Ruiqin adopted a stepwise incremental quotation, paying a certain amount of royalties for 1 to 10,000 copies, and a slight increase in royalties from 10,000 to 100,000, until it was reported to more than 1 million copies.
After reading the quotation, Nie Zhenning, the then president of the Humanities Society, said: "If you can send 1 million copies, it will be worth all the money." Wang Ruiqin recalled: "Actually I don't know if I can send 1 million, but I want to give it. Rowling and her agent feel that we are confident that we will send 1 million."
After the royalties were negotiated, Rowling’s agent made a call to the Humanities Agency and only asked one question: Can three books print 500,000 copies?
Wang Ruiqin gritted his teeth and immediately replied: "Yes." In fact, in that era, a book was already a good result if printed 10,000 copies.
While fighting for copyright is in full swing, Wang Ruiqin has also received many questions and reminders.
China’s traditional culture emphasizes "the son does not speak strangely, but the power is chaotic." In 1999, it coincided with the fact that certain cult organizations brought a lot of negative effects on Chinese society. Many people worried that the magical elements in "Harry Potter" would appear. problem.
Later, after reading the sample book, a translator found by Wang Ruiqin also worriedly said to her: "There is magic in this, I am an old party member, please don't let me make mistakes. There will be children's books about cats and dogs in the future. You can find me again."
But Wang Ruiqin has no worries about these.
She believes that magic is a common element in Western culture and an expression of imagination. The real theme of "Harry Potter" is love, friendship and courage, which are pursued by all nations in the world. Values.
Nie Zhenning, the then president of the Humanities Society, also shared the same views as Wang Ruiqin, and fully supported her in introducing "Harry Potter" from beginning to end, and did not even say such things as "you think about it again".
He also set a timetable for Wang Ruiqin, which will be published in September and listed in October. Once the sample books are obtained, they must be translated quickly.
Choice is more important than ability
In April 2000, the Humanities Society finally received a sample book of "Harry Potter" (1-3) from Lit. Although the contract has not been signed yet, in order to catch up with the October golden book purchase period, Wang Ruiqin immediately selected someone to start. translation.
At this time, another publishing house that participated in the copyright competition released the news that it was about to sign a contract with Rowling.
Wang Ruiqin didn't believe the other party's news, but he also played a drum in his heart, worried that if he finished the translation here and the contract was not signed, what would he do?
Nie Zhenning gave her reassurance: continue to translate, regardless of whether it is published or not, the translation fee will be paid.
Wang Ruiqin recruited several translators she knew best and trusted to take over. They were Cao Suling, an old translator, Ma Ainong, a translator from the Humanities Agency, Ma Aixin from China Translation and Publishing Corporation, and Zheng Xumi, an old translator from Xinhua News Agency.
Cao Suling is the daughter of the famous translator Cao Jinghua. She translated the first eight chapters of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", but she had to withdraw from the translation team due to physical reasons. Ma Ainong took over, with the consent of the two, the first book The translator is signed Sunong.
The first eight chapters translated by Cao Suling laid the foundation for the translation style of the entire novel. "Lihen Bookstore", "Falling Down Alley", "Diagonal Alley", "Gulin Pavilion", "Lvzhen Road No. 4"... these are smart and vivid. The names are all from her handwriting.
After Ma Ainong took over, she was quickly overwhelmed by the powerful imagination of the story. She and her sister Ma Aixin translated the translated chapters to their family members. The book had not been translated yet, and Ma Ainong's parents and aunts had become "fans".
Later, due to the love of the wizarding world and the love of "Hard fans", Ma Ainong and Ma Aixin became the main translators of the "Harry Potter" series.
Due to the limitation of the times, in Wang Ruiqin's eyes, the first translation has some regrets.
For example, in the first book, Harry lived in the storage room under the stairs, but no one had been to the UK at that time, and neither knew their way of life nor saw such a house pattern, so he moved the house under the stairs. The storage room translates to "cupboard".
There is also Harry’s birthplace "Godric Valley", named after Godric Gryffindor, the founder of Gryffindor Academy, but the next few were not released at the time, and everyone didn’t know this. Foreshadowing, it translated into "Gaozhuke Valley".
These omissions were revised when they were republished.
At the end of August 2000, the Humanities Society formally received the agreement signed by Rowling, and Wang Ruiqin officially took the Chinese copyright of "Harry Potter".
On October 6, the first three volumes of "Harry Potter" were released at the Wangfujing Bookstore.
At that time, when "Harry Potter 4" was first released in the United Kingdom and the United States in July of the same year, the news that hundreds of thousands of readers lined up to buy the book at midnight had spread back to China, and domestic readers were eagerly waiting for this mysterious work.
On the day of the first release, many children started lining up at the gate of the bookstore from 5 or 6 in the morning.
In the first hour of the launch day, Wangfujing Bookstore sold 2500 copies.
In the following two decades, this so far the most "selling" literary work in the history of world printing and publishing has had a circulation of more than 30 million copies in China, and Ma Yang has exceeded 2 billion.
"Harry Potter" opened a new era not only in the Humanities Society, but also in the entire Chinese publishing industry.
Since then, various publishing houses have begun to pay attention to the introduction of new book copyrights, and subsequent international book fairs will be full of Chinese publishers.
Today, "Harry Potter" has far surpassed the book itself, promoted to a cultural symbol, even a spiritual identity.
And Wang Ruiqin has established a studio under the Humanities Agency in 2011, mainly engaged in the copyright maintenance of "Harry Potter" and the introduction of the copyright of Rowling's new book.
The young people in her studio are "Hug fans". Every time they go out to participate in an event, they wear Hogwarts uniforms and bring their "magic wands."
Although no one has received the admission notice, everyone has assigned themselves a college.
Colleagues think that Wang Ruiqin is very wise and must belong to Ravenclaw Academy, but Wang Ruiqin disagrees. Although she was indeed assigned to Ravenclaw after answering the test online, she insisted that she must belong to Glenn, who represents courage. Fendor, because she believed in the words of Hogwarts Principal Dumbledore: "It is our choice that expresses our true selves, and choice is much more important than our ability."
China News Weekly, Issue 11, 2021
Statement: The publication of the "China News Weekly" manuscript is authorized in writing