[Explanation] French writer Pu Haolin first set foot on Chinese soil in 1984.
In the following 40 years, she witnessed China's development and changes as a diplomat and journalist.
In 2009, Pu Haolin participated in the establishment of the "Fu Lei Translation and Publishing Award" to encourage Chinese translators of French literature and academic works.
[Same period] Pu Haolin, French writer and chairman of the 2023 Fu Lei Translation and Publishing Award Jury
Because since 2000, a large number of translated works have been published, especially literary and prose works from France.
Sometimes it translates well, but sometimes it translates poorly, which I regret.
Sometimes Chinese readers will complain to me: I have heard a lot of reviews about this novel, but it doesn’t seem to be that good.
When I saw those translations, I thought, what a terrible translation.
Of course, I can't fight those bad translations.
Because I don’t want translators to lose face in their work.
But I have some friends who offer solutions.
One of them is a library specialist at the French Embassy in China, responsible for book translation projects.
The other is Professor Dong Qiang of Peking University.
He is a famous teacher of French literature.
When we got together, we thought we should do something about it.
So we decided, okay, we can't fight bad translations, but maybe we can enhance good translations.
Cultural connections are a great way to communicate.
Because in addition to books, we also have movies and, of course, artists.
And I'm lucky that my family all work in the field, so we've always been surrounded by artists from both sides.
There are Chinese and Westerners.
Artists express emotion, and no matter your background, it's possible to feel that emotion.
(Reporter Wang Jun and Li Ziwei reported in Beijing)
Editor in charge: [Wang Kai]