Mexican sinologist Liliana: Understanding Chinese culture should not be limited to symbols such as cheongsam and Chinese knots

China News Service, Beijing, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Understanding Chinese culture should not be limited to symbols such as cheongsam and Chinese knots

——Interview with Mexican sinologist Liliana Asofska

Written by Lingyun

Since the "literary explosion" in Latin America, the works of Latin American writers represented by Márquez and Julio Cortázar have become world-renowned and have also influenced the Chinese literary scene. With the passage of time, in recent years, Chinese writers and contemporary Chinese literary works have also entered Latin America and are loved by locals.

Chinese culture is a big concept with rich connotations. As a translator of contemporary Chinese literature, Mexican sinologist Liljana Arsovska (Liljana Arsovska) recently said in an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" that people's understanding of Chinese culture today should not be limited to symbols such as cheongsam and Chinese knots, and in the process of translation, it is necessary to present the breadth and diversity of Chinese culture more extensively.

The transcript of the interview is summarized below:

China News Service: You have been teaching Chinese in Mexico and translating modern and contemporary Chinese literature for more than 30 years.

Liliana: China has gone through reform and opening up and opened its doors to the outside world, but people in Latin American countries didn't know much about it before. Due to the differences in cultural concepts, lifestyles, social and historical backgrounds, and when publishers begin to introduce contemporary Chinese literature to Mexico and other countries, they need to vigorously promote and publicize it, and translators need to do a good job of translation and add notes. As Latin American readers become more familiar with Chinese literature and have a deeper understanding of Chinese society and culture, this change also affects the work of translators.

Today, Chinese literary works are still in the "contact stage" in the Latin American book publishing market. When the Chinese writer Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2012, many phone calls were made to the Center for Oriental and African Studies of the College of Mexico to inquire about his situation. In recent years, Chinese contemporary literature has accumulated a group of readers in Latin America, mainly young college students majoring in international economics and international trade. However, it is a bit regrettable that the overall price of imported books from Latin American countries is still at a high level, which does not fully meet the consumption needs of the public.

Visitors visit the "From Olmec to Aztec - Ancient Mexican Civilizations" exhibition at the Liaoning Provincial Museum. There are many cultural exchange activities between China and Mexico. Photo by Huang Jinkun

I hope that in the future, courses on Chinese literature can be introduced to the National Autonomous University of Mexico and more Latin American universities, so as to target students and cultivate a wider readership. Let the seeds of Chinese literature take root among these young people, and I believe that the impact will be far-reaching.

China News Service: You mentioned that your dream is to recreate the Tower of Babel through literary translation and introduction, so that Chinese culture can truly enter Mexico. What have you done to do this? How do you understand and present Chinese culture when translating contemporary Chinese literature?

Liliana: Sometimes the translator is more like a bridge, what we do is not only the translation of texts and words, but also the "voice" of the original author (the writer's style and idea) across society and culture. Translators need to grow themselves for a lifetime and constantly improve their business skills. Sometimes I put myself in the reader's shoes and read my own translations, and I can still see a lot of shortcomings, which is precisely what makes this job challenging and fascinating.

The cover of Contemporary Chinese Fiction translated and published by Liliana. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

It can be said that contemporary Chinese literature has knocked on the door of the Latin American world, but there is still a long way to go. Chinese culture is a big concept with rich connotations. It is also a cultural phenomenon that some people leave their hometowns to work in big cities during the development of China's cities, leaving their children in the countryside. Today, our understanding of Chinese culture is not only about cheongsam, Chinese knots and other symbols, it has become broader and more diverse, and as translators, we need to present Chinese culture more extensively.

China News Service: Many of the works you have translated are realistic themes. Can this help Latin American readers understand contemporary China and developing China? How do you see the relationship between contemporary literature and reality?

Liliana: Spanish and Chinese are not my mother tongues, and I used to be skeptical of myself when I was a translator. I started with the short story "Hard Gruel" by Chinese writer Wang Meng, and the author's humorous strokes, story background and personal emotions prompted me to start my translation journey. The novel is set in the 20s of the 80th century, when Chinese society began to be influenced by Western ideas and things, the East and the West blended, and the food on people's tables also "collided". It was also at that time that I came to China to study, and a girl who graduated from high school paid attention to the development and changes of China and the changes in the dining table of ordinary people from her own perspective.

Literary works, especially those that reflect social realities, are an important way to understand a country. Different from academic papers, literary works are richer, more interesting and more readable, and it is easier to attract people of different ages and identity backgrounds to enter them. We often say that we tell the story of a country well, so who is the best storyteller? I think it's undoubtedly a writer. Contemporary Chinese literature is not only a picture scroll that presents a three-dimensional, rich and pluralistic social outlook, but also a window for external display and exchange.

China News Service: In recent years, many Chinese writers have visited Latin America to interact with local readers. What is the reason for the popularity of their work in Latin America?

Liliana: More and more contemporary Chinese writers are coming to Latin America to communicate with local readers, which is undoubtedly a very good way to promote Chinese literature, and I hope that more Chinese writers will enter Latin America in the future.

The cover of Liliana's translation of "I Am Not Pan Jinlian". Photo courtesy of the interviewee

When I was translating Liu Zhenyun's novel "I Am Not Pan Jinlian", I once shared the fragment with friends of different ages and backgrounds to try it out. Some people will be attracted by the author's humorous style, and some people will wonder if such a story will happen around us... In the same work, different people will read different connotations. But popular works also have commonalities, such as Xu Zechen's "Running Through Zhongguancun" is popular in Mexico, and one of the main reasons is that Mexicans see images of their own lives. Although the social background is different and the place names are no longer familiar, across thousands of miles, you can still read the content that hits people's hearts - it turns out that young people in big cities are working hard to find a better life.

China News Service: There are cultural differences between China and Mexico and between China and Latin America. How does translating across cultural and historical contexts as a translator?

Liliana: There are difficulties and challenges in this matter, such as the "collective concept" in the East and the "individual concept" in the West. Sometimes we have misunderstandings with each other, often because we only see a one-sided phenomenon, but do not understand the causes of the phenomenon and the background of social and historical development.

Mexico's Belgian Maria (fourth from left), winner of the 50th Global Ecotourism Ambassador World Finals, learns calligraphy and experiences Chinese culture in Nanjing. Photo by Yang Bo

Many people will wonder why China has developed so rapidly in the past few decades, but in fact, throughout China's history, we can see the inherent qualities of Chinese people such as diligence, innovation, and creativity. In the process of transcending cultures, sometimes we need to spare no effort to help readers put a phenomenon in the context of the larger picture and elaborate on it in depth. I think this is also the "key" to breaking the cultural differences between the East and the West.

In addition, the cultivation of Chinese and Spanish translation talents is the key. A solid foundation in language and writing is only one aspect, and the relevant talents should be interested in the translation profession itself, and it must also be based on the cultural, historical, and social aspects of the two countries. It is very difficult to become a translator and make a career out of it, but if the number of people learning Chinese increases and the number of people who have the opportunity to learn more about the local customs in China expands, there will be more possibilities in the future. (ENDS)

Interviewee Profile:

Liljana Arsovska is a Mexican sinologist and translator and professor at the Center for the Study of Oriental and African Studies at the Mexican Institute. From 1981 to 1985, he studied Chinese at the Beijing Language Institute (now Beijing Language and Culture University) and received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and World Literature in 2002. He has written and published the first Chinese grammar textbook for native Spanish Chinese learners in Latin America, Practical Chinese Grammar (2011), translated or presided over the translation and publication of Selected Contemporary Chinese Short Stories (2013), I Am Not Pan Jinlian (2015), One Sentence Top 2014,2014 Sentences (2014), My Name is Liu Yuejin (<>) and other literary works. In <>, he won the <>th China Book Special Contribution Award.