China News Service, Nanjing, February 21st: Question: Why can literary translation build a bridge of cultural communication between China and France?
——Exclusive interview with Liu Chengfu, professor of School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing University
Author Zhu Xiaoying Han Yu
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. China and France are important representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations. Throughout the ages, China and France have had exchanges and exchanges, and their civilizational achievements have complemented each other, becoming a model for mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations. Among them, how does literary translation overcome language barriers and build a bridge for Chinese and French people to understand each other's culture? Liu Chengfu, a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service’s “East-West Question” to answer the above questions.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: What role do you think literary translation plays in the exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and French civilizations? Can you briefly introduce the history of literary translation between China and France based on your own experience?
Liu Chengfu:
Literary translation plays a huge role in promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and French civilizations, and has written a glorious chapter in the history of cultural exchanges between China and France. Translators and their translated works serve as a bridge between the Chinese and French literary circles, enhancing cultural exchanges between the two countries and allowing the people of the two countries to better understand and respect each other's cultures.
France can be called the "hometown of literature". Dozens of great men are enshrined in the Panthéon in Paris, including many writers, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Balzac, Hugo, etc. China and France are located at opposite ends of the Eurasian continent and are far apart, but they have a long history of cultural exchanges with each other and have achieved fruitful results.
Hugo portraits and Hugo sculptures on display at the Hugo House Museum in Paris, France. Photo by Li Yang
Ancient Chinese drama was one of the first literary forms to be translated and introduced to France. The earliest sinologist who translated and introduced Chinese drama was the French Jesuit missionary Joseph Macron. At the beginning of the 19th century, French Sinology developed from missionary Sinology to professional Sinology. When Julien, a professor at the Collège de France, re-translated "The Orphan of Zhao", she made up for the deficiencies in the translation of lyrics and arias in Joseph Marquis's translation. At the end of the 19th century, with the publication of the Chinese version of "La Traviata", a large number of French classics were translated into China, which had an impact on Chinese readers.
I have been very fortunate in my teaching and research of French literature. In 2021, the narrative novel "Kingfisher Villa" by French writer Adrian Goetz, which was translated by me, was published. Subsequently, I received a letter from French President Macron. In the letter, he wrote: "The publication of this translation has enabled your Chinese compatriots to discover another greatest work in French literature. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your contribution to the spread of French language and culture in China." "I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your great contribution to French research and your great efforts in promoting friendly relations between the two countries!"
A letter from French President Macron to Liu Chengfu. Photo provided by interviewee
Reporter from China News Service: As one of the representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations, China and France have a long history of literary and artistic exchanges. In the process of translation, there are always many deep and complex moods that can break free from the shackles of culture and language. In the process of reading, translating, and studying French literary and artistic works, what moments of "spiritual connection" have you encountered?
Liu Chengfu:
China and France are two great cultural countries. In many aspects, the visions of literati are integrated. French writer Le Clézio has written more than 40 works, most of which are related to Africa. Behind the seemingly primitive and backward economic and social development phenomenon, he saw the beauty of simple and kind human nature, and felt the joy of running freely in the sun, desert, and grasslands. I can understand him very well in terms of the concept of civilization or culture. When reading Le Clézio's narrative novel "The African", the ancient African plateau continent seemed to have become my spiritual home.
Liu Chengfu, a professor at the School of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University, reads a book at home. Photo by China News Service reporter Zhu Xiaoying
In the 1830s, the French writer Stendhal wrote a famous novel "The Red and the Black", whose theme was the "disease of the century" that emerged after the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire. Napoleon went from a humble ordinary soldier to a world-shaking figure and became the idol of young French people. However, after the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, many young people, like Julien, the male protagonist of "The Red and the Black," began to feel that "it is difficult to produce a noble son from a poor family" and "there is no place for heroes anymore." In fact, this is just an illusion. Balzac's "Eugénie Grandet" and "Petro Goriot" also show the world that opportunities are always and everywhere, and are always reserved for those who are prepared.
As a teacher who studies French literature, I often like to look at problems dialectically from the perspective of history, and use the viewpoints in the "Book of Changes" to view the changes of the times. Like the French existentialist writer Camus, your heart should be filled with positive energy and the gorgeous Mediterranean sunshine.
China News Service reporter: Among European and American countries, France has relatively high attention and introduction rate to Chinese literature. In recent years, what are the successful cases of Chinese literary works “going abroad” in France? What are the rules and characteristics of French readers’ acceptance and interpretation of Chinese literature?
Liu Chengfu:
France has a long tradition of Sinology. There are many publishing organizations in France that are interested in Eastern culture, and they have a very accurate grasp of the development trends of Chinese literature. Relevant statistics from 2010 show that France publishes two to three times more contemporary Chinese novels every year than English-speaking countries. In 1988, the French Ministry of Culture invited Lu Wenfu and many other writers to visit France. The French publishing industry also began to turn its attention from Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Lao She and others to writers active in the 1970s and 1980s. The "Collection of Chinese Short Stories" published in the same year started in 1978 and focused on contemporary Chinese literature. .
Mo Yan is one of the contemporary Chinese writers that French readers are most familiar with and pay attention to. From the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners in October 2012 to Mo Yan's trip to Stockholm to receive the award in December of that year, the French media published more than 100 reports on Mo Yan. Yu Hua and Yan Lianke are also writers of great interest to French readers. As early as 1994, Yu Hua attracted great attention from French readers with "Alive". In 2006, Yan Lianke entered the horizons of French readers. Especially after winning the Kafka Literature Prize in 2014, the French media paid more attention to him. Chinese writers such as Bi Feiyu, Chi Li, Han Shaogong, Jia Pingwa, Liu Zhenyun, Su Tong also occupy a place in the French literary world.
In May 2023, Mo Yan talked about his experience in calligraphy creation in Shanghai. Photo by Zhang Hengwei
French general readers have developed a great interest in contemporary Chinese novels. French book sales network Fnac has summarized the 193 best-selling Chinese novels, and 13 of the top 20 are contemporary novels. Many well-known writers have established fan bases. For example, Yu Hua's "Brothers" has sold more than 50,000 copies. These are all successful cases of Chinese literature “going overseas”.
In the process of research, French sinologists not only want to hold high the standard of traditional Sinology, but also want to reject those factors that make the image of China one-sided and superficial. They not only want to depict the modernity of ancient China, but also explore the antiquity of contemporary China. They want to find material for research and thinking in the ruptures of the times, twists and turns of development, and conflicts of civilizations reflected in Chinese literary works. For French sinologists, China's ancient characteristics are a poetic image, which has both the tension of time and the weight of history. It contains the yearning for the unity of nature and man, and the praise of early Eastern civilization.
Reporter from China News Service: Currently, conflicts and integration of civilizations coexist around the world. Tolerance, coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations may be more important than ever. In your opinion, in this process, will translation be a tool for mankind to build the Tower of Babel and lead to an ideal world?
Liu Chengfu:
Literary translation converts one language into another language, which helps promote mutual understanding and communication between different countries and nationalities, and enhances international friendship and people-to-people exchanges. The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and China is moving towards the center of the world stage. From the perspectives of literature and translation, we can present to the world an image of China that is objective, true, approachable, knowable and sensible.
Chinese calligraphy, painting, Taoism and Confucianism were regarded by French writers as Eastern wisdom. I once hosted the French philosopher Jacques Derrida in Nanjing. In this deconstructionist critic, I saw the "complex of other cultures" and his great efforts for cultural diversity. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the French poet Saint-Jean Pace came to China for the first time, he always felt like a "foreigner", but he gradually adapted to the Chinese environment. In "Anabas," the poet sees himself in the eyes of a camel puller in the Gobi Desert in western China. The French writer Malraux was a fellow traveler of the Chinese Communist Party. Through his novels such as "The Destiny of Man" and "The Conqueror", he enthusiastically praised the positive and optimistic spirit of the Chinese Communists.
A few years ago, I co-translated Philippe Solers' "Ode to Infinity" with my graduate student, and found that Sollers fully affirmed the "Book of Changes" and the paintings of Song Huizong. Henri Michaud's "A Barbarian in Asia" subverted Westerners' understanding of Eastern people, especially their understanding of the relationship between "civilized man" and "barbarian". It can be seen that Chinese culture has a high status in the minds of these French writers. They gained enlightenment and strength from Chinese wisdom, and at the same time made an indelible contribution to the positive promotion of China's image in the West.
French culture has rich connotations, and its romantic sentiment permeates literature, painting, sculpture, music, and architecture. For example, in Red Brazil, Jean-Christophe Luffin sides with the Latin American Indians. I once wrote a preface to this work. In terms of cultural outlook, my vision merged with that of the author. I want to tell people through the study of these writers that there is no so-called "advanced" or "backward" culture. Culture is equal and diverse, and the world is diverse. Literary translation is a mirror that can reflect on French society and allow us to reflect on ourselves. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Liu Chengfu, professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing University, executive director of the African Great Lakes Research Center at Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages, president of the Jiangsu Translators Association, vice president of the Chinese French Teaching Research Association, vice president of the Translators Association of China, China Vice President of the African Studies Society. Published 4 monographs, edited 22 books, translated 63 books, and published 196 papers. Representative monographs "Research on French "Anti-Literature" in the 20th Century" and "Cultural Identity and Modern and Contemporary French Literature". Representative translations include "Consumer Society", "Technological Homo Sapiens", "Golden Rhinoceros - History of Medieval Africa", and "20th Century Philosophy and Philosophers".