Translating Marxist works labor of love

To mark the 200th birthday of Karl Marx on Saturday, the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau published a series of books on Thursday about the life and theory of the German philosopher.

The series, consisting of 18 books, was compiled over the past six months based on Marxist classics translated by the bureau. In the past three decades, the bureau has been translating and compiling the second edition of the 70-volume Complete Works by Marx and Engels. So far, 28 volumes have been published.

The CCTB, established in 1953, has been focusing on translating and compiling classics by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and other Communist thinkers. It has also translated the works of Chinese leaders into different languages.

"The classics are carriers of Marxist theories. Our task as translators and compilers is to introduce people to the original writings of the philosophers," said Chai Fangguo, deputy head of the CCTB.

"We are speakers for the great men. We should treat each and every word with the utmost prudence," said Gu Jinping, former deputy head of the CCTB.

"All the words were written over 100 years ago, and translators have to gain a thorough understanding of the society and culture at that time so that they can accurately understand what the writers said," Chai said.

The first edition of the Complete Works by Marx and Engels was translated and compiled from the 1950s to the 1970s, when there was a lack of German speakers, and most of the works were translated from Russian. The second edition, however, is translated directly from the original languages, Chai said.

It is estimated that it will take at least another 20 years for the completion of the second edition of the Complete Works by Marx and Engels.

Six decades ago, 18-year-old Gu became a translator for the CCTB. He recalled that as a young man who was not so good at Russian and knew little about Marxism, he had to work day and night.

"Everybody was so dedicated and passionate. The office building was often brightly lighted at night," Gu said.

Xinhua