Lasting translations

"My translation might be able to help domestic scholars to better understand Starobinski, and it also greatly helps my research," he says.

Similarly, Juger la Reine offers Chinese readers a view of a different facet of the French Revolution through a pivotal moment in the history of France and its judiciary, the trial of Marie Antoinette, says Fan Jing, an editor of the book in Chinese.

Koltes, one of the most important French playwrights in the 20th century, died at 41 years old, left seven plays with unique personal style, but few Chinese people know him, Ning says.

"He was a fan of Bruce Lee, and watched a lot of Hong Kong kung fu movies," says Ning.

"As a result, in the Solitude of Cotton Fields, the two characters, a merchant and a customer, had no dramatic conflicts. They just talked, debated, just like two martial arts masters speculating while getting closer to each other," Ning says.

In the end, the two characters did not reach any agreement. They can represent either two separate people or just two sides of one's own thoughts, reflecting that in modern society, the relationships between people are a negotiation of money, interest and desire, Ning says.

The play has been translated into more than 30 languages and showed in more than 50 countries.

The prize, founded 12 years ago and named after prominent translator Fu Lei, was inaugurated to encourage and recognize the efforts of those who translate French literature and books pertaining to the social sciences.