Booking for the future

Translation, education and children's books make the agenda at the 4th China-CEEC Publishing Association Forum in Beijing, Yang Yang reports.

With an overarching theme encompassing intercultural translation, educational publishing and children's books, the 4th China-CEEC Publishing Association Forum was held at Beijing Foreign Studies University on Sept 15.

Under the theme of "deepening win-win cooperation and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations", the forum discussed how publishers, writers and translators can promote humanities communication, transcultural understanding and learn from each other.

Founded in August 2018, so far the China-CEEC Publishing Association has 52 members, covering more than 100 publishers from 13 Central and Eastern European countries. The copyright trade between China and Central and Eastern European countries has been growing, from more than 50 agreements in 2017 to 100 in 2020.

Throughout history, intercultural translation has played an important role in cultural communication and mutual learning, especially in such a globalized world, said Jidi Majia, poet and vice-president of China Writers Association.

"Thanks to translators, there are more bridges rather than walls, more windows rather than closed doors, more gardens rather than impeded roads," he said.

As early as in the Middle Ages, Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland, Albania, Romania and Bulgaria, had already started cultural communication with China, explained Huo Yuzhen, special representative of China-CEEC Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, in a speech at the opening ceremony.

In the 18th century, zaju (a form of Chinese drama) Zhaoshi Gu'er (The Orphan of Zhao) became the first Chinese drama introduced to Europe.