Legendary translator sends message of hope to young polyglots
- By Zhu Bochen
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 10, 2021
Legendary Chinese literature translator Xu Yuanchong has encouraged China's younger generations to carry forward fine traditional Chinese culture and communicate it to the rest of the world. Xu made the remarks during an interview at his home in Beijing on April 9.
Xu — the first Asian winner of the "Aurora Borealis Prize" for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature, one of the world's highest honors among translators — added that it was gratifying to see young translators be enthusiastic about classic Chinese poems and lyrics.
He hoped that more such classics will be translated in a bid to offer the world a glimpse into long-standing Chinese culture and facilitate mutual understanding between China and other countries.
Born in 1921, Xu has devoted much of his career to translating classic Chinese literature into English and French. Having translated over 100 books, the prolific translator is also the founder of the "three beauties principle," which posits that translated texts must be as "beautiful" as the original in terms of semantics, phonology, and form.
Even now, in his nineties, Xu maintains a sharp mind and spends time each day translating Shakespeare's works. In light of his extraordinary achievements, Xu received the "Translation and Culture Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Translators Association of China (TAC) back in 2010.
Xu has been a massive inspiration in Chinese translation studies and is indeed an icon in the field, said Wang Gangyi, executive vice president and secretary-general of TAC, on April 9 at Xu's home.
Wang noted that as well as celebrating the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China this year, he and his colleagues will also be thrilled to celebrate Xu's 100th birthday on April 18.
Xu's theoretical contributions to translation studies and his examples in how to promote Chinese culture to the world are both worth being carried forward by our younger generation, Wang added.
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