They often toil for years in obscurity, subsisting on meagre stipends or small private grants. Translating classic literary works, however, has its rewards.

Just ask Sheng Junfeng, known as Cao Ying, a man who has brought the works of Leo Tolstoy to Chinese readers.

Having turned 80 last month, the brilliant linguist glows with the personal knowledge. Despite a life filled with suffering, he has contributed to the Russian author's popularity in China.

Cao Ying recently finished the remarkable feat of translating all of Tolstoy's novels into Chinese. Totalling 4 million words, the process took more than 20 years.

His translations have been acclaimed as the best available in Chinese. The 12-volume tome includes "Anna Karenina," "War and Peace," "Resurrection," and more than 60 short stories. A million copies have already been sold.

Last month on his 80th birthday, Cao Ying received flowers from Andrey V. Krivtsov, consul general of Russia in Shanghai, as well as a commendation from Igor A. Rogatchev, ambassador of Russia in China.

Plaudits have poured in from distinguished professors and translators working in Russian literature.

Translating Russian works for more than 60 years, Cao Ying takes his current celebrity with a grain of salt.

"I didn't choose to be a translator as my career," he says. "The work chose me, by accident or by fate."

For Cao Ying and his peers, translating began as an ideological activity, both in terms of what they chose to translate and where they situated themselves in the Chinese world of letters.

In 1987, he was awarded Gorky Literature Prize.

When asked why he gave himself the penname Cao Ying, he says, "'cao' means grass, a common plant found everywhere, and 'ying' means child. I think I'm only one of these common people who try to make a change."

Cao Ying started learning Russian at 15, fascinated by the revolutionary changes taking place in Russia. He wanted to read all the books about the Russian Revolution of 1917.

At that time there wasn't a Russian-Chinese dictionary, nor any books that offered Russian language learning. He learned to read and write with the help of a Russian woman who lived in Shanghai. In the daytime, he went to Lester Institute Middle School and at night he learned Russian with his tutor.

In 1941, Nazi Germany attacked and invaded the then Soviet Union. In China, the underground communists began publishing a magazine "Epoch Weekly" to cover the war. The magazine were in dire need of staff to translate telegraphs from the Soviet news service in Moscow.

Desperate situations require desperate measures, and 18-year-old Cao Ying was brought in to assist with the translations.

This work, which would form the basis for his life in letters, also put him at great risk.

He managed to elude arrest by the Japanese on several occasions, and also steered clear of hostile Kuomintang forces.

He was not so lucky during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), during which he was persecuted for being an intellectual.

The shifting nature of diplomatic relations between China and the former Soviet Union also had a profound influence over his work and his life. As a result of all his trials and tribulations, his health began to deteriorate.

Hospitalized and near death after an accident while laboring in the countryside, he says that being bedridden gave him the chance to do a lot of thinking.

"The art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't," he says.

"I promised myself when lying on that bed: If I could be lucky enough to make it through the difficulty, I would realize my dream to translate the best Russian literature by the foremost thinker of the 19th century - Tolstoy," he adds.

"After what I've been through, the solitude I experience as I translate is a luxury," he notes.

His craftsmanship in translation sustains the original integrity of the great novels.

Well-known literary translator Yan Fu once remarked on the art of translation: A good translation, he said, must meet three difficult requirements - It must be faithful to the original ("xin"); it must fully apprehend the meaning of the original and manage to convey this understanding to the audience ("da"); and it must be elegant ("ya"). Cao Ying adheres to these principles to the fullest.

When his translating work begins to tire him, Cao Ying seeks out his plants and flowers - a hobby he draws inspiration from.

"If I were told that what I write will be read in 20 years by the children of today, and that they will weep and smile over it and will fall in love with life, I would devote all my life and strength to it," says Cao Ying, citing Tolstoy's words to emphasize the great affection the translator has for his work.

Late this month, "Russian Literature and I," an anthology by Cao Ying, will be published.

(eastday.com April 16, 2003)