Panel stresses Chinese, US literature translation

For Chinese and US literature to reach more readers, both need to be translated accurately and properly verified, according to a panel of publishing industry executives.

More interaction between both countries' book industries is needed to increase the influence and exposure of international literature, said Liu Guohui, editor-in-chief of the People's Literature Publishing House.

"China has been translating American literature since the mid-1800s," Liu said through a translator on Thursday at BookExpo America (BEA). "Translations of authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe and Ernest Hemingway, all help enlighten people."

Liu said the top countries with literature being translated and published in China are Russia, the US, the UK, France and Japan, but he said it is only a matter of time before China becomes "the largest translator of US literature in the world".

The goal is to "increase influence through literature and understanding," he said. "The influences of the US and China on one another are growing, and this gives Chinese readers a chance to access US content, and vice versa.

"Good literature can travel around the world, so translators, editors and writers are all so important," Liu said.

Liu, who heads one of the largest literary publishing houses in China, said his Beijing-based company has been responsible for the translation of more than 400 American written works since 2000.

Liu made his comments at the BEA trade show in New York during a panel discussion on Literary Translation Between China and the US: Status Quo and Perspectives.

He was joined by Karen Christensen, CEO of Berkshire Publishing, Jeffrey Belle, president of Amazon Publishing, and Bi Feiyu, a Chinese author.

"When you do business with China or any other country, there are always challenges of translation. Every one of us who works internationally has translation challenges, so understanding Chinese culture is key, especially when it comes to language," Christensen said.

"Our favorite example to use is 'cleavage' versus 'rift,'" she said. "We were working on a project about relationships between countries and we kept coming to the term cleavage. The word that was needed was rift, but in a sense this is a totally different kind of translation."

Belle, with Amazon Publishing, said: "We are particularly interested in bringing more Chinese literature to English language readers. We know there is a market, and there's a very meaningful opportunity here.

"When we launched our full-service, in-house publishing business - Amazon Publishing - we thought about how we could make every book in every language available in 60 seconds or less," he said. "Many of our bestsellers actually come from our translation imprint, Amazon Crossing, which is now the largest publisher of foreign literature in the US. But the truth is that the bar is pretty low."

jackfreifelder@chinadailyusa.com