Chinese literature goes global

Chinese writer Mo Yan won the prestigious Nobel literature award on October 11th. It marks an achievement that China has yearned for more than 100 years. According to some critics, his win signals that Chinese literature is now officially on the global rise.

Even before the Nobel Prize awards announcement, Mo Yan seemed a viable option for the win. With over 100 translated versions of his works, he already served as one of China's best known writers in the international arena.

Mo said, "My recent work "Frog" has been translated into French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese, and they're also being translated into English and German. The most popular, like "Red Sorghum", "The Republic of Wine", "Big Breasts and Wide Hips" and "Life and Death are Wearing Me Out" have been translated into about 20 languages. "Red Sorghum", has the highest volume in print. There are 30,000 copies of the book in English, and 10--20 thousand copies each in Italian and French."

Apart from Mo Yan, Chinese writers like Yu Hua and Su Tong both have had dozens of foreign versions of their works published. According to statistics from China's Writers' Association, over 230 contemporary Chinese writers have had their works translated. There are currently around 2,000 translated contemporary Chinese literary works in the global market.

The rise of the Chinese economy, the world's increasing interest in modern China, and the popularity of films adapted from novels, are all boosting interest in the country's contemporary literature.

Patrizia Liberati, an official from Italian Embassy in China, has translated three of Mo Yan's works into Italian. Her translation of Mo's "Life and Death are Wearing Me Out" has won a translation prize in her own country. She says Mo's work is for a world audience.

Li Er, an up-and-coming Chinese writer is hailed by critics for a few of his novels, which were also picked up by a sinologist.

Li said, "My German translator found my novel during her trip to China, while in a bookstore. She tried many ways to find me. She translated two novels for me, "Truth and Variations" and "Cherry On a Pomegranate Tree". The two books were acclaimed in Germany."

The German edition of Li Er's novel "Cherry On a Pomegranate Tree" has sold more than 10-thousand copies to date.

Liu Xianping, the director of the International Exchange Department of China's Writers' Association, said while some writers are attracting attention on their own, in recent years the association has been very active to promote Chinese literature.

Liu said, "Cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries have become frequent. Since 2004, we have attended almost all major international book fairs. Each time we bring a group of promising writers. At Frankfurt's 2009 book fair we brought more than 100 writers. In addition, we have published a series of books featuring over 100 short or mid-sized novels by contemporary writers. They have been translated into eight languages including English, Russian, German, and Korean. We have also held forums for translators for meetings with writers to improve their abilities."

The spread of China's literature could not have gone global had it not been for those who took on the daunting task of translating these works. But nowadays, translating has become an industry in and of itself.

The spread of Chinese contemporary literature is offering the outside world a new look at the country's land, its people, and the common thread of human nature.