Peking Opera, now fully translated in English

Peking Opera, long a cornerstone of Chinese traditional culture, will now be more accessible to foreign audiences via a new series of published English translations.

The project, entitled "The English Translation Series of 100 Peking Opera Classics" is co-written by the Renmin University of China and the Beijing Foreign Studies University and co-published by the Publishing House of the Renmin University of China and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

The project, backed by state investment, drew from a stunning range of humanities, social science, English language research and translation resources of Chinese universities and Peking Opera circles. The Ministry of Education plans to utilize the project to promote cultural exchanges with other countries.

191 diplomatic envoys from 82 countries attended a media briefing at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing chaired by Chen Yulu, president of the Renmin University of China, on Oct. 19 to celebrate the launch of the series. Attendees were presented with a copy of the newly published work.

Speaking at the conference, Sun Ping, editor-in-chief of the series, gave a brief introduction of the project, which began in September 2011.

The English Translation Series uses a combination of books and videos of stage performances to combine the static and dynamic states to fully represent the artistic intent of the operas. A prominent feature of the series is complete bilingual and stereoscopic visuals, Sun said.

"The whole translation series includes 100 classical Peking Opera plays which have been classified into 10 parts, each consisting of 10 plays. Each play has its own volume including preamble, script, music score, and dressing guide," Sun said.

Editors of the series invited famous experts and scholars, including 96-year-old Guo Hancheng, opera artist and researcher of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, and 92-year-old Xu Yuanchong, translator and professor of Peking University, to be its advisers.

"It was designed as a century project of the country, and State Councilor Liu Yandong attended its opening ceremony," Sun said.

Sun, who is also a famous Peking Opera actress and executive director of the Research Institute on Chinese National Opera of the Renmin University of China, said that language was often the first hurdle and biggest obstacle in cultural exchanges. "The success of the project will accumulate valuable experience for Chinese operas to [gain prominence] in the world," she said.