Closing the distance for Chinese literature abroad: Sinologist

Chinese writer Su Tong. [Photo/IC]

Q: How do you choose the works that you want to translate? Is it more of a personal preference or a decision based on other factors?

A: I keep a number of writers in mind that I would like to translate, consisting of a mix of authors that I know are important or representative of Chinese literature and authors I happen to like and would like to share with other Dutch readers. So far, publishers have come to me with their projects before I could come to them, but fortunately they often pick authors that would have been on my list anyway.

Q: What are the authors that are popular with the Dutch translators?

A: Authors like Su Tong, Bi Feiyu, Mo Yan and Chan Koonchung are much translated. Other translators work on older Chinese literature, but I myself am not very familiar with that field.

Q: Is Chinese literature popular with the Dutch readers? Do you see a rise of interest in Chinese literature since Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in literature?

A: My impression is that in the last years there has certainly been more and more interest in Chinese literature, and this was probably helped by Mo Yan's win. But the growing interest is likely also caused by the fact that people are becoming more interested in China in general as the country is becoming more and more powerful and a bigger player internationally.

Q:You said in an interview that sinologists have a big influence on the publishing house in deciding what Chinese literary works to be introduced to the Netherlands. Can you talk more about the current situation of Chinese literature's introduction in the Netherlands?

A: Dutch sinologists are well placed to keep an eye on Chinese literature and recommend interesting works to publishers, and they regularly do so. In addition, the Confucius Institute in the Netherlands works together with sinologists in introducing Chinese authors to a Dutch audience. In the past few years, collections of work by Su Tong and Bi Feiyu have been published as a result of this cooperation, and we are currently working on a book by Xu Zechen. Of course, publishers also often choose books they hear about through other channels.