I can't tell you how many literary works have been translated in the past 50 years, and how many people have translated literary works, but we will never forget those excellent foreign literary works, those famous books and those famous translations. We will also remember the names of those great translators (they are really great). For example, Mr. Yimei translated How Steel was Tempered. This book with just over 300,000 words has influenced generations of young people. Since the 1950s, I don't know how many young people copied that famous saying about life and kept it in mind. It is with the belief that they have lived their lives, that they went to the battlefield to defend their motherland. In order to build the motherland, they went to the northwest and the Great Northern Wilderness and gave their youth and even their lives. It is said that this translation has printed more than 3.8 million copies, which shows its influence and popularity. You know, in some places, a book is read by many people. Some middle schools in Beijing also have classes named after Paul, which shows the influence of this book on teenagers now.
Looking back on the course of translating and introducing foreign literature in the past 50 years, we can't help but think of the "three major series" that have made unique contributions to China's cultural construction, namely, the series of foreign literary masterpieces, the series of foreign classical literary theories and the series of Marxist literary theories. Today, readers over the age of 40 may still remember those famous books with green background and light cover. These three sets of books were put forward by the leaders of the Propaganda Department of the CPC at 1958, and the Academy of Social Sciences was responsible for the specific work. They gathered famous foreign literary experts, scholars, translators and publishers from all over the country to formulate and implement a cultural project. By experts' investigation and brainstorming, about 200 kinds of the best and most representative works in the world were selected. They almost covered the masterpieces of epics, poems, plays and novels of all ethnic groups in the East and the West from the ancient Middle Ages to the modern times. They were large-scale and systematic, basically reflecting the development and evolution of world literature at that time and its colorful and diversified historical process, which laid the foundation for the later translation and introduction of foreign literature. All the translators who take part in the translation work are first-class translators in China. Because of their profound knowledge, profound knowledge of Chinese and foreign languages and working attitude of striving for perfection, the translation is faithful to the original and maintains its style, which is a masterpiece. (For example, Mr. Jiang Yang, the translator of Don Quixote, is proficient in English and French, but he has never studied Spanish. She taught herself Spanish in order to translate the book well. Most of these books have stood the test of time and are welcomed by readers from generation to generation. The appearance of these three sets of books has indeed broadened the horizons of China readers and improved their cultural literacy, which has played a very important role in the in-depth development of foreign literature teaching and research in China, and also provided a world cultural heritage for those engaged in literary creation and literary theory research.
Due to the world political environment at that time, in the 1950s and 1960s, China rarely introduced contemporary works in Europe and America, but as an internal reference in the literary and art circles, he published a number of "Yellow Books", which were very dedicated foreign literature publishing houses at that time. After tracking and studying western contemporary literature and learning from foreign literature experts, they selected the representative works of western writers at that time for translation. Because of their pure yellow cover, they were called "Yellow Book". Among them are Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Kerouac's On the Road, Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Ake Senov's Train Ticket with Stars. Some of these books were officially published in the 1980s and 1990s.
After the Cultural Revolution, especially since the reform and opening up, the translation and publication of foreign literature has ushered in a new spring. Due to the "Cultural Revolution" and the resumption of the "Three Series" project, the translation of many "masterpieces" continues. At the same time, the translation field began to fill the gaps in the introduction of foreign literature (such as the introduction of oriental literature). In the past, some translated works were retranslated from the original by experts. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, some contemporary western best-sellers began to be translated and introduced, which was welcomed by readers. For example, the second edition of The Storm of War (originally issued internally). In the mid-1980s, it began to translate and introduce famous foreign literature works in the 20th century in a planned way, among which the most representative is the Series of Foreign Literature in the 20th century, which selected outstanding works with great influence in the 20th century literary world, mainly novels. Through the works, readers can understand some historical changes in the twentieth century, the evolution of social thoughts, and the inheritance and development of literature in various countries. The masterpieces of famous artists in the 20th century, such as Lawrence, Mao Mu, Conrad, Dreiser, Hemingway, Faulkner, thomas mann, Camus, Moravia and so on, gradually came out. Since the mid-1980s, especially in the 1990s, more modern and contemporary foreign masterpieces and modernist representative works, such as symbolism, "stream of consciousness", existentialism, absurd drama, "black humor" and Latin American magic realism, have been translated and introduced. Readers gradually became familiar with Sartre, Singh, Bellow, Cheever, Morrison, Nabokov, Marcos, Duras, Kundera, Yasunari Kawabata, Kenzaburo Oe, Borges and other famous writers in various countries. The translation and introduction of modern and contemporary outstanding works and representative works have indeed broadened the horizons of China readers and gained a broader understanding of the world and western modernism. The artistic style of contemporary foreign writers can also be used for reference by China writers. Also in the early 1990s and the early 20th century, two famous western literary works, Memories of Time Past and Ulysses, were translated one after another (there were two versions of Ulysses, one by Professor Jin Di, a famous scholar who studied Joyce, and the other by famous writers and translators Xiao Gan and Wen Jieruo), which attracted great attention in China's literary world and some overseas media also published relevant reports.
In the 2 1 century, foreign literary workers have made more systematic follow-up research on foreign contemporary works, and translated and introduced excellent foreign works in a timely manner. However, the determination of topics, the purchase of copyright, the compilation, editing and publication of translations all emphasize timeliness, which requires coordination among scholars, translators and editors. Fortunately, with the joint efforts of the above-mentioned personnel, the set of "2 1 century's best foreign novels" published at the beginning of this century is a relatively successful example.
In addition to the translation of works, since the late 1980s and early 1990s, the translation of literary and artistic theoretical works has also received attention. What is particularly worth mentioning is the Series of Twentieth Century European and American Literary Theories edited by Mr. Chen. This set of books selects "representative, influential and academic works of various schools" in contemporary European and American countries. Translators are mostly scholars who study foreign literary theories, including many young experts. The translation of this set of books provides valuable information for the literary, theoretical and educational circles in China.
There is another force that cannot be ignored in the translation of foreign literature, that is, publications. Among them, World Literature, Foreign Literature and Art and Yilin are welcomed by readers. Although their space is limited, they publish the latest trends and publish the information and translated works of foreign writers at a faster speed, so that readers, especially literary workers, can understand and get in touch with the latest foreign literary works, emerging writers and new literary trends as soon as possible.
Finally, I want to say that the country and literary circles have always attached great importance to the translation of foreign literature, and the translator's contribution has been recognized. Lu Xun Literature Award is a prestigious literary award in China, and there is also a rainbow prize for translation in recognition of translators' achievements and outstanding contributions. Translators who have won the Rainbow Award in recent two sessions are: Lu Yuan Li, Yang Deyu, Jiang Feng, Tu An, Gu Yunpu, Dong Yansheng and Wang Huansheng. Among the five national book awards awarded so far, the winning translations include The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Ramayana, World Anti-Fascist Literature Series, The Complete Works of Cervantes, Homer Epic and so on. There are more nominations. Moreover, in recent years, the study of foreign literature translation has also received academic attention. All these have greatly promoted the translation of foreign literature and greatly inspired the translators of foreign literature.
In short, the achievements in the translation and introduction of foreign literature have been remarkable for decades. The cause initiated by the older generation of translators has been succeeded by others, and the ranks of translators today have grown unprecedentedly. What is more gratifying is that since the 1980s and 1990s, a group of outstanding young translators have emerged, who are the backbone of the literary translation team in China today. We believe that their dedication will make China's literary translation more brilliant. Of course, there are still some worrying aspects in today's literary translation. In recent years, many old experts are also very worried, that is, the translation quality of some books is poor, there are too many retranslations of famous books, and some people even make up the numbers. How to solve this problem, I am afraid that critics, readers and publishers should work together to do a good job in literary translation criticism and give readers guidance. Editors of publishing houses should have a sense of responsibility and ensure good quality. Readers should choose credible translations when buying books.
Ren Jisheng, former deputy editor-in-chief of People's Literature Publishing House (in charge of editing foreign literature, final draft), edited and reviewed. Executive Vice President of China Translators Association, Member of Chinese Writers Association, Director of Foreign Literature Publishing Research Association of China Publishers Association. Main translated works: Jonathan Livingston's Livingston Seagull, Miss Brody's Youth, The Maya Family (co-translated), The Storm of War (co-translated), The Rich and the Poor (co-translated), The Stupid Kachin, The Jungle Story (co-translated) and so on.