Getting the Drift

In 2002， the United Nations General Assembly declared May 21 World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. A civilization with the longest continuous history in the world， five-millennia-old Chinese society has continued interacting and exchanging with other civilizations for at least 2，000 years. However， reality remains undeniable： Despite the fact that China has become the world’s second largest economy， its voice remains weak on the global stage of cross-cultural exchange. From May 16 to 19， 2014， just a few days before World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development， nearly 100 scholars and translators in fields of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communications gathered at Beijing Language and Culture University （BLCU） to attend a seminar themed“translation and communication of Chinese culture.” The seminar， jointly sponsored by the Bureau for External Cultural Relations under the Ministry of Culture， Translators Association of China （TAC）， and BLCU， aims to find methods for spreading Chinese culture and realizing balanced dialogue between Chinese and foreign cultures.

All Greek

Language differences are the first inevitable barrier for cross-cultural communication. Like a bridge between languages， translation enables those from various countries and cultures to communicate with each other. However， translation isn’t as simple as converting one language to another – it also requires leaping the gap between cultures. “Behind each language is unique cultural connotations，” remarks Cui Xiliang， president of BLCU. “A good translator is proficient not only in his or her native culture， but also alien cultures.”

After all， a single person’s cognitive abilities in language and culture have limits. It’s no easy task to introduce culture to people from a completely different background. And the differences between Chinese and Western cultures are countless. In the eyes of Liu Deyou， former Vice Minister of Culture and an honorary director of TAC， more than language conversion， translation requires transitioning between different thought patterns and communicating across cultures. To some extent， translation is attempting the impossible.

“Some think translating poetry is irrational and even liken it to converting da Vinci’s oil painting into a traditional Chinese painting or transforming Beethoven into classical Chinese music，” he explains.“Indeed， poems are hard to be translated due to cultural and linguistic gaps. In my opinion， most poems are translatable in terms of content， partially in terms of formal aesthetics， but totally untranslatable in terms of rhythm. Therefore， translators are required to rewrite.”

Going Global

In the context of economic globalization， cultural exchange between different nations has also seen a boom. In a sense， cultural globalization is a 21st Century trend. Any national culture cannot survive and develop without communicating with other cultures. In this circumstance， Chinese culture has managed to transcend its national boundaries to interact with foreign cultures.

Through measures such as establishing Confucius Institutes and Chinese Culture Centers abroad， Chinese culture is becoming more familiar to foreigners. Meanwhile， a number of Sino-foreign cultural exchange events， both governmental and nongovernmental， have been organized. However， heading abroad is only one step. Making Chinese culture truly understood and accepted by the global community would require a long time. “Currently， most foreigners show interest in icons of Chinese culture such as the Great Wall， Forbidden City， Peking Opera， and roast duck just because such things satisfy their curiosity，”opines Zhou Hongbo， vice editor-in-chief of The Commercial Press. “Such curiosity has yet to develop into appreciation and recognition of Chinese culture.”

Some traditional Chinese art forms including Peking Opera are increasingly marginalized even in China， so inspiring foreigners to understand and love them would be daunting to say the least. “When I first watched Peking Opera， it was boring to me，” recalls Elyse Ribbons， an American who studies traditional operas at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. “I didn’t understand what they were singing even with English subtitles scrolling across a display next to the stage.‘What’s going on？’ I asked myself after the performance. Later， a friend of mine took me to another Peking Opera. Before the performance， she explained the story of the opera. She also carefully explained to me what each of the actors’ movements represented. At that point， I fell in love with the traditional Chinese art.”

“Traditional Chinese opera and Western drama have different narrative methods，” she adds. “To introduce Chinese opera to Western audiences， one must help them understand the storyline first， instead of providing just subtitles for the lyrics. Although dance and martial arts don’t need translation， some symbolism should be explained with short sentences printed on the theater program. Neither Chinese nor Westerners will love traditional operas unless they understand them.”

Perhaps the best way to make Chinese culture understood and China’s voice heard is to introduce things in a method acceptable to the international community. “We should edit content we want to introduce to foreigners according to their methods of thinking， information acceptance， and demand，” comments Yang Lei， director of the West Europe and Latin America Department of China Radio International.“We should explain and interpret Chinese values and issues from a third-person perspective and in a way meeting international practices.”

The ultimate goal of taking Chinese culture global is to realize harmonious coexistence between China and other nations so that all humans can gracefully share this planet called Earth.