They connect with China

Brief introduction：

The twelve authors from all over the world focus on the theme of “My China Story” and tell the stories about their research and work lives in China. Among them are sinologists， translators， publishers， and scholars of Chinese history， economics， and law. Through telling their own stories， they present the truest impression of China， as well as their deep love for this country.

About the authors：

Among the 12 authors of this book， many of them have won the Special Book Award of China. They have made great achievements in translating Chinese books and promoting Chinese culture. They are the well-known sinologists， writers and translators in their own countries.

This is a book about “China Stories”. The twelve authors from all over the world are internationally renowned sinologists， writers， translators， and publishers. Most of them have won the “Special Book Award of China”. They connect with China and bear witness to the development and changes of contemporary China. Their strong love for Chinese and wonderful stories are touching. Among the 12 authors， many of them came into contact with Chinese when they were young， their passion for Chinese gradually grew stronger and finally they found they couldn’t give up Chinese learning. As a result， they became attached to China and Chinese culture and started to learn， translate， publish， and research. Some started learning Chinese in the 1990s， and some older people started in the 1950s and 1960s. Whether it was more than 20 years ago or more than half a century ago， learning Chinese and studying Chinese culture were definitely rarely seen overseas because they faced many specific difficulties. Without true love for Chinese， it is impossible to have a keen and lasting interest and stick to it. Not only did they stick it out， but they also made remarkable achievements in translation， research or publication of Chinese themes with their gifts， perseverance and hard work.

Anna Budura from Romania is nearly 90 years old. She was the first Romanian student to come to China （in the early 1950s） for overseas study. She studied at Tsinghua University and Peking University and accomplished her undergraduate studies in the History Department at Peking University. At that time， since great masters gathered at Peking University， Anna Budura got the opportunity to know academic scholars， including Deng Guangming， Zhou Yiliang， Shao Xunzheng， Qi Sihe， Zhang Zhilian and so on. This also laid the foundation for her later sinology research. Anna Budura recalled with strong emotion： “The six years at Tsinghua University and Peking University has been the most wonderful period in my life. This experience laid a solid foundation for me to become a historian and a sinologist. I will always be grateful to those respectable teachers and classmates who wear smiles all the time.” Anna Budura has published works such as The Kingdom of Symbols： From Confucius to Mao Zedong and The Victory of the Dragon： China in the Second World War in Romania. It has made great contributions to the spread of Chinese culture and promoting friendly relations between China and Romania. During her study at Peking University， Anna Budura married to Mr. Romulus Budura， a compatriot who studied together with her. They have been accompanying one another since the first day of their marriage. After graduating from Peking University， Romulus Budura and his wife continued to devote themselves to cultural exchanges and research related to China. Romulus Budura once worked as an escort and interpreter for Zhu De， Zhou Enlai， Deng Xiaoping and the then Romanian national leaders， and served as Romania’s ambassador in China in the 1990s. Anna Budura and Romulus Budura’s son Luo Yang （Chinese name） and their daughter Luo Jiaxing （Chinese name）" are all proficient in Chinese and engaged in translation studies. What is more， their grandchildren also show a strong interest in Chinese culture. The big family has witnessed and experienced the friendship between China and Romania and is attached to China for several generations， which makes for a wonderful story. At the end of the article， the author says， “When I am about to turn to 90， I look back to my life with joy. What occurs to me is the wealth I have accumulated throughout my life， that is， my contributions to the research and spread of Chinese civilization. And deep down， I feel the generosity of the Chinese nation.”

In August 2019， 4 volumes of more than 2，400 pages of A Dream of Red Mansions （Bulgarian edition） were all published. This is a big event in the Bulgarian publishing industry and leaves a mark in the history of the oversea propogation of Chinese culture. Petko Hinov， a Bulgarian sinologist， after 8 years of hard work on his own， completed the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions， a representative work of Chinese classical culture. His courage， perseverance and Chinese proficiency are impressive. In addition to A Dream of Red Mansions， Petko Hinov has also translated and published prominent Chinese literary works such as The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants， Fatigue of Life and Death and My Country and My People. As a bookworm， he is obsessed with the beauty of words and devotes himself to studies and translation. With poetic language， he talks about his study background and translation career tirelessly and vividly. “I possess a special feeling for Chinese language. It enables me to travel back in time， to see and touch the ancient world. The Chinese language perfectly combines beauty and artistic conception. Beautiful poems and rational proverbs keep thoughts everlasting， and idioms convey the wisdom of the ancients to future generations. They have not changed throughout history.” At the beginning of 2020， Petko Hinov and his Chinese wife Xiao Li published an autobiographical book Loving China and Loving Bulgaria， which enables us to learn more about his academic career. Speaking of goals， he says， “Translating Chinese literary works is my mission.” Petko Hinov is in his prime of life. With his talent and academic ambition， it is believed that he will bring us more surprises in the future.

In addition， there is a German sinologist Shi Kunsen who focuses on Chinese drama translation and a Swiss sinologist Harro von Senger who studies ancient Chinese classics. Kim Tae Sung （from South Korea）， Hassanein （from Egypt） and Elham Sadat Mirzania （from Iran） have translated a large number of contemporary Chinese literary works. In the 1970s， Tun Tint， a Burmese scholar， came to Beijing to compile Burmese-Chinese Dictionary with Chinese scholars. Joanna， a Polish publisher， and Khatib， a Lebanese publisher， are also in. China and Us written by Valarou， a Moroccan expert in Chinese issues highly applauds China’s development and great achievements. When he was a senior official of the Moroccan government， he made an effort to promote friendly relations between our two countries.

In the 1990s， having read Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching， Harro von Senger found that the ideas therein were consistent with the internal governance of Switzerland， a small European country， in many respects. In his words， Tao Te Ching is the philosophy of the governance of Switzerland. Afterwards， Harro von Senger published The Way of Switzerland， which cites more than 80 quotes from Tao Te Ching to describe Switzerland. As an overseas sinologist， Harro von Senger’s research perspective and ways of thinking are a breath of fresh air， which gets more readers in Switzerland and Europe to feel the splendor of Chinese culture.

Shi Kunsen， a young scholar from Germany， calls himself a “behind-the-scenes sinologist” because he has translated many Chinese dramas and worked as a stagehand for performances of famous contemporary Chinese dramatists and stage artists in Germany such as Lin Zhaohua， Pu Cunxin， and Meng Jinghui. He also devoted himself to promoting exchanges between Chinese and German dramas. In this process， he gained a better understanding of China， with a long history and splendid culture. China is home to complex elements such as culture and civilization， politics and art， science and economy， and religion. It is difficult for most foreigners to realize it.

Elham Sadat Mirzania， an Iranian sinologist has been learning Chinese for 25 years and has translated and edited many works. She says “If I were 18 again， I would still choose the major of Chinese Language and Literature without hesitation. I spent about one-third of my life in China. I have travelled to many cities and rural areas in China and seen different customs and lifestyles of various ethnic groups in China. I have also tried tasting their food and wearing the costumes， understood their hard-working spirit， and felt their warmth. Therefore， my life became inextricably bound up with China.” Sincere feelings of this kind for China are very common among overseas scholars and sinologists. This is the fundamental reason why they can show a strong and lasting interest in learning and researches against all odds.

By reading this book， readers can not only understand the translation and academic careers of these overseas scholars， but also experience their extraordinary life. Everything they do has sowed the seeds of Chinese culture in their own countries， which allows more people to know and learn about Chinese culture. It is because of them that Chinese culture has been spread overseas and that Chinese culture and foreign cultures have been effectively exchanged. Professor Zhang Xiping， a well-known expert in international sinology studies and editor-in-chief of International Sinology， was moved by the authors’ sentiments and perseverance for Chinese culture， and wrote the preface for this book. The preface reads， “Their tireless translation and researches have allowed extensive， profound and unique Chinese and Chinese culture to enter a foreign land， leading to exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations and promoting mutual understanding and friendship between different countries. Their hard work is respectable， and the achievements are surely enormous.”

With the great progress of China in the past four decades and the continuous increase of its international influence， the depth and breadth of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries have entered an unprecedented stage. More and more people have become followers of these foreign experts. Due to my work， I have been in contact with many overseas sinologists and translators. Their diligence， rigorous scholarship， sincerity and broad-mindedness as well as their deep love for Chinese culture， and their affection for the Chinese people have greatly impressed me. I sincerely wish these overseas experts and scholars’ connection with China will make more achievements in the research and the spreading of Chinese culture.

My China Stories II：

China’s Appeal to Overseas Scholars

Edited by Editorial Committee of My China Stories

Written by [Bulgaria] Petko Todorov Hinov， et al.

Beijing Times-Chinese Publishing House，Co.，LTD.

December 2020

68.00 （CNY）