MCLC: Xu Yuanchong wins translation award

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Xu Yuanchong wins translation award
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Source: People's Daily (8/5/14):
http://english.people.com.cn/n/2014/0805/c90000-8765438.html

The first Chinese winner of 'Aurora Borealis' Prize:
Translation changes the world (People's Daily Online

On the afternoon of August 2nd, during the member's assembly of the 20th
World Conference of the Federation of International Translators (FIT), FIT
conferred The "Aurora Borealis" Prize on Xu Yuanchong, a Chinese
translator. This international awardis hosted every three years. Xu is the
first Chinese winner of the award.

Unable to attend the ceremony, Xu, 93, expressed his appreciation through
a letterwritten in English. Oblivious to the glorious award ceremony, Xu
was enclosed in a smallroom at Peking University, busy translating four
great tragedies by Shakespeare."I spendmore than two months translating
one book. I plan to finish the complete works ofShakespeare in five
years." says Xu. A reader can see how painstakingly Xu applieshimself to
Shakespeare's texts by reading his translations.

"I think this version is better than Zhu Shenghao's because I am three
times older thanhim which means I am more experienced," Xu laughed. Zhu
Shenghao was the one whotranslated the most works of Shakespeare.

In 2013 Xu translated poetry by Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi, all
well-knownChinese poets of the Tang Dynasty. In the same year, The
Collection of Xu Yuanchong'sTranslations, consisting of 27 books,
including English and French, was published.

In the address of the Outstanding Translation of Literature, the committee
of the FITsaid: "We need effective communication in these international
circumstances. ProfessorXu Yuanchong dedicates himself to facilitating
communication between Chinese, Englishand French."

"The habits of thinking are different between Chinese and Westerners, but
translationcan break down barriers," says Xu.

Extensive Reading

The "Aurora Borealis" Prize sponsored by Norwegian Association of Literary
Translators,one of the highest awards in the international translation
field, is awarded to translatorswho promote development of literary
translation and make a significant contribution tointernational cultural
communication.

Xu Yuanchong is the first Asian scholar to win the prize since its
establishment in 1999.

Xu Yuanchong is one of very few Chinese who can translate poetry
effectively. Some translation experts regard him as "a monument to
classical translation of the second half of the twentieth Century".

The article is edited and translated from《"北极光"奖获得者许渊冲：翻译改变世
界(图)》, source: 
Guangming Daily, author: Liu Wenjia