Highlights
By Zhu Jingning
April 23 is World Book Day. Hangzhou's "West Lake Reading Delight" series was officially launched on April 19, with more than ten themed activities to be rolled out across the city.
Centered on "From the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the River Seine", a literature-sharing event took place on the Canal with a focus on "Sino-French cultural exchanges". It featured renowned translator and French academician Dong Qiang and other Chinese and French scholars who walked along the Canal, engaging in cross-temporal literary dialogues.
During a boat ride from Wulin Wharf to Gongchen Bridge, Dong Qiang introduced himself as a Hangzhou native who grew up near the water. He entered Peking University at 16, where he developed a fondness for French, later spending 12 years studying in France.
As a translation scholar, Dong inspires young people and encourages more people to engage in translation, allowing the wonderful stories of hundreds of writers to reach a wider audience. "To transport water from the Grand Canal to the River Seine, or vice versa, you need a ferryman. Constructing the Canal required significant manpower and resources, much like translation work, which demands substantial energy and effort. Only in-depth translation fosters lasting communication and mutual understanding between the two countries."
The series of activities will be hosted at Xiaofeng Canal Bookstore, featuring Chinese and French scholars like Chen Shucai, a poet and translator of Le Petit Prince, and Chen Feng, chief editor of the Chinese Literature series at Philippe Picquier Publishing House. They will engage in literary exchanges with enthusiasts. Along the canal, a Sino-French-themed market showcases the essence of Chinese and French literature through a combination of "literary dialogues, thematic book markets, and literature photography".