FOUND IN TRANSLATION

Young professionals are increasingly helping to fill in gaps in Chinese versions of French literature, past and present, Fang Aiqing reports.

A younger generation of translators has entered the limelight this year at the Fu Lei Translation and Publishing Award.

The three winners of the 16th edition of the prize, which is sponsored by the French embassy in China, were announced in Beijing on Nov 30. French Ambassador to China Bertrand Lortholary said that the event can also be viewed as part of the wider celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic relations.

Since 2009, the Fu Lei award has been given each year to outstanding translations from French to Chinese, recognizing the efforts of translators, as well as the influence of the translations on Chinese readers. Fu Lei (1908-66), for whom the prize is named, produced Chinese translations of French literary classics by the likes of Balzac, Voltaire, Romain Rolland and Prosper Merimee.