The April Issue

The first working conference was held

Work to translate the Chinese core cultural classics -- the Five Classics -- into nine foreign languages has begun for the first time since the People’s Republic of China was founded 60 years ago.

The first working conference of the International Academic Committee for the Five Classics Study and Translation, set up by Hanban, was held in Beijing on July 27. Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and State Councilor Liu Yandong each sent a congratulatory letter. More than 30 well known sinologists from 11 countries, including China, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Italy, attended the conference. They held in-depth discussions on specific academic issues concerning the translation work, such as the original text, the style and the publication.

The Five Classics refer to the five ancient Chinese books -- the Book of Poetry,the Book of History, the Book of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. The Classics, regarded as the source of Chinese culture for over 2,000 years, have played a unique and significant role in the history of Chinese culture. Due to historical reasons, no complete multilanguage versions of the Classics have been available so far. Hanban’s effort to translate the Five Classics is aimed at filling the blanks of modern translation versions and meeting the culture-transmission demand.

In the summer of 2008, Hanban and the Confucius Institute Headquarters,officially set up the project for translating the Five Classics. Extensive talks were held with both Chinese and overseas experts on translation, exegetical studies and Confucian classics studies. Distinguished scholars in pertinent spheres were invited to serve as members of the International Academic Committee for the Five Classics Study and Translation, in order to ensure smooth progress of this international Sinology project.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the academic committee, Vice Education Minister Hao Ping said that, compared with Judaism’s Pentateuch and Hinduism’s Four Vedas, the role of China’s Five Classics was no less significant in the history of world civilization. But the Five Classics, different from the others, were concerned with the ideas concerning human beings and nature; so, they were still enlightening to the contemporary world, he said. The translation of the Classics would be China’s contribution to world civilization, and it also answered the need for the world to know about China. Only by complete modern translation versions could the Five Classics be established among the other great classics of world civilization. In this way, the value of Chinese culture could be fully recognized by the international community, he said.

Hanban’s Director General Xu Lin stressed that the translation of the Five Classics would fill the historical gap caused by there being no complete translated versions. She said the translated works would also serve as teaching materials in Confucius Institutes, increase the academic influence of Confucius Institutes, and boost the dissemination of Chinese traditional culture in the world.

The Five Classics will first be published in English in three and a half years, then the books will be translated into French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and other languages on basis of the English version and the original text. The Classics have about 700,000 characters and the English version is expected to contain about 1 million words on 2,500 pages. The other versions will vary in length. Efforts will also be made to ensure fidelity to the original Chinese source, while contemporary language features and different cultural backgrounds of readers will be taken into consideration.

Chang'e

It is one month before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Shops along the streets are busy preparing for the holiday. On the counters are various moon cakes, all beautifully ornamented. Many shops cash in on the folk custom of family reunion, doing intriguing promotions.

Mr. Zhang, CEO of a Beijing-based foreign enterprise, will fly back to his hometown on the very 15th August of the Chinese lunar calendar, along with his wife and also with piles of gifts. “Although it is tiring to take rushing trips, it is nice to enjoy such an important day with my parents. Tired as I am, I feel happy,” said Mr. Zhang in excitement.

A day for family reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th of August of the Chinese lunar calendar (which is usually around mid- or late September in the Gregorian calendar). With the clear sky, the smell of laurels permeates the air. The festival coincides with the middle of autumn, hence the name.

“Brightest is the moon on the night; when people far from one another share the light”. Although mankind shares the same moon, legends about the moon varies with countries and peoples. In different cultures, the moon is imbued with different meanings. Each civilization has their unique “lunar history”. The Chinese one can be traced to remote antiquity.