Tianjin Foreign Chinese University Library special collection of "Geological History of China" paper original book. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Yuqi
Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin, April 24 title: "China on the World Bookshelf"
Xinhua News Agency reporters Li Kun, Zhang Yuqi and Liu Runzhi
There is such a record in the library of the Library of Congress's collections, "Geological History of China", by Greep, published in Beijing in 1923. On the occasion of World Book Day, the library of Tianjin University of Foreign Chinese has made a new discovery of its special collection of books.
"By identifying the contents of the seal on the book, we finally learned about its 'drifting experience.'" Curator Cheng Youqiang said.
The Geological History of China is an English book written by The German-American geologist and pekingese fossil nominee Philip, in two volumes. Although it may seem inconspicuous, it is a very valuable material for the study of Chinese stratigraphy.
Holding the original paper versions of these two books, Cheng Youqiang seemed cautious. "Centuries ago, it was precisely because of such books on the 'World Bookshelf' that the story of China could be known to more people."
The numerous chapters on the inside page of the Geological History of China show its "drifting experience". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Yuqi
Discover China
More than 700 years ago, after 17 years of living in China, the Italian Marco Polo set out from quanzhou, Fujian, the "city of light" in his eyes, and returned to his hometown of Venice along the Maritime Silk Road. Then, a "Travels of Marco Polo" set off the first "China fever" in history in the West.
According to the records in the book, more and more Westerners came to "discover" China.
In the special collection room of the library of Tianjin Foreign Chinese University, the reporter saw that most of the early books on Chinese foreign languages were written by missionaries in China, covering all aspects of social economy and culture, and "meticulousness" is a very significant feature.
The Shanghai Christian Church has compiled the English-Chinese Shanghai Dialect Dictionary, in which under the word "walk", there is a special interpretation and translation of the Shanghainese "walking boxiang" (to play): for pleasure.
"It can be seen from the special collection of foreign language historical documents that foreigners' understanding of China has undergone a long process. From dialect dictionaries to classic translations such as the Book of Poetry, to works such as the Chronicle of Taishan, they all reflect their efforts and level in studying China. Wang Yuhui, head of the special collection department of the library of Tianjin Chinese University, said.
With the increasingly close exchanges between China and foreign countries in modern times, foreigners' research and understanding of China have also deepened. The "Beijing Letter" by the wife of the US Minister to China, Sarah Conger, records the chinese urban style and some historical events; the British female writer Pei Lizhu's "Beijing Jisheng" and "Chinese New Year" describe a large number of Beijing's customs and customs...
"Unlike the previous missionary period, during this period, foreigners' works on China turned to science and specialization, and Chinese and Western scholars worked together to establish a research system in various disciplines, and scientists such as Greep even devoted their lives to China's education until they were buried in China." Cheng Youqiang said.
Go global
In modern times, while foreigners continue to explore China, China itself has also given birth to a number of people who have studied Chinese and Western studies, such as Chen Yinke, Gu Hongming, Lin Yutang, etc., and the works written Chinese such as "The Spirit of Chinese" and "Jinghua Smoke and Clouds" have gone to the world.
After the founding of New China, the first foreign language book "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship" was published and distributed to the world; in 1984, China International Book Trade Corporation established a subsidiary "Evergreen Books (USA) Co., Ltd." in the United States; in 2011, Amazon's "China Bookstore" was launched, becoming the platform's theme bookstore named after the country...
Up to now, Amazon's "China Bookstore" has displayed 1.05 million kinds of books, distributed nearly 600,000 books in North America, and expanded e-book resources. Theme books, Chinese textbooks, literary novels, and children's books are the best-selling categories here, among which foreign language books such as "The Wisdom of Lao Tzu", "A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy", and "Chinese Acupuncture Test" are more popular.
Tianjin Foreign Chinese University has ancient books in foreign languages. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Yuqi
"In recent years, the sales of our Chinese original books have exceeded that of foreign language books, and Chinese novels such as "The Two of Us" and "Alive" have been selling well, and more and more overseas readers want to read original Chinese works, so we will put domestic excellent works here for the first time." Lu Nan, the operator of Amazon's "China Bookstore" and director of the International Network Marketing Center of China International Book Trade Group Co., Ltd., said.
Borrowing ships to go to sea, setting up stages to sing operas, the "China Bookshelf" project has been continuously opened in Asia, Europe, Africa and other places, and the world's largest book fairs such as the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair also have Chinese exhibitors...
According to the "2020 Report on the Development of Press and Publication Going Global" released by the China Press and Publication Research Institute, according to incomplete statistics, China's copyright output will reach more than 15,000 in 2020.
Depth matching
In January 2020, when the new crown pneumonia epidemic broke out, the "Novel Coronavirus Infection Prevention" published by Guangdong Science and Technology Publishing House and the "Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention Manual" published by Hubei Science and Technology Publishing House were both exported in multiple languages at the same time, providing relevant experience to the world for the first time.
In the view of Liu Yingchen, a researcher at the China Press and Publication Research Institute, this reflects the ability of China's news and publishing industry to actively plan high-quality topics and respond to international concerns in a timely manner. Chinese books are deeply matching the "World Bookshelf" in terms of content.
In July 2019, the Japanese version of "The Three-Body Problem" sold out in 10,000 copies on the first day of release in Japan, and was reprinted 10 times in a week. Tachibana Toyoya, the producer of the Japanese version of "Three-Body Problem", believes that "Three-Body Problem" has both a solid description of Chinese history, culture, and customs, as well as an excellent science fiction setting, so that foreigners can also understand, empathize, and identify, which is the reason for its popularity.
"China Bookshelf" in The Foryle Bookstore, london, UK, on October 22, 2019. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Stephen Cheng)
YangNa, a Russian teacher who works at an international school in Tianjin, said she liked to read some Chinese novels when she first came to China, and now she prefers to read books on Chinese education because she wants to seriously think about the differences in chinese and Russian education methods.
In order to better adapt to the needs of readers around the world, Chinese writers and publishing houses are working hard to start from the source. Taking the French EDP Sciences Publishing House, which was acquired by a Chinese company as an example, in 2020, the publishing house strengthened its planning and published 8 kinds of scientific and technological books such as "Chinese Wine" and "Moon Inn" that are more suitable for native english and French readers, achieving good results and accurately contributing excellent Chinese works to the "World Bookshelf".