<h3>The "Sock Elf", which is the same as "Mole Story", has a Chinese version</h3>
Reporter Sun Wen
Illustration of "Sock Genie"
"Have you noticed that you have one less sock?"
"Yes, yes, I have only one sock left in my drawer!"
"Do you know where the other sock went?" There is a group of sock elves who live in our house and they love to eat socks, especially cotton socks and wool socks, well, if a little taste... That would be even better. But they only take one sock and leave you another. ”
"The socks I lost were cotton thread!"
"Do you want to find the Sock Elf?" Sock elves are usually invisible, they are 'invisible' like chameleons, only two people in the world have seen them..."
Why do you always have one less sock
It turned out to be stolen by the sock elves
The "Sock Elf", which is the same as "The Mole's Tale", has a Chinese version
I use this conversation to "lure" the little boy in the family to read a set of books. Hearing the last sentence, he couldn't help but look for the sock elf.
This set of books is "Sock Genie", it has three books - "Strange Sock Genie", "Sock Elf Is Back", "Forever Sock Elf", it is the same as "The Story of the Mole", it is a well-known Czech national treasure children's book, and its Chinese simplified version has just been launched by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House.
On April 28, in the office of Liu Mingye, deputy editor-in-chief of Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, I saw the "sock spirit".
Just a week ago, on April 21, the set of books had just been urgently produced at the printing house, and the next day she took a large box to Beijing. On April 25, at the Czech Embassy in Beijing, there was a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Czech Republic, and the books were placed on every high table on the scene.
After the event, Liu Mingye brought the Czech Minister of Culture's signature book "Sock Spirit" back to Hangzhou, and the president's autograph, the Czech Embassy in China, will be sent to Hangzhou later.
"Sock Genie" is equally famous as "The Mole's Tale"
Speaking of which, the "acquaintance" between Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House and this set of books is somewhat accidental.
At the 2017 BIBF (Beijing International Book Fair), after the copyright negotiations of many books were over, Liu Mingye and his colleagues rarely had a little time to walk around the expo site.
It just so happens that Galina Miklinova, the illustrator of the book "The Sock Genie", is doing a promotion campaign for the book. Liu Mingye was immediately attracted by the illustration of "Sock Elf".
Liu Mingye has a special love for Czech literature, she said that although the Czech Republic is not large, it is a literary power, and there are people like Kafka. "The Mole's Tale has influenced many people and made Czech children's literature respected and loved, and the "Sock Fairy" and "The Mole's Tale" are equally famous, and I am very optimistic about this set of books. ”
In August 2018, the movie "Strange Sock Spirit" landed in major theaters in China, which also shows the forward-looking of Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House in the introduction of books from one side.
In the movie Strange Sock Elves, the elves live in a bustling city, living peacefully with humans and carefree. Until one day, a group of ambitious elves try to break the rules set by the "godfather" and start stealing socks in pairs. The good elves and the careerists fought a fierce contest because of their different positions. A lonely old human professor has spotted the elves and tries to catch them for study. Against this backdrop, the elves face unprecedented challenges.
It can be said that the story of the film is basically faithful to the original, but the original is more abundant and has far-reaching imagination.
In people's expectations, the "Sock Genie" negotiated the copyright issue the year before, and it will definitely be published in the summer of 2018, with the help of a wave of marketing boom with the help of movies. But the publishers behind it didn't.
"The biggest problem we face when it comes to bringing in books is finding the right translators." Liu Mingye said that imported literary works are actually difficult to present perfectly, "because it puts forward high requirements for translators to achieve in both languages." Even if you find the right translator, he may not have had time to translate your book. ”
Finally, the Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House found the translator Xu Weizhu, who was shortlisted for the Literary Translation Award of the Seventh Lu Xun Literature Award for "The Train under Close Surveillance". Xu Weizhu, together with two other Czech scholars, Zhai Dongyu and Wang Weitao, completed the translation of three volumes.
Liu Mingye said that such a slowness has realized the intention of Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House for publishing, and for better quality, they often do not catch up with the trend, but are willing to wait.
Why introduce children's literature related to cats, cats, dogs and dogs
The celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Czech Republic on April 25 was particularly literary - bands, cold food have a strong Czech flavor, and most specially, there is a "sock elf" on each high table. At the scene of the event, the Czech Minister of Culture gave the Chinese version of the "Sock Spirit" as a gift for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Czech Republic to Luo Shugang, Minister of Culture and Tourism of China.
"The Czech Republic not only attaches great importance to china's economic exchanges, but also to cultural exchanges, and they are very happy that our book was published at this time." In the Czech Republic, Mr. Liu said, "Sock Spirits" and "The Tale of the Mole" are on a par with each other, and they are willing to introduce the book to China.
If you stand in the perspective of Chinese culture, why is Liu Mingye's Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House willing to spend a lot of effort to introduce and elaborately produce this set of books?
From the perspective of books alone, Liu Mingye felt that he was impressed by the imagination of the "sock elf". "It opens with a child often losing a sock, where does it go? Sock elves stole it! This set of books is full of wonderful imaginations, especially cute. Liu Mingye said that as far as imagination is concerned, the difference between Chinese and foreign cultural backgrounds has caused the difference in imagination, and as a publisher, she is willing to introduce this highly imaginative story to Chinese children.
From a higher perspective, she hopes that together with other publishers, she can introduce high-quality books and provide multicultural nourishment for children. Of course, the same is true for adults - "Expanding our horizons and aesthetic abilities in reading, and absorbing in many ways, can achieve our more elegant aesthetic taste." ”
It is precisely in this way that Liu Mingye believes that the introduction of books should have the tolerance of all kinds of rivers, and this tolerance has a profound significance for the construction of our culture.
Staying in children's literature, Liu Mingye often told the editors of the company that it is necessary to introduce more children's literature related to cats, cats, dogs and dogs, "This is what children like, it shows the natural connection between children and nature, countries are similar, but the situation is different." Of course, it is not that children like books about "cats, dogs and dogs", so they will introduce them all. Liu Mingye's choice is a book like "Charlotte's Net" - "It pays attention to the warm warmth between small animals and children, so that children can grow up in this interaction." ”