Teacher Liu Xingcan
Liu Xingcan, a Czech literary translator and former editor of the Foreign Literature Publishing House of the People's Literature Publishing House, died of a sudden heart attack on September 25, 2021 at the age of 84.
Liu Xingcan, pen name Xingcan, Le Xin. Born in a rural family in Xiangxiang, Hunan Province, he has loved literature and art since childhood. In 1953, he was admitted to the department of Chinese of Wuhan University, and in 1954, he was selected to study Czech literature at Charlie University in Prague, Czech Republic. After graduating in 1960 and returning to China, he successively engaged in Sino-Czech cultural exchanges in the China Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee and the Cultural Department of the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic. In 1973, he went to Beijing Second Chinese College to teach in the Department of Eastern Europe, and served as the head of the Czech language teaching and research team. In 1979, he was transferred to the Foreign Literature Editorial Office of the People's Literature Publishing House to engage in editing work, and successively served as deputy editor and editor. In 1985, he joined the Chinese Writers Association.
Teacher Liu Xingcan (third from right) and Mr. Bai Chongli (second from right) and classmates in the Czech Republic
Teacher Liu Xingcan (second from left in the back row) and colleagues from the Foreign Literature Editorial Department of the People's Literature Publishing House gathered together, Sun Shengwu (fifth from the right in the back row), Lu Yuan (fourth from the left in the front row), Lu Yongfu (third from the left in the front row), Jiang Lu (third from the right in the front row), Xu Leiran (second from right in the front row)
Teacher Liu Xingcan and her lover Bai Chongli
Mr. Liu Xingcan has translated a large number of Czech literary works, including literature, poetry and children's literature, and has made great contributions to enhancing the understanding of Czech literature by Chinese readers and promoting Sino-Czech cultural exchanges. "The Adventures of Good Soldier Shuaike" is one of the translation masterpieces of Teacher Liu Xingcan, which is also the first Chinese translation and the first full Chinese translation of this book, which has an important position in Czech literature, and has a great influence after translation and publication, becoming one of the masterpieces of foreign literature familiar to generations of Chinese readers.
Different editions of The Adventures of the Good Soldier Shuai ke / People's Literature Publishing House
Teacher Liu Xingcan and grandson of Hasek, author of "The Adventures of Good Soldier Shuaike"
The remaining translations include "Violet", "Love and Fire", "Further Forward", "Baronka", "The Adventures of the Black Cat", "The Tree of Fairy Tales of the World", "Selected Folk Tales of Czechoslovakia", "A Brief History of Czech and Slovak Literature", "Hrabar Collection", etc., totaling more than 40 kinds of about 5 million words.
A Brief History of Czechoslovak Literature
In the cause of foreign literary editing and publishing, Teacher Liu Xingcan has also made outstanding achievements with the spirit of hard work and unremitting pursuit of perfection, and has edited and published millions of words of foreign literary works, including "Selected Works of Chapec", "Dedicated to Girlfriend", "Dedicated to Wife", "Foreign Philosophical Poems" and so on. The Selected Illustrations of Czech and Slovak Children's Literature, compiled by Teacher Liu Xingcan, won the 1993 Bingxin Literature Award. In 1990, he was awarded the "Nezvar Literary Prize" by the Czechoslovak Literary Foundation. In 2005, the Czech government awarded her the "Gladias Ajid" Crystal Ball Award in recognition of her lifelong achievement in promoting Czech culture.
In the memory of his colleagues in the editorial department, Teacher Liu Xingcan is warm and humorous, has a cheerful smile, and always has a young heart. According to teacher Liu Xingcan's recollection before her death, she was named "Xingcan" because before she was born, her father dreamed of dropping a star in the sky. Now the star is far away, but the starlight is forever twinkling in translations of Czech literature.
Postcards written by Teacher Liu Xingcan and Teacher Bai Chongli to the External Editing Office of the Humanities Society
With this article, we would like to remember the lovely and respectable teacher Liu Xingcan, and we deeply remember her contributions to the People's Literature Publishing House, to the Czech literary publishing industry, and to generations of readers.