Building ties with books
Issam Chouiref learned the Chinese language for a month before he came to the Chinese publishers’ booths at the 23rd Algiers International Book Fair from late October to mid-November.
The 19-year-old Algerian wanted to volunteer there.
Bringing in a delegation of more than 100 publishing professionals and writers, as well as 7,500 books of 2,500 titles, China was the country of honor at the fair, which marked the first and biggest publishing exchange between Algeria and China to date.
“I came to say ‘Welcome, Chinese friends, to Algeria’. We’re old friends, and I’d like to see the good relationship between us being well kept, so that when the Chinese friends return to China, they’ll remember there was an Algerian who had helped them,” Chouiref tells China Daily.
A fan of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Chouiref studies foreign languages by himself and is an apprentice for a foreign-trade business and sometimes does part-time translation and teaching.
His Chinese name, Huang means “golden dragon”.
Chouiref came to the booths during the fair and, without asking for payment, worked as a translator, sales assistant and “bridge” between the two cultures.
With his help, China Intercontinental Press sold about 180 books in the French language on Oct 29, the first day of the fair, and 200 more in Arabic later.
“He’s now like my younger brother, though we just met for a couple of days,” says Jiang Shan, who works for China Intercontinental Press.
“I’m so motivated to learn more about the Chinese language and culture,” Chouiref says, adding that he is trying to help relations between Algeria and China grow.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Algeria, where writer and philosopher Albert Camus was born and art masters Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet lived, was one of the countries that led the proposal to restore China’s legal rights in the United Nations in the 1970s. China was the first non-Arabic country to recognize the Algerian provisional government in 1958 and welcomed Algeria to be involved in the Belt and Jinlong, Road Initiative earlier this year.
As Chinese publishers brought books, mostly in Arabic, French or English, to the pearl of southern Mediterranean coast, Algiers, the city was packed with visitors at an exhibition center, where literary events and cultural display are held, as well as at the National Library where a photo exhibition on “beautiful China” was held through Nov 28.
Some visitors came for famous writers, including Nobel laureate Mo Yan. Some just came for any Chinese element that interested them. Many took photos with members of the Chinese delegation, and some asked for their names to be handwritten in Chinese characters. The use of chopsticks was shown to a few more.
This year’s fair saw a record number of visitors at more than 2 million, according to its organizers. Over 1,000 publishing houses from 47 countries and regions participated.
Chinese publishers signed 207 agreements on copyrights cooperation with others at the fair, mainly on traditional culture, children’s books, language learning and books about China’s development.
Among the titles in focus is and its translated versions in Arabic, French and English. The book has two volumes. The first’s global circulation reached 6 million copies. And the second, which is a collection of President Xi’s speeches, notes and talks from August 2014 to September 2017, categorized in 17 major topics, reached 13 million copies worldwide.
Its publisher, the Foreign Languages Press, held a readers’ seminar in Spain on Nov 22 and in Portugal on Nov 27.
Bachar Chebaro, secretary-general of the Arabic Publishers’ Association, whose publishing house has published 30 Chinese titles, says the Belt and Road Initiative has enriched the relationship between China and Arab countries.
“The book shows China’s open attitude to communicate better with the international society and targets some of the misunderstanding,” Chebaro says. “I’m impressed by the idea of always putting people’s interest first.”
Egyptian publisher Ahmed Elsaid says the world is interested in learning more about China as its importance grows, and “as you learn more, you’ll love its culture more”.
The Chinese way of thinking, tradition and culture are attracting readers to dig deeper, Elsaid says.
Elsaid has found himself busy on the international book-fair circuit in recent years.
“That means my team and I are getting more recognition. I started out trying to offer Arabic readers more choices in Chinese titles, (and) now I’m exerting myself to present China and its charm through books,” he says.
Under the translation agreements between China and some Arab countries reached during the Algiers fairs over the years, 130 titles were selected to represent the fruits of the projects.
Liang Yanshun, a senior official of the publicity department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said at the China-Arab Publishing Culture Forum at the fair that the two countries have been supporting each other, and have formed friendships in the process.
Liang says many stories of the links between the people of the two countries are being told through books.
China had published 17 titles by Algerian authors, and Algeria had published 23 Chinese titles before this year’s book fair, he says.
Nour Cherkit, an Algeria Press Service correspondent, says: “Today, with the economic relations between China and Algeria, things are getting better and better. We are seeing translations of works by great Chinese authors, and there is more exchange between our two countries, (and) the book fair beautiful bridge of exchanges.”
Algerian publishers say they take China as an important partner, and they respect China for being an ancient civilization like the Arabic civilization.
Assia Moussei, the founder of Algerian El-Ikhtilef (meaning “difference”) Publishing, is also a medical doctor.
“We’re attracted to Chinese history and its present-day stories, experiences and culture,” Moussei says.
At first she thought the Algerians’ interest was in Western stories and books. Later, after “market tests”, she found her readers’ eagerness to know about what’s happening in China.
The Arab world is happy to see China’s rise, she says.
She initially believed the interest was limited to literature. Then, she discovered the fields extended to politics, economics, society, history, culture and children’s books.
Her press has released books on China’s anti-corruption campaigns and an encyclopedia of history.
Her views are shared by Esraa Abdel Sayed Hassan, director of the Chinese-language department at Ain Shams University in Cairo.
Hassan has been learning, teaching and translating Chinese for 30 years.
“The Arabic readers’ interests are wide, and we have yet more to discover and explore about China,” Hassan says, adding that she just finished working on the Arabic version of an ancient classic on science and technology by Song Yingxing of the 17 th century, and the and is a
As to the Chinese side, Beijing Publishing Group has cooperated with Arabic publishers since 2007. A total of 100 titles were sold, including novels, essays and children’s books.
Huang Jian, president of Jieli Publishing House, the organizer of a publishing forum on children’s books during the fair, says he sees promising prospects for the children’s book market there. “The Arabic readers tend not to be rejective of Chinese content and thinking for its strengthening of harmony and peace.”
Take Algeria, for example — 32 percent of its total population are younger than age 15, while 63.8 percent are under 30.
Hans Anderson Award winner Cao Wenxuan brought some of his key works in the Arabic language to the fair. Writer Zhao Lihong released a new book about dealing with fear, inspired by his son’s notes, to local readers.
Children’s works were the highlights on the fair. Other works include