Literature exhibition a hit with local readers

A showcase of original manuscripts by five highly acclaimed British writers has drawn thousands of visitors since it opened at the Shanghai Library on March 15

Shanghai residents have flocked to a reading competition of British literature that is a part of an exhibition featuring original manuscripts by five famous British authors at the Shanghai Library.

The exhibition, titled Where Great Writers Gather: Treasures From the British Library, marks the first collaboration between the British Library and Shanghai Library. It kicked off in Shanghai on March 15. Admission is free.

Within a small audio and visual recording studio, participants can select one of 50 famous examples of English literature, such as an extract of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and read it in Mandarin or English.

The preliminary round of the translation and reading competition started on March 15 and will end on April 3. The second round will take place at the Shanghai Library on the evening of April 9, while the final will be held on the morning of April 15. The contest will be judged by academics, veteran literary translators and editors from the Shanghai Translation Publishing House.

The exhibition features drafts, correspondence and manuscripts by writers including Charlotte Bronte, D.H. Lawrence, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickens. Chinese translations, adaptations and responses to their works are also being showcased.

The exhibition has received about 700 visitors every day, said Shi Fei, a spokesperson with Shanghai Library. Visitor numbers hit about 1,400 on weekends.

According to Alexandra Ault, the lead curator of the British Library in China project, this is the first time that original manuscripts by these important writers have been sent to China. She added that English literature has been so popular in China that many British authors have enjoyed a strong presence in China.

"It was almost impossible to choose just five works by five British authors," Ault said. "Working closely with the Shanghai Library, we chose works which not only had resonance across China, but more specifically spoke to audiences in Shanghai."

Huang Xiangong, the Chinese curator for the exhibition at the Shanghai Library, pointed out that the curators of Shanghai played an important role in the selection of authors and objects from the British Library's collection in order to build a systematic narrative on how Chinese received literature from the world.

"We hope this is the starting point for a long-term partnership," said Chen Chao, director of Shanghai Library. "I hope we can do more to help promote cultural exchange between China and the UK in the future."

Phil Spence, chief operating officer of the British Library, told Shanghai media before the opening: "Shanghai has historically been one of the great gateways between Britain and China, with culture, trade and diplomacy flowing in both directions and bringing our people closer together.

"The new exhibition will be an opportunity to share manuscripts of five of our greatest authors with audiences in Shanghai, and to deepen the relationship between the British Library and Shanghai Library, with staff exchanges and the very process of collaborating on an exhibition of this kind enabling us to share knowledge, experience and expertise."

Spence added that people can learn more about the exhibition through the British Library's Wechat and Weibo accounts.