Spread of Chinese literature across the globe highlighted at London book fair

With a rich history spanning more than 5,000 years, China undoubtedly holds a treasure trove of literary classics, although their value has yet to be fully recognized on a global scale.

How Chinese literature can go global is a pressing question, and it was posed to Liu Zhenyun, one of the country's most celebrated literary figures, at an event on Wednesday at the annual London Book Fair.

Liu offered a simple, straightforward answer: "To have a global presence, you have to go out first."

Described as China's Franz Kafka, Liu has had his works translated into more than 30 languages, including English, French and German. He is so well known that every corner of the event room was packed. Wherever he went at the fair, fans — many of whom were young — could be seen lining up for selfies or requesting autographs.

"I get a lot of nourishment from my interactions with readers," he said. "Sometimes, a casual line from a reader can have a profound impact on me because each country has very different perspectives of the world, and very different methodologies for analyzing events, even when encountering the same plots, characters or details.

"This difference in views is what we seek to learn from each other's civilization. But if you have never traveled, how can you find out, and learn from the strengths of others? It is only through knowing others that we can truly know ourselves."

Liu recalled an episode in the Netherlands, where he met a woman who had only known about China through Western media, and she once believed that Chinese people had blank faces and were empty-headed.

However, her stereotype was shattered after reading Liu's I Did Not Kill My Husband — a novel about a rural woman struggling for more than 20 years to shed her notorious reputation as a villainess. The Dutch reader said she was struck by the character's audacity and resilience.

The hilarious tone of Liu's book left the Dutch woman in stitches.

Signature wit

"Mr Liu, you must be the most humorous person in China," the new fan remarked.

Liu replied with his signature wit, "You're wrong because you've never visited my hometown in Henan province. I am the least humorous one in the village where I grew up."

The woman replied, "Then I must go to China!"

Liu said he told her that "there really are many foreigners visiting my hometown nowadays".

However, to explore opportunities for the wider global dissemination of Chinese literature, simply going out is not enough, Liu added.

"You must also bring in works from world-class writers, scholars and publishers, as exchanges are mutual," he said.

Hurdles can still be seen ahead for efforts to give Chinese literature greater global exposure. Translators and Liu's fans said that language barriers can diminish Liu's pure, unadorned yet hilarious character portrayals, and that his concentration on down-to-earth, local realities of China may present cultural differences for some readers.

Bai Yufan, a Chinese student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: "It's just like my foreign friends may never truly get to know my personality traits when I speak Mandarin."

Therese Wassily Saba, a freelance copy editor, said: "I am completely new to Liu's works, but it is just wonderful to have him here. It's good to watch his mannerisms, his tone, his way of speaking, and it's a learning experience for me."