Solitary refinements

Sharing their experiences

As the Chinese public have become increasingly willing to pay for knowledge, the literary world has begun to embrace the rise of star translators as a way to promote new titles.

Having recently completed a tour of cities like Suzhou, Chengdu and Changsha for his book Collected Short Stories: Volume 2, Chen says he "gained a lot from these fresh experiences".

"It's great to share with readers as a reviewer rather than as a translator on these occasions," he says.

Separately, He says: "Translators tend to have a deeper understanding of the work than most readers due to the amount of research they had to undertake to perfect every word."

She says that though she read The Old Man and the Sea many times, it was not until she read an introduction by Wu Lao, one of her favorite translators, that she realized how good the book was.

"They (good translators) help the readers to understand the works more easily," He says. "And if the books sell well with the help of a charming translator, it will also help to improve translator's incomes."

"If people gain a better insight into our work they will probably discuss our translations more fairly," she says.

"Some readers use terrible language to criticize translators online, which is unfair. This leaves many translators feeling a sense of frustration," He says, adding that she has been translating books for eight years after having broken her leg during a car accident.

"Not long ago, my husband didn't think translation could be a lifelong career for me, even though I'd been telling him for years that I loved my job. And until recently, neither my husband nor my mother considered translation as a serious profession, as did many other people," she says.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, He applied to a study program in the United States using a reference from Michael Mayer, whose books The Last Days of Beijing and In Manchuria she translated.

"They (the US authorities) asked me why I chose such an invisible profession. So, I explained the reasons and why it still left me a little depressed. If translators appear more often in public, maybe people will have a better understanding of them," she says.