Indian, Chinese writer-translators discuss shared literary culture

Messages of literary and cultural harmony were delivered at a literary forum on Indo-China Literary Exchange, themed around multilingual exchanges, organised on Friday by Indias national academy of letters, Sahitya Akademi.

Observations on the literary exchanges between India and China were worded at the event, with representatives from both countries feeling a greater need for more translations.

"In the last couple of years, Chinese writers have concentrated on translating Indian classical masterpieces, and as a result, people in China have read a lot of Indian books translated from Hindi, Urdu and Bengali, among other languages," Jidi Majia, Vice President, Chinese Writers' Association, said in a statement.

He also said he is pleased at the provision of this platform by Sahitya Akademi, where India and China, who share a long history of cultural exchange, could share ideas.

The event also saw Akademi's Secretary K. Sreenivasarao proposing that India and China join hands and concentrate on translating all major Indian classics into Chinese and the vice versa.

Writers and translators from the two countries also discussed the commonality in their oral and written traditions, and Indian contributions to South Asian literature and culture.

--IANS

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