EGYPT’S General Agency of Cultural Palaces has released the first Arabic translation of the novel “Bull” written by the 2012 Nobel Literature Prize laureate, Mo Yan of China, offering Arabic speakers a new window on Chinese culture.

    Translated by an Egyptian, Mohsen Fergani, the novel was released Wednesday as part of a book series entitled “Universal Horizons” sponsored and published by the Egyptian Culture Ministry.

    “Bull” is Mo’s second novel to be translated into Arabic after “Red Sorghum,” and “Bull” is expected to be particularly successful in the Arabic-language book market in general and in the Egyptian market in particular.

    “I believe that ‘Bull’ will be greatly popular in the Arabic book markets as it was released by an Egyptian cultural authority assigned with reaching all social, economic and cultural classes,” said Sobhi Moussa, head of the publishing department of the General Agency of Cultural Palaces.

    “The books sponsored by the agency usually spread faster and become more popular as they reach all classes due to their symbolic prices,” Moussa said, noting that “Bull” is available for less than US$ 1.

    Stressing that Mo is one of the most prominent and creative Chinese novelists, Moussa said that awarding him the Nobel Prize in 2012, although great, was “too late.”

    In the preface of the Arabic version, Fergani speaks about the current literary mainstreams in China, and also touches on Mo’s difficult childhood.

    “Mo based his novel on both real experience and imagination filled with miraculous narration that traces back to the old Chinese storytelling,” Fergani writes in the preface.

    Commenting on the novel, Refaat Sallam, editor-in-chief of “Universal Horizons” book series, said “Bull” is important for two reasons. “Firstly, because it represents the current trend of the Chinese contemporary novelists that is unknown to Arab readers. Secondly, because it is by the Nobel Prize laureate Mo who is known all over the world.”

    Highlighting the significance of translating more Chinese literary works, Sallam said the Egyptian cultural agency is about to finish the translation of some Chinese poetry “in order to nourish the readers’ minds with the two wings of the Chinese literature — verses and stories.”

    And Sallam also said more translation of Chinese literary works is urgently needed for cultural interaction between the Chinese and Arabs.

    (Xinhua)