Cao Zhen

caozhen0806@126.com

VISITORS were captivated by an array of colorful German children’s books and a set of English books placed in the drawers of an installation reminiscent of a Chinese medicine cabinet at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) booth in Hall 10 of the 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF), which opened Thursday at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao’an District.

This is the first time that the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair has participated in the ICIF, a development stemming from Ding Shizhao, president of the Shenzhen News Group, meeting with the chairman of the Frankfurt Book Fair in November 2023.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse booth is displaying 44 newly released German-language children’s books, 29 children’s books released last year, eight award-winning German architectural books, and 44 of Germany’s most beautiful books from 2022 and 2023.

At the fair, Ole Döring, a German sinologist and philosopher who now works at the Foreign Language Studies College of Hunan Normal University in Changsha, Hunan Province, introduced “The Compendium of Materia Medica” to visitors. Displayed in the drawers of a Chinese medicine cabinet-like installation at the booth, this set of English books was translated by Döring’s mentor, Paul U. Unschuld, from “Ben Cao Gang Mu,” the classic 16th-century Chinese encyclopedic medicine book written by Li Shizhen.

Döring said that Unschuld, a renowned sinologist and expert in medical history, devoted over 20 years to translating “Ben Cao Gang Mu.” The final book of the series was released last year.

Döring also expressed his particular fondness for the children’s books at the booth, as they epitomize what contemporary Germans consider most vital for children and the general readership. He also extended an invitation to Chinese readers to explore German culture. Through this exhibition, he hopes to increase Sino-German cultural exchanges.

“The children’s books on display encompass adventure, educational content, technology, and a wealth of worldly knowledge. Furthermore, the aesthetic sensibilities — the organization of forms and colors — unique to the German mindset offer Chinese readers a perspective on how Germans perceive the world,” Döring said.

According to the booth’s organizer, Derui Business Consulting GmbH, they anticipate exploring the possibility of having the German books translated into Chinese with Chinese publishers during the fair.