Media Release: Pioneer of Australian literature in translation, Professor Li Yao to be honoured in Beijing
11 October 2016
Australia’s Ambassador to China HE Ms Jan Adams AO PSM today congratulates academic and translator Professor Li Yao on his significant contribution to the Chinese translation of Australian literature.
Ms Adams says, “Li Yao has made a remarkable contribution to the translation of Australian literature into Chinese. His work has brought some of Australia’s best loved authors into classrooms, libraries and homes across China.”
Li Yao’s translation work will be recognised at a new translation forum in Beijing on October 15. The First Forum on Australian Literature in Chinese Translation will be held at Beijing Foreign Studies University, where Li Yao is Visiting Professor at the University’s Australian Studies Centre.
For almost four decades Li Yao has translated and co-translated books by influential Australian authors, including Peter Carey, Anita Heiss, Colleen McCullough, Thomas Keneally and Alexis Wright. An alumnus of The University of Sydney, Li Yao first traveled to Australia in 1988. One of his earliest translations, in collaboration with Professor Hu Wenzhong at Beijing Foreign Studies University, was The Tree of Man by Nobel Prize-winning author, Patrick White.
Li Yao says, “I love Australian literature, as it is an important pillar of world literature. Over the past four decades, I have nurtured great friendships with many outstanding authors from Australia. In translating their works and presenting the very best Australian literature to Chinese readers, my own life has changed immensely. My thanks go to Australian literature and Australian authors, the main drivers of my career thus far.”
He has since worked on over 30 translations of Australian literature, history and memoir, including important titles in the Australian literary canon, as well as works that speak to the diversity of contemporary Australian society, and Indigenous Australia.
Li Yao is currently engaged in the translation of Coal Creek by Alex Miller and The Swan Book by Alexis Wright, both winners of Australia’s most prestigious literary award, the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
A member of the Waanyi nation of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Wright is one of Australia’s most distinguished authors. She says “If it was not for Li Yao’s brilliance in the art and knowledge of translation, and his interest in the literature of our region for nearly four decades, and for his high level of care and devotion to high quality translation, there would be so much of our work that might never have been introduced to Chinese readers.”
Critically-acclaimed novelist Alex Miller adds “I have developed a great respect for the depth and reach of [Li Yao’s] sensitive understanding of Australian fiction and the nature of Australian culture. I would describe [him] as an expert in the field of Australian cultural studies and literature.”
Li Yao’s pioneering work has paved the way for a growing community of Australian studies scholars in Chinese universities. There are over 33 centres of Australian Studies in China, and Australian literature is one of the most popular areas of research for scholars and students.
ENDS
First Forum on Australian Literature in Chinese Translation will be held on 15 October 2016 at Beijing Foreign Studies University, School of English, Conference Room 115
Forum Coordinator: Li Jianjun +86 13691372850 / [email protected]
Media enquiries: Julian Chen +86 138 1124 8535 / [email protected]
Li Yao – Biography
Li Yao holds a Degree of Doctor of Letters awarded by the University of Sydney. He is also Senior Translator, Visiting professor of Beijing Foreign Studies University, Member of the Writers’ Association of China, Council Member of the Australian Studies Association of China. Translator of The Tree of Man, Fringe of Leaves, Flaws in the Glass by Patrick White; True History of the Kelly Gang, His Illegal Self by Peter Carey; Woman of the Inner Sea by Thomas Keneally and The Oxford History of Australia etc. He is also winner of the Inaugural Australian Translation Prize for The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller (1996), winner of Australia-China Council 2008 Commendation for his translation of The Red Thread by Nicholas Jose, winner of Australia-China Council 2012 Book Prize for Carpentaria by Alexis Wright. Li Yao was also winner of Golden Medallion awarded by Australia-China Council for his distinguished contribution in the field of Australian Literature translation in China, 2008.