Chen Bochui (陈伯吹) (1906–1997) was a famous Chinese writer and

literary translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

, particularly of children's literature. He translated

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, Pushkin's Children's Tales and

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into Chinese. He left all of his savings to set up a children's literature award, the

Chen Bochui Children's Literature Award The Chen Bochui Children's Literature Award (陈伯吹儿童文学奖) is a major award issued in China, with the aim of promoting excellence in children's publishing and cultural diversity. It was originally called the Children's Literary Garden Pr ...

. He is known in China as the “Andersen of the East” and as one of the fathers of Chinese Modern Children's Literature. Chen Bochui was born in Luodian, a small town in Baoshan, Jiangsu province. He began working as a school teacher in 1922, and in 1931 was editor of ''Children's Magazine''. He was also a journalist, a translator and writer of poetry and novels. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, he began to focus on writing and translating children's literature, and in 1946 he helped to establish the Association of Children's Book Authors in Shanghai. After the founding of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, in 1949, he was Deputy Director of the Chinese Children’s Publishing House and Director of the Shanghai Children’s Publishing House. He was also a professor at Beijing Normal University, and a member of the Chinese Writers Association. In 1981, Chen Bochui donated his lifetime savings - 55,000 Chinese Yuan - to establish the “Children's Literature Gardener Award”, a yearly prize meant to encouraging the creation of children's literature in China. This award, in which lay the foundations of the present CICLA, rewarded most of the prominent Chinese children’s writers of the late 20th century.

Publications

Chen Bochui published over 70 books, including ''A Cat That Wants to Fly'', and ''On Children’s Literature''. He engaged in creative writing and in literary criticism.

Legacy

In 1981, Chen Bochui donated 55,000 yuan as seed money for a literary foundation, and in 1983 the Chen Bochui Children’s Literature Award (CICLA) was established. A memorial featuring his work can be visited at the Baoshan District Public Library.

References

*Edward L. Davis, “Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture” (New York 2005) *Xi Chun, Gao Hongbo, “A Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Authors” (Beijing, 1999). {{authority control 1906 births 1997 deaths Poets from Shanghai Chinese editors 20th-century Chinese journalists 20th-century Chinese poets 20th-century Chinese novelists Chinese children's writers 20th-century Chinese writers Academic staff of Beijing Normal University Educators from Shanghai 20th-century Chinese translators