Mai Ashour is a young Sinologist, translator and Chinese literature lover from Egypt. (Photo : Twitter)
Mai Ashour, a Sinologist and translator who graduated from Egypt's Cairo University, recently shared why more Egyptians--literature enthusiasts and experts alike--are getting more attracted to Chinese literature.
"Chinese literature is becoming more popular in Egypt nowadays," she shared, adding "people are eager to read about Asian literature, especially Chinese literature, because they think China is similar to Egypt."
China and Egypt both had a long history and great civilization, Ashour then remarked.
Egyptians "are interested to understand and know more about [China's heritage]," she said. "I can see this clearly when I translate a Chinese short story or a prose, a lot of friends and readers start to give me feedbacks, and ask me about the author and about Chinese culture."
The young Sinologist also pointed out that the feat achieved by writer Mo Yan, the first Chinese winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2012, was also critical in making Chinese literary works more known in Egypt.
"Definitely, a lot of people started to read Mo Yan's work after he won the Nobel Prize and also started to get much interested in China and Chinese culture," Ashour shared, giving credit that the writer is currently the "most famous author in Egypt."
Ashour, a Chinese literature lover herself, said that when she first studied the works of Chinese authors at Cairo University's Chinese Language and Literature Department, she already encountered similarities between China and Egypt.
"I used to attend lectures on Chinese culture, philosophy, history and literature, and subconsciously fell in love with Chinese literature. It happened because it is very deep, unique and full of philosophy, and I discovered many common themes between China and Egypt," she recounted.
Ashour has translated into Arabic a lot of short stories, poems and proses of Chinese authors. One of her translation works is "Ranghaiziaixuexi" (Make Study Enjoyable to Kids). She has also written articles about China and its rich culture.
