“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” was translated to Chinese by Ma Ainong and published by People's Literature Publishing House. (Photo : Amazon.com)
Chinese fans of Harry Potter can linger a little more in the wizarding world as the simplified Chinese version of the series' eighth book hits bookstores nationwide on Saturday.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" was translated into Chinese by Ma Ainong and published by People's Literature Publishing House.
According to the publisher, preorder began in late September, selling out fast the first batch of 300,000 copies. Printing of more copies continues.
In a Global Times report, translator Ma, who also worked for the previous Harry Potter books, said that she did not expect an eighth book coming, and got more excited knowing that it was in script form since she loves theater material.
Ma also recalled the challenges she faced when translating the first book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" since some magic words are not in the dictionary and she had to put in some imagination to come up with Chinese translations.
The "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", which was written differently from the first seven books in that it was in a script form, was based on a stage production under the same title which premiered in London's Palace Theater on July 30.
The book was co-authored by J.K. Rowling, screenwriter Jack Throne and theater director John Tiffany.
The story started where the seventh book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" ended. It was nineteen years after the remarkable defeat of the main villain Lord Voldemort, and Harry was once again on Kings Cross' Platform 9 ¾ but this time to send his youngest son Albus Severus to his first year in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
