As one of the activities marking the 78th anniversary of the founding of the school, the inauguration ceremony of the “Centre for Chinese and Foreign Theatre Translation and Introduction” of the Shanghai Theatre Academy was held on 5 December at the Huashan Road Campus of the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
The “Centre for Chinese and Foreign Theatre Translation and Introduction” was initiated by the Shanghai Theatre Academy and jointly established with the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and the China Theatre Association, which is dedicated to the two-way translation of Chinese and foreign theatre.
Since the founding of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, a large number of foreign theatre research experts have emerged and made outstanding contributions in the field of foreign theatre research and translation. Li Jianwu, a famous dramatist and one of the founders of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, was one of the earliest scholars to engage in the studies of foreign literature in China, and translated a large number of theatrical works, including collections of plays by Molière, Tolstoy and Chekhov, of which 27 Molière's comedies are the most complete translations in China. In the early days, the introduction and study of the history and theory of Western theatre by experts and scholars such as Gu Zhongyi, Yu Shangyuan and Wu Guangyao all laid a solid foundation for the studies of foreign theatre. In recent years, the Centre for International Theatre Studies of the Shanghai Theatre Academy led by Professor Gong Baorong has not only produced a large number of theoretical works and papers, but also translated and published theatrical works from France, Britain, Sweden, Spain, Greece, South Africa, Poland and other countries. Professor Cao Shujun's research on Shakespeare, Professor Wang Yiqun's research on Eugene O'Neill, and Professor Hu Kaiqi's research, translation and introduction of contemporary British and American theatre have greatly enriched STA’s achievements in the translation, introduction and research on foreign theatre. Among the younger generation, there is Zou Lulu, the Chinese translator of the works of the 2023 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Jon Fosse, who has brought Fosse to the attention of Chinese theatre audiences.
Compared to the diversity of Chinese translations of foreign theatrical works in China at the present, there are only a handful of foreign translations of contemporary Chinese theatrical works, and the establishment of the “Centre for Chinese and Foreign Theatre Translation and Introduction” at the Shanghai Theatre Academy will fill the gap in this field. As an open platform, the Centre, which consists of five language centres, namely English, French, German, Japanese and Russian, will bring together domestic and foreign experts in the fields of literature, theatre and translation to disseminate Chinese theatrical art to the world.
Xie Wei, Party Secretary of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, unveiled the plaque of the Centre for Chinese and Foreign Theatre Translation and Introduction. Huang Changyong, President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, delivered a speech. Nie Wei, Vice-President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, presented the certificates of appointment to the members of the Centre’s leadership. The Centre for Chinese and Foreign Theatre Translation and Introduction is to be headed by President Huang Changyong as its director, with Professor Gong Baorong as one of the two deputy directors and Professor Ning Chunyan from the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts as the other deputy director.
Representatives of the Consulates-General of Germany, Japan, France, Russia and the United States in Shanghai, representatives of publishing institutions such as the East China Normal University Press, the Commercial Press Chengdu Branch and the People's Literature Publishing House Shanghai Branch, experts from the fields of theatre and translation, and scholars from universities in Shanghai jointly witnessed the inauguration of the Centre.
After the inauguration ceremony, the participating experts and scholars held a warm discussion on Chinese contemporary theatre going out, and made suggestions from the aspects of script selection, translation paths, dissemination and promotion methods, which provided valuable experience and inspiration for the Centre to carry out its work.
Since the founding of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, a large number of translated scripts and also translated works on the history of Western theatre have been published. In line with the inauguration ceremony and the follow-on seminar, the organizers of the event selected 104 books from the large volume of collection at the Shanghai Theatre Academy Library for display, with the support of the Library.
