A photo of Guan Zhenhu at the frontline of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) [Photo provided by bisu.edu.cn]

Editor's note: Guan Zhenhu, a graduate from Fudan University with a bachelor's degree in English, joined the revolutionary cause at the age of 20. He was one of the founders of the department of French language at Beijing International Studies University when the university was established in 1964. In the following decades, he translated several literary works, such as Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), and won the honorary title of "Senior Translator" from the Translators Association of China (TAC) for his lifelong contributions in translation affairs.

Life story of Professor Guan

A photo of Guan Zhenhu in Paris, France [Photo provided by bisu.edu.cn]

Guan was born in 1924 in Yancheng of East China's Jiangsu province. He graduated from Fudan University with a bachelor's degree in English in 1946. He was a member of the Leading Party Members' Group of Wuhan Municipal Union of Teachers and Party secretary of Wuhan Municipal Trade Unions of Teachers from 1949 to 1951. He served as general-manager and editor-in-chief of the Wuhan Workers' Publishing House between 1951 and 1952.

Guan followed the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) to enter the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) to fight in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, took part in the Geneva Conference on the Korean War and the First Indochina War together with late Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) in 1954, and worked as an editor, translator and teacher for Xinhua News Agency from 1953 to 1964.

A photo of Guan Zhenhu (R1) with his classmates at Fudan University [Photo provided by bisu.edu.cn]

Guan came to Beijing International Studies University (BISU) in 1964, when the former school of foreign languages affiliated with Xinhua News Agency was incorporated into the newly founded university. His teaching and research activities were oriented towards the translation between Chinese and French and comparative studies between Chinese and western culture.

Guan was accredited as one of the first batch of professors of the French language at BISU and part of the first group of experts with government special allowance of the State Council in 1983. At that time, there were only 23 professors of French with credentials in the Chinese mainland.

Guan retired in 1994 and passed away at the age of 87 in February 2011.

The CCTV-9 Documentary Channel aired a five-episode documentary series entitled "the Geneva Conference 1954" in March 2011. Premier Zhou headed a Chinese delegation, including Guan himself, to attend the Geneva Conference on the Korean War and the First Indochina War from April to July 1954. It was the first time that the People's Republic of China (PRC) had attended an international conference as one of five major countries in the world since the founding of the PRC in 1949.

Guan, who was only 30 years old at the time, served as a translator in the Chinese delegation. According to his daughter, there was an anecdote shared between Guan and Premier Zhou when they attended the Geneva Conference in 1954.

A photo of Guan Zhenhu (R2) with Premier Zhou Enlai. [Photo provided by bisu.edu.cn]

Premier Zhou said to other members of the Chinese delegation that Guan had experience of fighting in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, when he joined them to watch a documentary series about the war on the sidelines of the Geneva Conference.

The story left a deep impression on Guan because both his name and experience had been recognized by Premier Zhou, though he was just an ordinary member of the Chinese delegation.

A prolific and veteran translator

A photo of Guan Zhenhu in Paris, France [Photo provided by bisu.edu.cn]

Guan was bestowed with the "Senior Translator" award by the TAC in 2002, for his lifelong contributions in translation.

The TAC title, which was launched in 2001, aims to honor veteran translators who are aged over 65 and have taken part in translation for more than three decades.

During his life time, Guan, an expert in both French and English, completed the translation of a large number of classical works between Chinese and French and between Chinese and English, covering a wide range of fields such as western literature, biographies, philosophy and music. In addition, some of his own works were published in French and Chinese.

During his stay at BISU, Guan often worked for seven or eight hours a day. He translated 25 literary works from French or English into Chinese between 1976 and 2004.

Guan was in his 80s when he finished the translation of Jean-Christophe, a classical literary work by French writer and Nobel Prize winner Romain Rolland.

Major academic achievements

From French to Chinese:

1. Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House;

2. René Descartes's Rules for the Direction of the Mind, published by the Commercial Press;

3. Henri Bernard's The Life of Matteo Ricci, the Pries, published by the Commercial Press;

4. Romain Rolland's Jean-Christophe;

5. Six books of Émile Zola's novel series titled Les Rougon-Macquart, published by Zhejiang Literature & Art Publishing House;

6. 10 books of the Presses Universitaires de France's Collection of Que sais-je, published by the Commercial Press.