Brazilian scholar Hardman: There is enormous potential for cultural and academic exchange and cooperation between Brazil and China

Beijing, July 19 (People's Daily) - "Since the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and China, the two countries have made significant progress in cultural and academic exchanges, and there is still greater potential to be explored in the future," said Francisco Ford Hardman, a renowned literary researcher in Brazil and senior professor at the Faculty of Literature at Campinas State University, in an interview with People's Daily.

Hademan has been teaching at Campinas State University in Brazil since 1987, dedicated to the study of Brazilian literature, comparative literature, and comparative culture, and has had a significant influence in the Brazilian academic community.

Hardman is a scholar who is passionate about Chinese culture and literature. In 2019, he was invited to Peking University as a visiting professor for one year. During this period, he truthfully recorded what he saw, heard, and thought in Beijing, compiling it into "Chinese Diary: A Brazilian's View of Real China," which attracted widespread attention from media and readers in both countries; In 2020, the Portuguese version of Ai Qing's poetry collection "Travel in South America" translated by Hardman was nominated for the most authoritative literary award in Brazil, the "Yabuti Award", and won first place in the Best Translation Award of the Brazilian Association of University Publishers.

The current trend of translating Portuguese literature in China, including Brazilian, Portuguese, and African Portuguese literature, is something I have never seen in other countries, "said Hardman.

The Disillusionment Trilogy, Flor and Her Two Husbands, The Shepherd's Fantasy Journey, The Starry Moment With the increasing number of translated works of Brazilian literature into Chinese, Brazilian literary giants such as Machado de Asis, Jorge Amado, Paulo Coelho, and Clarice Lispector have gradually become familiar and loved by Chinese readers, allowing people to appreciate the unique charm of Brazilian culture from literature.

At the same time, many classic works of Chinese literature have also been translated into Portuguese and published and distributed in Brazil. The Portuguese translations of classic works such as the Analects, Tao Te Ching, Rickshaw Boy, and White Deer Plain have become an important window for the Brazilian people to understand China and Chinese culture.

Hardman said that many teachers at Peking University's School of Foreign Languages have put in a lot of effort and work to translate and promote Brazilian literature and culture, "which is an important signal of friendly cultural exchange between the two countries

In recent years, with the increasingly close economic and trade exchanges between China and Pakistan, cultural exchanges between the two countries have also continued to increase. Cultural festivals, film exhibitions, food festivals, and other diverse exchange activities have broadened the channels for mutual understanding between the two peoples and brought them closer together.

Hardman pointed out that the number of universities in China offering Portuguese language courses is increasing, and many Confucius Institutes have also been built in Brazil. "This shows that there is enormous potential for cultural exchange between the two countries, and both sides should further encourage and promote cultural exchange and integration

Hardman believes that teachers and students from both China and Pakistan should travel and exchange ideas in each other's countries in order to better understand each other's cultures and nations.