Feature: A Dutch sinologist's half-century-long passion for Chinese vernacular literature

Stepping into the house of Dutch Sinologist Wilt Idema, one of this year's winners of "Special Book Award of China", visitors would hardly escape being held in awe by an imposing collection of Chinese and China-related books.

Ancient Chinese plays, Chinese folk tales, early Chinese drama, Chinese Opera, Chinese narrative ballads, Chinese women's literature... Some 15,000 books stand on the shelves filling up several rooms of his residence, silently accompanying the scholar's path in his half-century contemplation on pre-modern Chinese literature.

On the top layers of one shelf are over 40 publications by Idema himself. The 70-year-old sinologist is recognized as the western scholar who has translated the biggest number of Chinese traditional vernacular literature works into English, making him an icon in the western world of sinology.

These merits led to his winning of the prominent award established by China's State Administration of Press and Publication, which pays tribute to foreign translators, writers and publishers. Since its first edition in 2005, the award has honored more than 20 "special contributors" from more than 20 countries for their significant achievements in making China better known to the outside world.

CONDITIONS OF THE TIMES AND PERSONAL INTEREST

"It is a very nice recognition," Idema told Xinhua days ahead of his journey to Beijing to attend the award ceremony scheduled for Aug. 25. "It is important that people outside China who look at Chinese culture on the basis of their personal interest and personal experience get recognition."

"You have to accept that as a culture you have a view of yourself, but there are people from outside with a different background and different interests. They look at you from a different perspective and find other things interesting. It does not mean that they do not recognize the importance of some other elements. I think this is a nice aspect of this prize," he explained.

Actually, personal interest and different perspectives have been the starting point of the Dutch Sinologist's academic endeavor. In the 1960s, when studying Chinese language and culture at Leiden University, he was also interested in China's contemporary social development but at that time it was difficult for foreign visitors to enter China.

"At least, if you study the past, you know you cannot go there. Not because someone refuses you admission, but because it is just a fact of life that you cannot go back in time," he said.

Therefore, "for conditions of the times and a lot of personal interest", as put in his own words, Idema ended up working on a specific aspect of Chinese culture -- traditional Chinese vernacular literature.

"Written Vernacular Chinese" refers to forms of written Chinese based on the varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China, in contrast to a more refined "Classical Chinese", the written standard used during imperial China to the early 20th century.

Idema's doctoral dissertation (1974) was devoted to the formative period of traditional Chinese vernacular fiction. In the following decades, he published extensively on early Chinese drama, Chinese narrative ballads and traditional women's literature.

Under his pen, legends and folk tales known by almost everyone in China present new perspectives. "Meng Jiangnu Brings Down the Great Wall: Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend", "Monks, Bandits, Lovers and Immortals: Eleven Early Chinese plays", "Judge Bao and the Rule of Law: Eight Ballad-Stories from the Period 1250-1450" or "Battles, Betrayals and Brotherhood: Early Chinese Plays on the Three Kingdoms" are only a few of his titles that interest both scholars and leisure readers.

Chinese traditional poems also won the heart of the Dutch scholar. In 1992, for his Dutch translations of classical Chinese poetry, he was awarded the Martinus Nijhoff Prijs, the most important Dutch national translation award.

TRANSCONTINENTAL EXPERIENCES

Next to his researches, Idema taught at Leiden University from 1976 to 1999 and at Harvard University from 2000 to 2013. These transcontinental experiences give him insights on the differences between the European tradition of "Sinology" and the American tradition of "China Studies".

In Europe, the academic study of China started in the 19th century, when universities did not have Social Science departments yet. Scholars started from learning the language and getting a broad introduction into Chinese culture before choosing a specialization.

In the United States, China studies developed primarily after World War II, when Social Sciences had become extremely important in universities. Researchers first chose a discipline, then chose the geographical area to which they would apply that discipline.

As a result, people with a disciplinary training background tended to criticize those who came out of a sinological training as "having no understanding of any academic method" while the latter would counter that those form the other tradition "speak pretty poor Chinese and rely on Chinese assistants for reading their materials," he told Xinhua.

However, the differences are no longer valid in practice nowadays. "In any case, you need knowledge of the language and culture of the geographical area, as well as knowledge of the language of the academic discipline that applies to the field you are interested in," emphasized Idema.

UNSTOPPABLE PASSION

Now retired, the vigorous scholar stays active in his academic work. In March 2015, he published "The Resurrected Skeleton : From Zhuangzi to Lu Xun", a book analyzing variations of the tale of Taoist author Master Zhuang encountering a skeleton who comes back to life and wreaks all sorts of havoc in the lives of those around him.

This month he finished the manuscript of a book on precious scrolls found in Gansu, a province in west China. These scrolls contain long ballads popular in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. In his book, Idema presents the translations of six scrolls with a general survey of the development and popularity of this narrative method.

Another project on the table focuses on Chinese poetry written by Manchu women during the Qing dynasty. Manchu people for many centuries lived mainly in Northeast China (formerly known as Manchuria) and adjacent areas. In the 17th century they conquered the then China and ruled for more than 250 years. They have their own language but some Manchu elites were known for their patronage of Chinese art and culture.

No one will be surprised if more projects heat up the passion of the Dutch scholar who is full of youthful enthusiasm. "Winning a prize is a nice recognition, but it will not change a thing for me. I am too old to be changed. There will be new projects as long as I am healthy and my mind keeps working," Idema told Xinhua. Enditem