Translator of Western novels commits suicide
Print Edition
THE amateur translator who made dozens of Western literary classics, including George Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm,” available to Chinese readers has committed suicide.
Sun Zhongxu, 41, died on Thursday in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.
People close to the family, as well as sources from the publishing industry said Sun took his life after suffering from depression.
His son, who was not named, confirmed his father’s death as suicide, saying he had “finally freed himself.”
Sun was perhaps best known for his translation of J D Salinger’s 1951 masterpiece “The Catcher in the Rye,” which was published in 2007 and went on to sell about 100,000 copies in China.
The Zhengzhou University graduate said in previous interviews that the story of troubled American teenager Holden Caulfield greatly influenced his life, describing it as “the book led me to the road of translation.” In his lifetime, Sun, also known as Luke Sun, published more than 30 works, including a collection of three short novels by Woody Allen, namely “Getting Even,” “Without Feathers” and “Side Effects,” and “A Writer’s People” by V S Naipaul.
Like most of China’s literary translators, Sun, was a hobbyist and made his living working at a shipping company in Guangzhou. Despite his amateur status, the announcement of his death on Sina Weibo was received with both sadness and shock by writers, translators and readers.
“Thanks to the excellent translators, we can appreciate the beauty of different cultures. May Mr Sun rest in peace in heaven,” a woman wrote on her microblog.
“Let’s choose a book translated by Mr Sun and read it tonight as we mourn his loss,” writer Zhang Yueran said on her microblog.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
