For instance, in the first half of 2022, an exhibition about the classic novel, Dream of the Red Chamber by Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) writer Cao Xueqin, was held at the Phoenix Library in The Hague.
As a result of the event, Dutch readers became interested in the novel and cultural and creative products, Yuan says, adding that the Phoenix Library project also serves as a display for sample books in the book copyright trade.
Through these kinds of projects, Yuan says that they have found that foreign readers are particularly interested in contemporary Chinese life, so literature about modern Chinese society is popular overseas, in addition to books about traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese language.
Translating work by contemporary writers has thus become a good way of introducing contemporary China. In 2021 and 2022, the PPMG launched two projects to translate books by prestigious writers and scholars from Jiangsu province that were initiated by provincial authorities to provide a better introduction of the province to overseas readers.
