We are pleased to invite you once again to our book stand to discover the latest Romanian book titles and to meet Romanian and Chinese authors and translators. Romania is once again well represented at the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF 2024), the most important event of its kind on the Asian continent. Over 200 Romanian titles, promotional materials for Romanian literature, and a host of events will enliven the national stand organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute through the National Book Center and ICR Beijing at the 30th edition of the fair, held from June 19-23, 2024.
Editors and reading enthusiasts from China and beyond will have the opportunity to learn about the latest editorial releases and the most important trends in the world of Romanian written culture. The offer at Romania's stand includes both literary books and volumes from the vast field of non-fiction (history, economics, politics, and political science), as well as some recent translations into Chinese.
The Romanian program at BIBF 2024 includes literary activities, book presentations, debates, round tables, and autograph sessions. Throughout the book fair, events will be held to promote Romanian culture, particularly contemporary Romanian literature translated into Chinese, both at Romania's stand and at the stands of major local publishers such as Beijing Encyclopedia Publishing House, Liaoning Publishing Group, and Shandong Education Press.
Among the most interesting events, we mention the dialogue-conference titled "Romanian Literature Today," which will take place on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at 2:00 PM, during the Book Fair, at the China National Convention Center. The event will feature Stefan Baghiu and Bogdan Cretu, university professors and literary critics, as well as Liviu Taranu, director of ICR Beijing, as the moderator. We will also have several book launches, including the one on Friday, June 21, at 11:00 AM, when the Chinese-language volume "The Weather Comes from a Shell" by Aura Christi, translated by Ding Chao, will be launched, and on Saturday, June 22, at 4:00 PM, the launch of the Chinese-language volume "Stories and Tales" by Ion Creanga, translated by Laura Calin. Also on Saturday, at 5:00 PM, we will launch the book of a great Romanian historian and thinker; Razvan Teodorescu, "The Two Europes."
We look forward to welcoming you to Romania's stand, E1.A20, China National Convention Center.
Books Launched at BIBF 2024
The Two Europes – Razvan Theodorescu Recently, in the hall of the Romanian Academy, an international debate centered on an "if history" scenario: what will Europe be like in fifty years? Naturally, the geopolitical data of the present and those of a past in which, fifty years ago, our continent was divided into two ideologically, economically, politically, and militarily opposed blocs were discussed.
In a hypothesis I presented on that occasion, which seems both plausible and attractive to me, the Europe of the future will once again be divided after this moment of illusory unity. Absolutely illusory because the consumerist Europe of the West and the ideocratic Europe of the East are tangible realities every day in a community where the eurozone is experiencing an unprecedented crisis – which extends to threats of exclusion of some countries – where the Schengen area becomes restrictive for apparently well-founded reasons and where Paul Valéry's words from almost a century ago seem increasingly relevant: "Europe is, in reality, a small peninsula of the Asian continent." (Razvan Theodorescu)
Stories and Tales by Ion Creanga Translator: Laura Calin Once upon a time, when the internet had not been invented and mobile phones and tablets did not even exist in dreams, there was a childhood full of mischief, laughter, and many stories.
Emanating from the realm of imagination and nostalgia of those times, "Five Breads," "The Goat with Three Kids," "The Bear Fooled by the Fox," "The Old Woman's Daughter and the Old Man's Daughter," and "The Bag with Two Coins" represent some of the most beautiful childhood works.
A very amusing book, an ingenious combination of cheerful illustrations, adventures, unexpected outcomes, and much laughter, "Stories and Tales" will delight both young and old readers and create a magical closeness effect between child and parent. Link
The Weather Comes from a Shell – Aura Christi
"The Weather Comes from a Shell" is a book intended for children from 3 to 133 years old, half-jokingly claims Aura Christi, who wrote the poems within the covers of this inspired volume, illustrated by Alexandra Calimach, thinking of her pitch-black kitten, named Duffy, and the adventures of this ball of fluff stirred up by the desire to know the world, life, and its meanings.
Where does the rain come from? Who is at the foundation of the seen and unseen? What is snow, and what does it hide? Why does summer follow spring, and the seasons sometimes seem to hesitate to follow their predetermined path? What is life? What is the role of friendship? What do you see in the carnivorous mirror of the other's eyes? These are some of the questions that leap from the texture of the text like dolphins from attentive waters, waiting for the right answer, everything moving less towards the understanding and awaiting the mystery to show its illuminated faces. Perhaps, breathing the air of Mystery is a way of understanding, loving, the world through which we pass... Amazement remains, probably, the deepest source of knowledge. Link
