Tu Kuo-ch'ing, influential translator of Taiwan literature, dies at 83

Taipei, Feb. 27 (CNA) Translator Tu Kuo-ch'ing (杜國清), who dedicated his life to introducing literature from Taiwan to Western audiences, has died aged 83.

In a statement Thursday, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said that the Taichung-born Tu passed away on Feb. 21.

Tu was influential in introducing foreign literature to the Chinese-speaking world, having translated many Japanese and Western poems while he was working as an editor for Xiandai Wenxue (現代文學), a Taiwanese literary journal, while at university, according to the MOC.

In 1971, he translated "Les Fleurs du mal" by French poet Charles Baudelaire into Chinese, which was published in installments by Li Poetry Magazine (笠詩刊), which he co-founded. The translations were complied by National Taiwan University (NTU) Press and published in 2016

Tu studied at NTU's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures before earning his PhD in Chinese literature from Stanford University in 1974.

Tu worked as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he founded the Forum for the Study of World Literatures in Chinese and published the "Taiwan Literature: English Translation Series." The series has since spawned 52 volumes.

He was also the Lai Ho (賴和) and Wu Cho-liu (吳濁流) Endowed Chair in Taiwan Studies at UCSB.

In addition to teaching and conducting research, Tu engaged in many international exchanges, inviting Taiwanese authors and academics to visit the university and holding international conferences on Taiwanese and Chinese literature.

Tu was a decorated translator, having won several Liang Shih Chiu Literary Awards and the Council for Cultural Affairs Award for Lifelong Achievement in Translation.

Tu's introduction of Taiwan's literature to the world and translations of poetry reviews have improved the international community's understanding of the country's literature and literary studies, leaving an enduring legacy that will no doubt benefit future generations of translators and researchers, the MOC said.