BARCELONA, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- A special bookshelf named "That's China" has been inaugurated at the Confucius Institute of Barcelona, with the Spanish translations of more than 200 works of Chinese modern literature on display.
"The more you know another society, the more happiness flows in other areas of life, and books are very useful for that," Montserrat Riba, secretary general of Casa Asia, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the opening ceremony on Friday.
The program aims to bring the magic of literature from the Asian country to students and visitors of the Confucius Institute, she said.
Enhancing the literature of other countries such as China is in line with the local tradition of Barcelona and its inhabitants, said the chief of Casa Asia, a consortium aims to facilitate exchanges and communication between Asia-Pacific countries and Spain.
"It is a pride that China knows our tradition and shares some aspects. I am convinced that, little by little, the response of the city of Barcelona to Chinese literature will be the majority," she said.
The "That's China" bookshelf is an important method for the world to get closer to China. China has never been so close to the rest of the world, said Mai Jia, a famous modern Chinese novelist.
He noted that societies are hidden in every book, and so, called on Spanish publishers to import the works of different Chinese authors, as they did with him at a time that he remembers as "the happiest of his life."
"I remember arriving in Madrid and seeing my face on buses. It said that I was one of the writers that people should read. That's why Spain is my favorite country," he said.
Sara Rovira-Esteva, professor of the Department of Translation, Interpretation and Studies of East Asia at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Xinhua that it is important to maintain the current trend of publishing about 10 new Chinese books in Spain every year.
"People are failing to see China as that exotic country and are learning to enjoy the rhythms and details of Chinese literature," she reflected.
