Nepal-China cultural conference commences

Kathmandu –A two-day conference on translation and publication has started in the capital today under Nepal-China cultural exchange. 

The conference is organized jointly by Nepal Academy and the Chinese Culture Translation and Study Cooperation. 
Inaugurating the conference, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, expressed the belief that the programme would be successful in linking up the ancient knowledge and civilization of both countries. He added that Nepal, the place of origin of Vedic knowledge and civilization, could learn much from the development achieved by China with a history of 4,000 years old. 

“The conference would be useful in promoting the exchange of linguistic, cultural and literary knowledge. This kind of programmes would increase closeness between the citizens of the two countries,” the Culture Minister observed. 

Culture scholar Satya Mohan Joshi said the relations between Nepal and China had started with the visit of two Chinese nationals, namely Fa Yan and Hu Yang, to Lumbini and other places in Nepal during the fifth century. According to him, the two Chinese had come to Nepal via India for studying the Buddhist philosophy. 

Centenarian Joshi said that the Nepal-China relation was further deepened after Nepali princess Bhrikuti was married off to a Chinese prince in the sixth century A.D. “Around the same time, Nepali scholar of Buddhism Buddha Bhadra went to China and translated Sanskrit scriptures into the Chinese, which helped propagate Buddhism in China. In the 13th century, Nepali sculptor Araniko went to China and constructed the White Pagoda there, which again helped promote Nepal-China cultural ties,” he added. 

Nepal Academy chancellor Ganga Prasad Uprety, member secretary Prof Jagat Prasad Upadhyaya, former ambassadors of Nepal to China Sundar Nath Bhattarai and Mahesh Maskey, director of Chinese Culture Translation and Study Cooperation, Huong Zhuo Yue, among other speakers said the conference would be a milestone in expanding the bilateral cultural relations. 

Nepali expert Mahesh Poudel and Chinese expert Xu Baofeng will present papers on the situation of translation; the Chinese experts Huang Zhuoyoue, Guo Wei and Chen Ming and Nepal’s Likhat Pandey will present papers on the situation of publication in the two-day conference. A round-table discussion will also be held on the working papers. 
More than 50 experts from Nepal and China are taking part in the conference. The conference was held in China last year. 

Also on the occasion, Minister Adhikari launched the Nepalitranslation of the book ‘Wu Ronpao’. The book about Wu Ronpao, a famous Chinese farmer who contributed to transforming poor village in China into a prosperous one, is written by Khwa Chiangming. It was translated into Nepali by Dr Jhamak Prasad Sharma. The 184pages long book is published by the Makalu Publications and priced at Rs 325. The book is one of the best-sellers in China. 
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