Classic French literature sets the scene

In Balzac's writing, there are numerous descriptions about Chinese items. In his review of his painter friend Auguste Borget's album Sketches of China and the Chinese, the prolific writer claimed his childhood was largely influenced by the oriental culture.

Che says, in her more than two decades-long career, she was deeply nourished by French literature. From these stories and characters that writers of different periods and genres have created, she sees the truth of the world and becomes more open and clear.

Yu Zhongxian, researcher at the Institute of Foreign Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reviews some more recent writers' sojourns in China and their observations, including Paul Claudel, Victor Segalen and Saint-John Perse.