A man reads a book about China’s art at the British Museum. [Photo/People's Daily]

UK government pays to translate entire works of Shakespeare into Mandarin and make 14 classical Chinese plays available in English.

As one of the package plans for cultural co-operation with China, the UK government is donating £1.5m to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to translate all William Shakespeare’s work into Mandarin for the Chinese audience. In addition, 14 important Chinese classical dramas will be translated into English.

Liz Thompson, director of communications at the RSC Press Office, said that the RSC is looking for translation companies and translators in China to join this project. In February, all the translators will gather in London to attend a rehearsal of The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

Thompson said that China is home to many famous plays. For example, The Orphan of Zhao (Zhaoshi gu’er) is recognized as the Chinese version of Hamlet. RSC has revised this play and performed it in English. “The Orphan of Zhao was the first Chinese play to have been introduced to western countries. And we will bring in more Chinese plays to British audiences”, she said.

Thompson said that 2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The RSC will organize troupes, cooperating with partners in Beijing and Shanghai to make a performance tour in China. It will be the first large-scale tour by the RSC in China and will have a motivational effect on both sides’ exchanges.

The UK’s Department for Culture, Media & Sport will give a further £300,000 to strengthen exchanges between museums on both sides. Cultural Secretary Sajid Javid said that creating stronger links with China is a top priority for the UK government and sharing the very best of their respective cultures was a “brilliant” way of fostering closer UK-China ties. "This funding means Western and Eastern cultures can learn from and be enriched by one another and what better way than using the works of Shakespeare," Javid said.

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