Peking University, July 12, 2013: Dong Qiang, a prestigious professor in French culture research, was awarded La Grande medaille de la Francophonie by Institutde France on June 13, 2013.
Professor Dong is one of the most active Chinese scholars in the research of French culture. He’s an authority in the study of 19th century’s symbolism and a pioneer in research on Henri Michaux, a great writer and painter in the 20th century.
As a professor in School of Foreign Languages at Peking University, Dong also did a great job in French language teaching by setting up several new courses about French-Chinese translation and initiating seminars about contemporary French thoughts.
He has also played as a bridge between Chinese and French culture. In 1995, he participated in the establishment of Bleu de Chine Publisher which focused on translating works of contemporary Chinese writers into French. He has now published more than 25 translation works, including works by André Breton，Milan Kundera and Le Clézio. He also translated Chinese classics into French such as the Analects.
In consideration of Dong’s contribution in French culture study, Institut de France decided to award him one of the most important prizes in the area. Media has also showed great interest in this news. The Agence France Presse published the list of prize for the first time. Stories about Dong were also covered by some other important media such as Le Point, L’Express and France 24. The award ceremony would be held on December 5th, 2013 .
Institut de France was established in 1635 by the will of Richelieu. It is now the most prestigious academy in France and enjoys a world-wide reputation. La Grande medaille de la Francophonie was a very important award issued by the institute.
Written by: Wu Cuiting
Edited by: Zhang Jiang
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
