Silvia Pozzi believes that translation is not about “explaining” China, but about telling the world truly compelling Chinese stories. Photo: COURTESY OF SILVIA POZZI

The year 2025 marks the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Italy, with both sides launching a series of commemorative events. As outstanding representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations, China and Italy demonstrate how storytelling remains one of the most effective forms of cultural exchange. Italian sinologist and translator Silvia Pozzi, recipient of the 17th Special Book Award of China, has translated the works of several Chinese authors and continues to devote herself to translation studies. She believes translation is not about “explaining” China, but about telling the world truly compelling Chinese stories.

Pozzi is a professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy. In her classroom, students are asked to become “word hunters,” tracking down subtle expressions in Italian literary works. On her desk, Chinese novels are “reconstructed” line by line, each character and sentence requiring their own precise “landing point” in Italian. Fluent in Chinese, she not only captures the nuances of the language with accuracy but also knows how to avoid reducing Chinese culture to mere “exoticism.”

Recently, Pozzi shared with CSST her reflections on translation, her love for both Chinese and Italian, and Chinese literature. She spoke about how she strives to build a bridge between languages and cultures—one that is both visible and genuinely passable.

Translators as ‘media of beauty’

CSST: You’ve been a key figure in introducing Chinese literature to Italian readers for over two decades. What originally drew you to Chinese language and literature, and how has your motivation evolved over the years?

Pozzi: When I turned 18, I discovered the magic of Chinese characters. At 21, during a one-year study at Sichuan University, I discovered the beauty of China—its diversity, its complexity, and the warmth of its people. Then, when I was 23 and working on my graduation thesis at Wuhan University, I had the chance to meet several Chinese writers in Beijing and in Kunming. What struck me was how easy it was to connect with them. They weren’t unreachable stars; they were deeply human, wonderful artists, and incredibly humble. That experience was what pushed me to start translating contemporary Chinese literature: my love for literature, my fascination with Chinese characters, and my admiration for China and its people.

Over the years, I got more and more aware of the importance of being a “medium of beauty.” There are wonderful, intense, amazing works written in Chinese and having to deprive ourselves of them makes everyone poorer. Slowly and progressively the demand of the literary market for Chinese titles is growing. The number of translators is also growing and it is essential that the reflection on the work of the translator and on the quality of the translation from Chinese to Italian is kept in great care.

Unlike other language combinations, there are still no consolidated training opportunities in Italy and it is for this purpose that I have established the Permanent Translation Workshop within the Department of Human Sciences for Education of the University of Milan-Bicocca. Training a new generation of translators is a key project of mine and I am working to build a “culture of translation.”

Literature as way of breaking stereotypes

CSST: Contemporary Chinese literature is gaining increasing visibility abroad, while classical works still shape much of the global imagination of Chinese tradition. As a translator, how do you think of your role in mediating between these two literary worlds? What are the particular challenges or opportunities when introducing contemporary voices that contrast with or complement the classical canon?

Pozzi: Chinese classical literature is still the domain of a small, specialized group in Europe, mostly sinologists. This is a serious shortcoming. It deprives a vast number of people of the chance to imagine, feel, and understand the world differently—to push the boundaries of the familiar and to reframe everything from new perspectives.

In the West, there is a strong tendency toward dualistic thinking: black versus white, true versus false, left versus right. How much richer could our understanding become if we incorporated the correlative thinking that characterizes Chinese philosophy? Even in literary genres, Europe has long upheld a strict division between tragedy and comedy. But in Dream of the Red Chamber, for instance, each chapter seamlessly weaves together tragic and comic events—just as life does.

Contemporary Chinese literature also retains a strong connection to tradition—through citations, allusions, and even reinvention. This is true even in genres like science fiction. A broader awareness of traditional Chinese literature would offer a privileged gateway into understanding contemporary works as well. I hope we’ll see increasing investment in translating—or re-translating—Chinese classics, with a strong emphasis on quality.

To this day, there are still no direct Italian translations of the major novels from the Ming and Qing dynasties (with the sole exception of Dream of the Red Chamber, beautifully translated by Edoarda Masi). The Italian editions of Journey to the West were done in the 1950s, 1960s from German or French—not the original Chinese.

What I want to stress is this: There’s still a gap to fill in terms of fostering a deep, first-hand understanding of both classical and contemporary Chinese literature and culture—moving beyond the clichés that stem from superficial or second-hand knowledge, which still too often portrays China as a monolithic, closed, and distant entity.

Great promise of Chinese literature

CSST: In recent years, you’ve translated major Chinese science fiction works such as Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem, and you’ve mentioned that Italian readers have a strong interest in science fiction. How has the reception of Chinese literature in Italy evolved over the past two decades? Do you find that readers today are more open to the complexity and diversity of Chinese narratives—not just in sci-fi, but across genres?

Pozzi: In recent years, interest in Chinese literature has grown steadily. We’ve seen the emergence of publishers and series focused on Asian—and especially Chinese—literature. Today, nearly every major Italian publishing house includes at least one Chinese title in its catalogue. The number of Chinese–Italian literary translators has increased dramatically.

Genres like fantasy and especially science fiction are also gaining traction. Chinese sci-fi offers a unique blend of traditional Chinese culture and futuristic vision. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin is widely known—thanks in part to the Netflix series—and a direct Italian translation from Chinese is finally in the works (the earlier version was translated from English).

A clear sign of this growing interest is the large audiences at events with Chinese authors, organized by universities, literary festivals, and cultural institutions. In the late 1990s, meeting a Chinese writer in person in Italy was a rare occasion.

Recently, I have noticed a growing interest from publishers, literary critics, and readers—especially young ones, as I’ve seen from social media influencers—in Chinese women’s writing. Even in science fiction, there’s a strong presence of female authors.

Chinese literature is vibrant and incredibly rich. What we need now is to invest in quality—both in terms of publishing and translation.

CSST: Currently, Chinese online novels, especially wuxia and xianxia novels, are gaining some popularity abroad. From the perspective of cultural exchange between the East and the West, how do you view the international craze for wuxia novels or the phenomenon of Chinese online literature going global?

Pozzi: I view the massive popularity of wuxia and xianxia genres very positively. These are distinctively Chinese literary forms that convey the flavors and knowledge of traditional China in a compelling and often light-hearted way—even when simplified or reinvented. And within these genres, there are true literary gems that are finally gaining the attention they deserve.

For example, Mondadori is currently publishing Jin Yong’s Legends of the Condor Heroes, curated by Patrizia Liberati and me, and translated by Alessandra Pezza—a talented young translator. We’re now working on the third volume.

What strikes me most about this wave of enthusiasm for wuxia and xianxia is the predominance of young female readers—many as young as 12 or 13. Online, I have discovered that some of the most passionate fans of these sagas—even without speaking Chinese—have learned dozens of Chinese terms, especially honorifics used for the characters.

Perhaps thanks to this new generation of readers, Italian bookstore shelves will soon be filled with Chinese literature across all genres. Curiosity is like cherries—once you taste one, you can’t stop!