Poorly paid

Though many talented translators are able to work with Chinese literature, Harman says they do not get paid much, which means many Chinese works are still not available in the West.

"If you translate a book, you'll want to publish it, but publishers in the West at times don't understand China and its literature," Harman says. "Some things can be lost in translation, but not much.

"Translators understand what is going on in a text, and many good translators are native English speakers and living in China, which can help them better understand the country's works."

Chinese literature is also rarely published abroad because Western publishers either do not have the money or do not want to take the risk, she says.

Also, she adds, topics in some Chinese books are not fashionable in the West, while others may be long novels about China's countryside, which publishers think readers will not buy.

Last year, 30 Chinese books were translated and published in English, 10 times as many as in 2000, according to Harman. "The situation is changing, but there are still barriers, not only cultural understanding, but also economic," she says.

Translators need to be paid, and because the job often requires lots of time, especially turning Chinese works into English, Harman says many have to do part-time jobs.

"They need money to buy food, to pay rent and bring up their children," she says, explaining that few people can afford to work as translators full time.

Harman has been among those few since 2011. "My children are grown up, and I can live on less money than before. It's simple economics," she says.

(China Daily 05/23/2015 page14)