Garcia Marquez's legacy lives on in China
- By Chen Boyuan
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 18, 2014
The Nobel prize-winning Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez passed away on April 17 at the age of 87, but his influence in China will live on.
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"One Hundred Years of Solitude," published in 1967, is among Garcia Marquez's best known works. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn] |
!['One Hundred Years of Solitude,' published in 1967, is among Garcia Marquez's best known works. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20140418/0019b91ec74f14bb0a8d2f.jpg "'One Hundred Years of Solitude,' published in 1967, is among Garcia Marquez's best known works. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]")
Garcia Marquez inspired a generation of Chinese novelists. Jia Pingwa, Han Shaogong, and Mo Yan, who was also awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012, have all cited the Colombian writer as an influence.
These Chinese writers are among those who followed Garcia Marquez's example and took the grass-roots life in their own hometowns as a theme for their work.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude," published in 1967, is among Garcia Marquez's best known works. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.
Before a Chinese publisher was authorized to publish the Chinese edition of this book in 2010, Garcia Marquez had been extremely cautious about selling the copyright to Chinese publishers, due in no small part to his resentment at the rampant piracy of his works in bookstores he witnessed during his visit to Beijing and Shanghai in 1990.
During his visit, Garcia Marquez even said he would not authorize the copyright, especially for "One Hundred Years of Solitude" to Chinese publishers, even 150 years of his death.
Pirated copies of Garcia Marquez's books, mostly Chinese and English translations, are still easily accessible at roadside bookstands and for free download on the Internet.
Although this rampant piracy is not justifiable, it is a demonstration of Garcia Marquez's popularity and influence in China.
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