Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t6.19

v2.c10.s3.t6.19

Bhagavad Gita, a famous long verse about religious philosophy in Mahabharata has had three verse translation editions in China. In 1957, Bhagavad Gita translated by Xu Fancheng in the traditional verse was published in Pondicherry, India, but this edition was little known in China for a long time. In 1989, Bhagavad Gita translated by Zhang Baosheng in the modern verse was published by China Social Sciences Publishing House. In 2010, the translation edition of Huang Baosheng in the modern verse was released by Beijing Commercial Press. Xu Fancheng said in the postscript of his translation of the Messenger of Clouds that “one masterwork having more translation editions is very common for classical literature”, which showed that many translation editions of one masterwork was normal and was the results of academic efforts. The new cover-to-cover English translation editions of Mahabharata in the style of prose and verse emerged continuously. China may also have the cover-tocover translation in the style of verse in the future.