The year 2012, the Year of Dragon, I'll remember as Chinese. It would be happened that I'll exactly that year first time come in China and even twice. The first time it will be in August when I’ll travel to the Festival The Indigenous Poets Roundtable Forum In Qinghai will be held from August 10th to August 14th, and second time I'll be in Shanghai even two months, in September and October, invited from Writer's Society in Shanghai.
From beginning Chinese year 2012 China is main theme of my correspondence – with a secretary of Organizing Committee Quinghai Roundtable Meeting of Aboriginal Poets and with a secretary of Shanghai Writer's Association about organization of Shanghai Writing Program and journey, than with the poet and translator Gao Xing (he recommended me as guest on the Festival in Qinghai) and Tianxin Tsai, writer, translator and mathematic (he suggested me that I apply of invitation to writers from all the world on two monthly grant, which assign Shanghai Writer’s Association), with Tomislav Dretar, Croatian and Bosnian poet and translator (who translated from French the collection of selected poems "On Edge of Water" by Tianxin Tsai, and I was the editor of the book and author of afterword and translator from English Tsai's essay about his poetry), my wife Natalia (who lives in Podmoskovye, and she will be stay with me in Shanghai in September), and most of them with my son Leontin, who lives u Osijek (Croatia, he is also writer, in his first novel, „Korda's Hand“, a lot of it is connected with China) and big devotee to China and with he I almost every day discuss about Chinese movies (especially we like martial arts movies, which I started watch in seventy years yet and it was on that time produced in Hong Kong and it was very popular in Yugoslaviae), literature, music and other Chinese themes. There are also other my friends and writers, which I am in correspondence and write about details, connected with my two future journey in China, as Marianne Larsen, sinologist, translator from Chinese and writer from Copenhagen and Niels Hav, also from Copenhagen, which was on Festival in Quinghai and talked to me about his nice impressions about it. When I return from Shanghai the rest of four months to the end of this Chinese year will be a little time that I talk to all interested my impressions about China.
I hope I'll could come from Shanghai on short time to Hangzhou where lives Tianxin Tsai. Venetian Marco Polo (for him is claimed that his background is from Shibenik or from the island Korchula in Croatia, which is not proved, but it is known that his ancestors lived in Croatia), author of the book "Million", where he described his journey to China and he thought that Hangzhou is most beautiful city in the world. Now there is his monument. This year I read reportage in one Russian magazine about beauties of Hangzhou. I want see a part of it.
Coincidence (I like coincidences, especially when in my real life happened something similar to it what I wrote, translated or only read) is that I near Chinese embassy, when I came to give necessary documents that I get the visa, on a market, among old books, immediately I watched old (abridget) edition of the "Million" by Marco Polo, written in 13th century, translated on Serbian and in the bus, on the road from Sarajevo to Brchko, I started to read that book, which even today translate and read with interesting on all the world. Marco Polo, after publishing of that book, is called "Million lies", because people thought how he is all his imaginary, because it seemed fantastic for them. Till that time they know nothing about China. When I would write the book about my stay in China nobody would say how it is my imagination. In my country people however know something about China. I think it is small.
After so many centuries a lot of all is changed. I’ll travel to China much shorter than Marco Polo and his uncles and stay there many shorter, but I’ll see a lot, thanksgiving as a result the progress of technique.
In Shanghai will be occasion to upgrade my novel "A Snake from East", which is published in Rijeka, Croatia, on 2004, where I lived eight years. The plot of that novel take place in Rijeka and Berlin, and obe of main characters is the girl Mei Ling (that’s name I saw in several Chinese movies, and first time in the movie „In the Nest of Dragon“ with famous Bruce Lee), who writes letters to her sister. If is not my stay in Shanghai who knows when I’ll do it, and probably I couldn’t be satisfied on the end and I couldn’t deeper sprout out in the character of Mei Ling and I couldn’t more detailed take out her comparing between China and Croatia.
My coming to China announced three texts, from which I translated two of them. The first was the novel "Blue Clothe of Space" by Vyacheslav Kupriyanov, which I translated from Russian and which is recently published in Zagreb. In one chapter of that novel the author cited one chapter from the book Shаn Hаi Jing, so-called „collection of mountains and seas“, Chinese classic text, which is considered old at least 2200 years. That book mainly represents fairy description of geography and culture u period before the dynasty Qin, also collection of mythological stories. From it Kupriyanov cited parts about fantastic animals, which mentioned also, to me very close writer, Jorge Luis Borges in his "Handbook of Fantastic Zoology".
The second is shocking book Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother Chinese-British journalist Xuē Xīnrán, written on English, the collection of reportages about mothers, which loose their children, which one chapter I translated and it is published last year in one magazine in Sarajevo.
The third is classic Chinese roman "Romance of Three Kingdom” by Luo Guanzhong, written before 600 years, historic novel, full of giddy events and with a lot of number of characters, which plot play during the end of the Han Dynasty and immediately prior to the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China, in the time when on territory of contemporary China existed three separated kingdoms. I didn’t know how in the movie “Red Cliff” by John Woo, which I watched last year, treated one episode from that very large novel. That novel in two volumes, in Russian translation, I found in inheritance of grandmother of my wife and started with reading. I will continue with reading on English from translating, which I downloaded from internet because there is more comments.
My journey to China announced also writing my novel „Leon, a Wizard’s pupil“, in which main character, prince and wizard Leon, came to country Arconia where all people are with same faces. When I was a boy to me seemed that all Chinese people have same faces.
Two years ago I was first time to Armenia and on that time I knew almost nothing about that country. With China is different, because about that big country I know much more, but to me is seemed that I know so small and how I must to learn a lot of it about China. But it is important that I’ll, as it was with Armenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria etc., translate literary pieces of writer, which I meet them and on that way work on literary and generally cultural connections between my country and China. I’ll translate it from English and Russian, as Armenian writers. Who knows, maybe once I’ll translate pieces by Chinese writers from original. It is my old desire.
The people from my country almost every day buy Chinese products, meet Chinese people in a many cities, watch Chinese movie about Chinese past, but here is no occasion to see movies about the life in contemporary China, and very rarely they read pieces by Chinese writers at all. It is absurd that South Slavic peoples, in time of Yugoslavia knew about China more than people in Youth Slavic countries know despite of big progress of technique, including respected computers „Lenovo“.
This year will be produced in China movie inspired by classic Chinese novel „Journey to the West“(It was written in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, attributed to Wu Cheng'en.). That novel is written inspired classic text Notes about West districts Xuanzang (602 – 664), by Chinese Buddhist priest, scientist, traveler and translator, the most known because he described relationship China and India on beginning dynasty Tang. Xuanzang decided visit India. He got incentive from visiting of his predecessor Fa Hien (337-422), who is known of the book “Note about Buddhist kingdoms”. I wanted translate that book from English while time I lived in Rijeka. Unfortunately Misnitry of Culture of Croatia didn’t give grant for that project.
Now I’ll come to the East as travelled Edgar Morgan Forster, Herman Hesse etc. I remembered nice collection „East Stories“ by Marguerite Yourcenar in which are included stories, which plot happened in China, as fascinating story „How is saved Wang Fo“ till stories inspirited by traditional poems by South Slavic peoples.
It is not coincidence that to China in both cases I’ll travel from Russia, from Moscow. Russia is the country, which placed between South Slavic countries and China. For dozen years, hoe long I travel to countries of ex Soviet Union I got acquainted with them. Maybe next decade I dedicate at most to China. It would be nice.
This text I wrote before my journey to China, as preface in my book about China. Mula Mustafa Basheskiya, Bosnian chronicler from 18th century, wrote that "words flies, but written remain". When my book will be published it will be occasion that people readers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also from other South Slavic countries will be better get acquainted with China. So it will be written my encounter with 2012 year in sign of China.