People take selfies during a light show celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Futian District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
"Looking at China's achievements over the past 70 years, we should be confident to say that China has found the right direction and has been on the right track of development."
ANKARA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China has become so important that its development is essential to global growth, said Giray Fidan, a Turkish sinologist, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
Marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Fidan said he believed that China is playing a key role in building a community with a shared future for mankind. "I believe if China gets better, the world will be better."
"Looking at China's achievements over the past 70 years, we should be confident to say that China has found the right direction and has been on the right track of development," said Fidan, a professor of translation and literature at Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University.
Describing the development of China as having taken place at "an incredible pace," he recalled his experience of studying in China 17 years ago, saying that back then, China was not as developed as it is now.
Having worked as a sinologist and translator for nearly 20 years, Fidan said he has had an interest in Chinese culture ever since he was a child.
Aerial photo taken on June 14, 2019 shows the terminal building of the newly-built Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
"I remember when I was at elementary school, I happened to find the Chinese book 'The Magic Paint Brush: A Story of Ma Liang,'" a fiction story popular among Chinese children, said the Turkish scholar.
He was immediately captivated by "mysterious" Chinese characters, a pictographic language he described as "completely different from the Turkish Latin alphabet system."
Since then, Fidan said he has decided to choose sinology as his lifetime academic pursuit. Now, he is a well-known sinologist dedicated to introducing China and Chinese culture to 80 million Turks.
Fidan, who has translated classic Chinese literature into Turkish, including "The Art of War" by ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu and "The Analects" by Confucius, said he was delighted to see that more and more Turks are realizing the importance of China and keen to learn more about that oriental civilization.
He said the Turkish version of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu has been re-printed in Turkey 10 times and over 200,000 copies have been sold in his country.
The Internet and other modern technologies have made it easier for people across the world to learn about China and Chinese culture, the sinologist said.
"In the future, I aim to bring more Chinese literature to Turkish people. Hopefully, they will be able to touch upon and appreciate the Chinese culture through my translation," said Fidan. ■
