When receiving the English version of the second volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" in April, U Ko Ko Hlaing, chairman of Myanmar's Center for Strategic and International Studies, has been well prepared for translating the book into Myanmar language.
U Ko Ko Hlaing, the translator of the first volume of the book by Chinese President Xi Jinping, will work together again with his Chinese counterparts on the translation.
Translating such a book, which delves so deeply into Chinese history, culture, Chinese wisdom and global politics, turned out to be a demanding job. The translators must make efforts to be faithful to the content of the book while making it comprehensible to local people.
The first volume in Myanmar language was launched in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw on July 9, 2018. The fruit of joint efforts by Myanmar and Chinese translators were so widely acclaimed that the government has included it in the parliamentary library.
U Ko Ko Hlaing first read the first volume of the book given by one of his Chinese friends more than three years ago.
Fascinated by the book expounding on Chinese history, global policies, development path and national conditions, U Ko Ko Hlaing decided to translate it into Myanmar language.
U Ko Ko Hlaing told Xinhua that the book has been translated into multi-language versions and it should be translated for the people of Myanmar as well.
But after realizing that translating accurately and faithfully such a profound work was not a one-man job, U Ko Ko Hlaing decided to join hands with his Chinese friend Li Chenyang, vice president at Yunnan University and director of the Center for Myanmar Studies. A joint team involved Myanmar and Chinese scholars were formed in April 2016.
The Myanmar scholars worked on translating the English version into Myanmar language, while the Chinese team on polishing the Myanmar-language draft based on the original Chinese content.
The Chinese team went to Myanmar five times while U Ko Ko Hlaing visited Beijing at least twice to ensure an accurate translation of the work before putting it to print in April 2018.
U Ko Ko Hlaing has said he was fully satisfied with the final publication of the book which was translated with a high standard, so that the people of Myanmar could understand the national conditions of China and what President Xi wants to convey.
He also said that China and Myanmar are important neighbors and China has been in constant progress and growth since it launched the reform and opening-up drive more than 40 years ago.
It is very necessary for Myanmar, which is undergoing transformation, to learn from China on governance, he added.
Hailing the friendship between peoples of China and Myanmar and the increasing people-to-people exchanges, Li, U Ko Ko Hlaing's Chinese friend, said that they would continue to translate more high-quality works to both peoples.
By doing so, he said, cultural exchanges could be deepened and young scholars' mutual understanding could be enhanced, which would help advance the China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic partnership and lay solid foundation for the construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
