While French literature has been popular among Chinese readers for years, the recognition of Chinese literature is still very low among its French readers. China's flagship literature magazine, People's Literature, is looking to change this with the recent release of its first French edition. This is People's Literature's second foreign language magazine after the English edition Pathlight was released in 2012.

Differing from the Chinese edition, both the English and French editions of People's Literature have their own  content. For instance, the first issue of the French edition focused on women's writing, selecting a series of short stories from some of the most famous female writers in the country, including Tie Ning, who is the current chairwoman of the China Writers Association.

Translations are carried out by experts from both China and France including famed French Sinologist

Genevieve Imbot-Bichet, who has previously translated a number of works by Chinese writers.

According to Shi Zhanjun, chief editor at People's Literature, the French edition will serve as an important platform to introduce Chinese literature to French-speaking countries. Plans are for one issue a year, with the second issue already underway.

Global Times