Panelists pose for a group photo at the session in Beijing on Agust 30. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of Germany in China

The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of German-speaking Bohemian novelist Franz Kafka's death. The Embassy of Germany in China held a session titled Literatur abend Der unendliche Kafka (or Literature Evening the Infinite KafKa in English) in Beijing on August 30.

A panel discussion was held among Professor Benno Wagner from the School of International Studies of Zhejiang University, Professor Han Ruixiang from the Department of German of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), and Professor Zhang Yan from the Institute of German Studies of BFSU. 

The experts focused on the topic of the modernity of Kafka's works, Kafka's roots in China, and Kafka featured on social media.

As one of the most-read German-language writers in the world, Kafka's image and works are much more colorful than they are stereotyped to be. 

He is the best writer at writing about Entfremdung, which has also strongly influenced the life in the digital age. There is a Kafka fan community on TikTok, and the number is growing rapidly.

Since 2000, there have been 11 collections of Kafka's essays, nine collections of letters, six diaries, five conversations, two collections of paintings, and one collection of proverbs on the Chinese book market, according to statistics from the data center of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture.