Andre Levy (雷威安), a French sinologist, was the winner of this year's ROC-France Cultural Award and will receive a prize of 250,000 francs (US$33,000), the prestigious Institute de France announced on Monday.
The award, established in 1996 by the Cabinet-level Council of Cultural Affairs, is bestowed every year to encourage academic research or activities that promote exchanges between European and Chinese cultures.
Pierre Messmer, president of the Institute de France, and Tsai Cheng-wen (
Levy was born in the French settlement in Tianjin, China, and moved to France in 1937.
An excellent student, he won a national doctoral degree in literature for his dissertation on Chinese popular novels.
His research on Chinese society of that era has aroused great interest in Chinese popular novels in Europe, America and Japan.
Levy entered the National Institute of Languages and Oriental Civilization at the end of World War II, where he studied Chinese, Indian languages, and Sanskrit, as well as American literature and religious history. In 1958, he traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam to further his research.
During his stay in Hanoi, he found that ethnic Chinese there were greatly interested in Chinese classical novels, which led him into a lifetime of research on Chinese popular novels.
In 1960, He went to Kyoto, Japan, where he made full use of that city's rich collection of Chinese books. He also went to Hong Kong for further research.
Levy, elated to learn he had won the award, noted that he has translated at least 20 Chinese works.
He added that he is most satisfied with his version of Journey to the West (
Both works have been listed as classic translations by the prestigious Paris publisher Pleiade.
Levy's translations of other Chinese classics include Strange Stories From the Leisure Studio (聊齋誌異), a collection of bizarre ghost stories by Pu Sungling (蒲松齡) of the Qing Dynasty, and Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭) by Tang Hsientsu (湯顯祖) from the Ming Dynasty.
His translations of contemporary Taiwanese writer Pai Hsien-yung's (白先勇) works, Crystal Boys (孽子) and Taipei People (台北人) have in turn been translated into Spanish and Portuguese and published in Spain, Mexico and Brazil.
Institute de France officials said that the award ceremony will be held shortly, although the date has not yet been decided.
Tchen Yu-chiou (
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source