The winners of this year’s Fu Lei Translation and Publishing Awards were unveiled over the weekend. The awards, founded by the French Embassy in China in 2009, are dedicated to honoring prominent Chinese translators who work hard to introduce French literature to Chinese readers.

Two translated writings were named as the prestigious winners of the 8th Fu Lei Translation and Publishing Awards at the Temple Hotel in Beijing.

“The Locust Tree,” written by Claude Simon and translated by Jin Jufang, won the top award for literature.

The Consolations of the Forest by famed French adventurer and writer Sylvain Tesson and translated by Zhou Peiqiong won the title of Best New Translator.

This year’s event unveiled 12 finalists, six under the category of social science and six under fiction. They were selected from more than 50 candidates who submitted applications before April this year. The finalists were chosen based on criteria of both the importance of the books in French literature and the translators’ language level.

According to the director of French publishing house Gallimard, translators serve as a bridge to connect two cultures. Without them, many wonderful works would not be fully presented to readers.

“It’s really a nice translation and I want to congratulate the winning translator because the text of Claude Simon is not that easy to translate. You have to do a lot of research, and find the background information in other places. So I think the judges have made an excellent choice of awarding this translator,” said Antoine Gallimard, director of Editions Gallimard.

The Fu Lei award was established in 2009 to promote French literature in China. It was named after Fu Lei, one of the most renowned Chinese translators who helped Chinese readers gain access to works from big names including Honoré de Balzac, Voltaire and Romain Rolland.

This year’s Fu Lei Translation and Publishing Awards also pay hommage to the 50th anniversary of Fu Lei’s death.