On 4 March 2024, the Hungarian-Chinese Friendship Society of Hungary and China held its "1573" Poetry Evening co-organised by the Contemporary Chinese Book Club and with the main support of the Luzhou Laojiao Liqueur Making Manufactory Budapest Representative Office.
At our first big event of the year István Turczi poetwho celebrated We'll be old in the morning for his book of poems translated into Chinese in 2023, he became the first Hungarian poet to win the 1573 Chinese International Poetry Prizeat.
The evening started with Chinese cimbalom music, Yang Yang played for us the famous Chinese song, "The Blue and white porcelaint (Qinghuaci). Then hostess of the evening, Erika Yu-Barta, literary translator, one of the vice-presidents of the Hungarian-Chinese Friendship Society, welcomed the guests of honour, the audience, the supporters and the former president of the Society, Klárá Zomboryt.
One of the evening's guests of honour, Tibor Weeber, The Deputy Mayor of Kőbánya in the X. district of Budapest opened the event, who said that Kőbánya is the centre of the meeting of Chinese and Hungarian culture, a large Chinese community lives and works here, and there is a lively cultural life, including a Chinese choir and dance group. As deputy mayor and as a book-lover - who worked in a library for 30 years - he greeted the audience with love.
Judit Éva Nagy, the newly elected President of the MKBT, emphasized in his welcome speech that one of the Society's goals is to build on its strong intellectual traditions to present the diversity and depth of Chinese culture, while at the same time presenting a modern, realistic image of China to the public. He also said that the first major event of the MKBT this year was special because it was held in Kőbánya, "home to the largest Chinese community in the world, who support their second home through their work, trade, tourism and culture." He expressed his gratitude to the Luzhou Laojiao Liqueur Making Manufactory Budapest Representative Officeto "support culture, literature and the activities of the Hungarian-Chinese Friendship Society!" Finally, he also expressed his gratitude for the support of the co-organiser, Klara Zombory, the creator and host of the Contemporary Chinese Book Club, and the media sponsor of the evening, the China Media Groupnak.
The President of the meeting gave a special welcome to the evening's guest of honour, István Turczi, poet and literary translator, winner of the Attila József Babérkoszorú and Prima Primissima awards, who is also the founding editor-in-chief of the Parnassus magazine and publishing house, the secretary general of the Hungarian PEN Club, and the repeatedly re-elected president of the Poetry Section of the Hungarian Writers' Union. Commenting on his poetry prize, he said that "poetry books translated into foreign languages play an important role in helping us to better understand each other, each other's thinking and culture. This Poetry Prize is a significant achievement in bilateral cultural and literary relations, as literature, the universal language of poetry, is what binds us together." In conclusion, the translator of István Turczi's poems, winner of the Pro Cultura Hungarica Yu Zeminwho is "an excellent translator and representative of contemporary Hungarian literature in China. In addition to translating the poems of Petőfi, Ady, Attila József, Sándor Weöres, Géza Szőcs, among others, he has also translated such epochal novels as The boys from Paul Street, the Confessions of a citizen, a Sorrow, a Harmonia Caelestis, a Parallel stories, a The Devil's Angle, The Deer or The tranquility. Throughout Yu Zemin's 20 years of work, Chinese readers have been able to get to know modern classical and contemporary Hungarian literature essentially through him."
Guest of Honour from China Jidi Majia who was the chairman of the 1573 Poetry Prize Jury, former vice-president of the Chinese Writers' Association, and last but not least an internationally recognised icon of contemporary Chinese poetry, and who personally presented the prize to István Turczi at a grand award gala held last October at the Poetry Conference in the historic Chinese city of Luzhou. Jidi Majia video toastin his speech, he emphasized that the laureate is one of the most important contemporary Hungarian poets, who has a wide international influence and who "deepened the process of dialogue between Chinese and Hungarian poetry with his 'poetry trip' to China last year." Commenting on the award-winner's first collection of poems in Chinese, Jidi Majia praised the volume's well-known and distinguished literary translator, Yu Zemin, and stressed that the volume "received a wide critical reception after its publication, with Chinese readers and fellow poets praising it."
He also said that "both China and Hungary have a long tradition of poetry, there has been a long-standing literary dialogue between the two countries, and that especially since the Chinese 'new culture movement' a century ago, writers and poets of previous generations have translated and presented Hungarian works, which have brought Hungarian poetry and prose into the reach of Chinese readers. Nowadays, as this deepening literary dialogue continues, István Turczi's trip to China has undoubtedly started a new process, as the Chinese translation of his poetry book has opened a window through which we Chinese have been able to see the world of contemporary Hungarian poetry." The great Chinese poet also expressed his gratitude to "all those who have contributed to the promotion of the Hungarian-Chinese poetic dialogue", while expressing his confidence that "with the efforts of all of us, the Sino-Hungarian poetic dialogue will reach a higher level and we can contribute more and more to the flourishing of the two countries' poetry."
Jidi Majia is a keen follower of Hungarian poetry, and particularly fond of Attila József. Not only has he written poetry dedicated to our great poet, but he also had the first statue of Attila József erected in China, making him the second Hungarian poet to have a statue erected in China after Sándor Petőfi.
At the request of Jidi Majia, Erika Yu-Barta then gave a brief presentation on the 1573 International Poetry Prizeand the circumstances of its transfer. 6 slides during which we learned that the prize, founded in 2018, is awarded annually to some of the world's most influential poets, including Tomas Venclova and Jack Hirschman, and has become the most important poetry prize in China. It comes with a prize money of 20,000 euros and a fifty-year-old high-value 1573 "white liquor". The annual International Conference on Poetry and Spirit Culture will be presented in the framework of. Among others, the Luzhou City Municipality, the Poetry organised and supported by the national journal Luzhou Laojiao and Luzhou Laojiao Company, the conference will award prizes in several categories, including literary translator, critic, composer and poetry, with the 1573 International Poetry Prize being the highlight of the conference.
Located in the south of Sichuan province, with a 2300-year history, the Luzhou Cityalso known as the "city of liquor culture", is the cradle of the world-famous Luzhou Laojiao liquor. Throughout history, many great Chinese poets have visited this place and left behind many beautiful poems - Li Taj-po, Tu Fu, Su Tung-po are well known in Hungary. That is why the International Poetry and Sesquiculturists Conference is being held in this city - for the seventh time in 2023, with more than 200 foreign and 6,000 Chinese guests since 2018 - attracting poets from all over the world.
A Luzhou Laojiao also means in Hungarian: winery or winery block in Luzhou city. (Liqueur in Hungarian: "Chinese brandy", in Chinese "baijiu", which literally means "white spirit".) The cellar, built in 1573 and still in operation, is still preserved in the city, which is why the most prestigious liqueur made here is called '1573'. And this year is now also the name of the International Chinese Poetry Prize, which has been awarded to six poets since 2018: after Tomas Venclova (Lithuania), Jack Hirschman (USA), Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (Ireland), Nuna Judics (Portugal) and Jean-Pierre Simeron (France), the 2023 prize goes to the Hungarian poet István Turczi.
István Turczi We'll be old in the morning was selected by the 1573 jury for his Chinese translation of a book of poems. The poems in the volume were written by the acclaimed writer and translator, Yu Zemin Yu Zemin has not only translated prose, but has also translated poetry books by Attila József and Géza Szőcs, as well as poems by Péter Rácz and Krisztina Tóth, among others.
In October 2023, István Turczi accompanied by Yu Zemin travelled to Luzhou, where they attended the award gala. Turczi himself later told us more about his exciting trip to China.
In the last picture of the poetry prize presentation, we also saw a different kind of link between 1573 and Hungary: the story of a father and his daughter. The elegant, smiling gentleman: Lai Gaohuai, who was the Grand Master of the Luzhou Laojiao Manufactory for more than half a century and the soul of 1573. And his daughter Lai Hua, who is currently a consultant for the Luzhou Laojiao Representative Office in Budapest. A former swimming and triathlon champion in China, the pretty woman has lived in Hungary for 30 years. She has swum across Lake Balaton several times and has been seen performing in Chinese "face-changing" theatre productions. The Chinese children's dance troupe she leads here has participated in several festivals and won awards. She has not only founded her own school in China, but also a Chinese-German bilingual school here in Budapest. He was the fourth guest of honour at the evening and gave a toast. Interpretation Éva Ipolyi who is also the vice-president of the Hungarian-Chinese Friendship Society, a very energetic and enthusiastic member of our Society, has been working for decades to strengthen Hungarian-Chinese relations.
Lai Hua In her welcome speech, Mrs.Turzi emphasized that "István Turzi's poetry prize is not only a glory for the poet, but also a beautiful story of cultural dialogue between China and Hungary." She further stressed that "in China, poetry and liquor are like a pair of lovers who are inseparable. Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, who is loved by many Hungarians, has written countless famous poems. The Chinese say, 'Where there is liquor, there is poetry, the two are linked'." He also mentioned our great poet Ady, who wrote his poems with a full glass. So there's no doubt that alcohol can inspire poets to create, and poetry can add elegance to the drinking - and today's gathering is a meeting of poetry and spirits culture.
He was delighted when Turczi visited the 450-year-old "National Treasure Cellar Block 1573", which is considered a living cultural relic of distilling. The Laojiao winery, where the liquor is made from sorghum and wheat using traditional distilling techniques, is a premier national heritage site in China, and Lao Hua is very proud to have been able to follow his father "the intellectual cultureális öröSeeég donor" was also awarded the title. Finally, he invited the guests to a tasting and wished the poets to write more beautiful poems, the translators to translate more works, and the cultural dialogue between China and Hungary to be deeper and wider through alcohol and poetry.
Then the celebrated poet, István Turcziwas invited on stage to talk about his trip to China last year and his experiences. In the background during her story 15 slidesWe also screened a series of films to show the audience the colourful programme of his award-winning days in China.
Turczi says you have to go very far to realise how far you can go. How far you can go in your thinking, in the mood, in the feeling you get when you experience another wonderful culture. And to realise how far you can go in getting to know people. In the few days he spent in Sichuan province, he confessed, he learned much more about the Chinese people than he had ever known before. In 2006, he visited China with a delegation of the Hungarian Writers' Association and met the then Chinese Minister of Culture. The three of them talked with sinologist Péter Polonyi for almost three hours instead of the planned half an hour. Turczi was very surprised last year when he received the notification letter of his award, because reading the list of laureates so far, four of the six names are Nobel shortlisted. He believes that the rank of any award is given by the laureates. Turczi thanked his Chinese translator, Yu Zemin, who himself selected the poems in the prize-winning volume and who is "the gateway between Chinese and Hungarian literature". He also thanked Jidi Majia, who has a great love and interest in Hungarian poetry and with whom he had long discussions during his trip to China.
Turczi also talked about how it was a lasting experience to visit the liqueur factory "1573", which has a historical tradition and also functions as a museum, to smell the aroma and see the production process. And how memorable the moments of "continuous tasting" were for him, as they were even offered liqueur during the round-table discussions at the conference. This gave him the chance to experience first-hand that in China, liquor culture and poetry are truly inseparable.
The last part of our programme was a poetry reading. First, the title poem from the award-winning volume was read. A We'll be old in the morning was read in Hungarian by the author and in Chinese by his translator Yu Zemin.
Then the The man is running out - in memoriam Péter Esterházy in Hungarian by the poet and in Chinese by the teacher of the Chinese-German Bilingual School, Zhao Li by.
Finally, the Write as others pray was also read in Hungarian by István Turczi and in Chinese by Yu Zemin.
The final chord of our sold-out event was once again Yang Yang's Chinese cimbalom music, the Azalea (Yingshanhong), after which our audience was treated to Chinese food - meat-filled baguettes, spring rolls and black sesame balls - and tasted the famous Luzhou liquor - while a short film about Luzhou liquor was also shown.
The main sponsor of the event was the Luzhou Laojiao Liqueur Making Manufactory Budapest Representative Office. The event was supported by the Chinese Cultural Center of Budapest, media sponsored by China Media Group, Centrum Media and co-organized by the Contemporary Chinese Book Club.
Budapest, 12 March 2024.
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