Lula’s biography is launched at the Beijing Book International Fair

The Chinese version of the authorized biography of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was launched at the Beijing Book International Fair (China). The book Lula, Volume 1: Biographywritten by Fernando Morais, was published in Brazil in 2021.

According to Xinhua, the official news agency of the Popular Republic of China, the publication of the book is an important result of cultural exchange between China and Brazil.

Moreover, it offers Chinese readers a valuable opportunity to better understand Brazilian politics and society, “as well as President Lula’s legendary life.”

The work was translated by the graduate student at the University of Beijing Tiago Li, who was suppressed with the request to translate the biography of the Brazilian president. The student translated after his semester exchange in Brazil.

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For him, interpreting inspirations in the book and bringing them to Chinese readers was an arduous task. Several expressions in the work are typical of Brazil and difficult for Chinese to understand without basic knowledge about Brazilian society.

“I had to add many notes and references. I hope this book encourages readers to get to know Brazil better and the drastic transformation that the country has given during the last decades,” Li said.

“But in general, I think Chinese readers can enjoy the book and taste the ups and downs in Lula’s life,” he added.

The work brings President Lula’s trajectory since his childhood in a poor family, going through his career as a metallurgist and union leader, until he became the national leader of Brazil.

Through numerous interviews and historical documents, the book shows how Lula led Brazil towards modernization and social justice.

According to Xinhua, participants in the book’s launch ceremony considered the publication of the Chinese version a concrete practice on the exchange and mutual learning between civilizations, demonstrating the active role of the Chinese editorial industry in promoting international cultural exchange.

“In the context of a great change unprecedented, China and Brazil must further strengthen cooperation and jointly promote the development and prosperity of global southern countries,” the agency says.