Translators, actors bridge gaps in China-Laos exchanges

Editor's note: To let Laotians understand Chinese films and TV plays, Huangfu Bo set up a team in Kunming to translate them from Chinese into Lao. At first, all dubbing actors involved in had to come to the studio physically. Later, the team developed a remote dubbing system and founded a dubbing center in Laos. Now the translators and actors in the two countries work in concert online.

Translators, actors bridge gaps in China-Laos exchanges

Yunnan is the only Chinese province bordering Laos. In an industrial park for cultural creation based in the provincial capital of Kunming, dozens of young people are translating popular films and TV plays from Chinese into the Lao language, working concurrently with translators, dubbing actors and video editors in the translation center based in Laos. Since 2013, more than 5,000 episodes of Chinese film and TV series have found their way onto Lao screens because of the joint endeavor.

"In 2012, I accidentally learned that Lao national television was enriching their programs, so I came up with the idea of translating Chinese TV dramas for export." Huangfu Bo, head of the translation team, said in 2013 the Lao version of Mufu Fengyun, which is the first TV series translated by them, was broadcast on Lao national television station, triggering sensation among millions of viewers in the country.

The Chinese TV play's success in Laos encouraged and Huangfu Bo and his team a lot, so they introduced in more resources and talents, establishing a translation center in Kunming. According to Huangfu, all dubbing actors involved in the play must be present at the center at first, but most of them were Lao students studying in China. As a result, the working hours and product quality were not always guaranteed.

To solve this problem, the team developed a control system for remote dubbing in 2016, and an overseas dubbing center was established in Vientiane, Laos in the same year. Later, online cooperation between Chinese and Lao actors was realized, and they jointly completed the dubbing of dramas. On average, around 1,000 episodes of Chinese TV plays were introduced to Laos every year.

As China's film and television works were exported to Laos, the Lao national television opened three daily programs of "Chinese theater", "Chinese animation" and "Chinese agriculture" in fixed intervals, all popular among Lao audiences.

"Back then, Mufu Fengyun made a hit among Lao audience,” said Huangfu Bo. “For many of my Lao friends who were on a tour in China, the first stop would be Lijiang, the site where the TV series were shot." Huangfu added that traditional Chinese costume dramas were once popular in Laos, such as Empresses in the Palace and The Swordsman.

In recent years, the subjects and types of Chinese films and TV dramas in Laos are increasingly diversified, especially the realist ones. Huangfu Bo believes that contemporary Chinese films and television series have become a window for Lao people to know more about the society, families and people in China.

So far, 500 issues of TV programs on Chinese agriculture have also been introduced into Laos. At the seminar themed TV China Farm, which was held in Luang Prabang in 2019, Lao agronomists thanked Huangfu's team for helping Laos' agricultural development. And they hoped that more agricultural programs close to the Lao natural conditions could be translated and dubbed, so that Lao farmers could learn Chinese technologies and put them into practice.

"Translating is like unifying different tracks into one, where the steps need to be smooth and stable. The translated texts should be faithful, expressive and elegant, and only the ones that conform to local expressions and cultural customs could be acceptable to the target audiences." Huangfu Bo said China has excellent films and TV plays worth communicating internationally, and there is huge room for export of dubbed cultural products.

In 2019, Huangfu Bo's team joined hands with the Lao National Film Bureau in building up the Lao National Film Translation Studio, and the construction has been basically completed. Following the completion, the team will also help Laos establish norms for the translation of films and TV series from a professional point of view.

At the same time, Huangfu Bo's team is also committed to expanding the transnational film and television business from "export" to "production". They are cooperating with the Lao national television in producing the TV series of "Agreement under the Champa Flower". With the shooting around the corner, this TV play tells the story of the Chinese and Lao people's joint construction of China-Laos railway. Showing China-Laos friendship in the new era, the play will make stories about the China-Laos railway known to more, boosting cultural exchanges in the two countries.

Writing by Xiong Jiaxin; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue