Tumanyan’s “The Dog and the Cat” in Chinese

Do you know an Armenian author whose literary work heroes and themes are simple villagers and their ordinary life? If you’re at least slightly familiar with Armenian literature, you have probably admired Hovhannes Tumanyan, a celebrated Armenian poet, who has a unique role in the Armenian literary and spiritual life. Known as a “pan-Armenian poet,” Tumanyan has portrayed the Armenian character, traditions, and history in a way that best emits the breath of the country.

Born in Dsegh village of the Lori region, Tumanyan is the favorite poet of many Loretsis and the inspiration of COAF SMART Center students. Besides learning one of the author’s well-known ballads — “The Dog and The Cat” — at school, COAFians enrolling in the SMART Chinese program have translated the work into Chinese!

In a ballad rich in metaphorical expressions, it was first necessary to comprehend the Armenian meaning of the expressions and then try to find the closest Chinese equivalents. A group of dictionaries and COAFians’ dedicated instructors came to help them in this “international mission.”

To make the assimilation of cultures more vivid,  a talented artist and SMART Center student Garik Varosyan, accompanied the translation with his digital illustrations, depicting the traditional Armenian dog and cat with Chinese motifs.

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the SMARTian e-book of “The Dog and the Cat” in Chinese.

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