Edda, Saga, Nobel Literature prize-winning Halldor Kiljan Laxness.

They're not the only facets of Icelandic culture known to Chinese. In fact, China has been introduced to more than 70 Icelandic authors in the past century, more than 200 different kinds of works.

"We're very acquainted with literature from Northern Europe," says Shi Qin'e, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Foreign Literature, who also brought Edda and Saga, the two mythological folklores, to China. "To that extent we're one rung higher in terms of cultural exchange."

The latest fuel for this fascination with the island is The Blue Fox, the first contemporary novel translated from Icelandic to Chinese.

The poetic story of suspense by Sjon covers the isle's wild creatures and lifestyle as well as humanity manifested in how villagers treat a girl with Down syndrome.

The book was released at the end of March by the Yilin Press.

Sjon, the award-winning novelist, says the story will appeal to Chinese readers because it deals with times of epic changes and vicious sides of humanity.

"We're interested in Iceland's culture for a variety of reasons," says Shi, the researcher, at the book launch. "It's the Northern European country that draws us in."

"They have an enviable education and welfare system," Shi says. "Welfare-states are particularly interesting to us."

"Besides, civilians there manage to strike a coveted balance between work and life - many of them write after work," Shi says. "That stable, sufficient lifestyle appeals to us."

Iceland, a country the size of China's Jiangsu province with some 300,000 residents, is attractive to outsiders for another reason.

"It is the first country to set up a parliament and let residents equally discuss public affairs. They're the model we look up to," says Shi, who has studied Northern European culture. "The equality, including their civil servants' sense of serving the people, is a very strong pull for us."

Chinese literature came under the influence of Icelandic culture as early as the 1980s, when Edda and Saga were published in Chinese.

"It was the talk of town. Back then, people were so excited to be able to read the original works that lay the grounds for English and American culture that they're already familiar with."

"They also display an entirely different set of aesthetics, which is very masculine," Shi says.

But she still considers Chinese knowledge of the country a little lacking. "We don't have enough of their contemporary works, only ones that already made a splash."

That situation may soon change since China has been offering classes for Icelandic language majors since 2008 in Beijing Foreign Studies University.

sunye@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/15/2014 page22)