Both books have been translated into Persian by prolific Iranian translator Ebrahim Amel Mehrabi and released by Gunia Publishing House in Tehran.

At the beginning of the event, Amir No’ei, the director of Gunia Publishing House, gave a report on the translation of the best Chinese works into Persian language accomplished by this publication.

Describing the reason for picking the book 'A Boat to Heaven' for translating into Persian, he said: “Zhao Lihong's is a prolific poet and writer and winner of many awards in China. Zhao’s poems are his immersion in the beauty of life, nature, and mankind. We have tried to introduce modern Chinese poetry to Iranian readers, so we decided to translate Zhao Lihong's poems, because he redefined modern Chinese poetry and gained the attention of the audiences throughout the world with his style.”

“It was an honor for us to have translated some of his poems into Persian after English, French, Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian, Hungarian, Arabic and Korean languages,” he stated.

Following the session, Ebrahin Amel Mehrabi, the translator of the books referred to his experiences in translating various scientific and literary works over the years: “I always wanted to translate more different books with subtle poetic nature, and the translation of Zhao Lihong’s selected poems titles 'A Boat to Heaven' as my first pleasant experience in this field provided such a delicate chance,” he said.

“Zhao Lihong’s poems reminded me of the poems by Ahmad Shamlou, a leading Iranian contemporary poet as both show a special and similar tenderness in their works and speak of pure emotions and love,” he added.

The event was also attended by Iranain poet and translator, Reza Abedinzadeh. A graduate of translation with a M.A.degree, he is also writes poetry and plays. Senseless Days’ and ‘The Moon Shines on All Kisses’ are two collections of his poems.

Having studied Chinese poetry persistently, Abedinzadeh admired the book and its translation: “Chinese poems are very profound, fluent and pleasant. In some translations, I have seen that the fluidity of the poem has been lost, and I was amazed that Mr. Mehrabi's translation kept the fluidity of the poem and conveyed the meaning well to the audience.”

Next in the meeting, the message of Zhao Lihong to the Iranian readers was read:

“Hello, Iranian readers and friends. I am in China, in my hometown of Shanghai, sending you warm greetings. I am pleased that my collection of poems 'Where Am I, Who Am I' has been translated into Persian and published in Iran. This is my second collection of poems published in Iran. My first poetry collection translated into Persian was 'Pain', which was published five years ago.”

“It is an honor for me to have my poems published in Iran and read by Iranian readers. Iran is an ancient civilization with a glorious history and a profound poetic tradition. On my bookshelf, there is a collection of poems by the great Persian poet Rumi, translated into Chinese. Chinese and Iranian literature are treasures of world literature, the crystallization of human wisdom and emotions. The translation of literature builds a bridge between China and Iran.”

“Through this bridge, we can understand and communicate with each other, bringing our hearts and minds closer. I sincerely thank the translator who built the bridge for us, and also thank the Iranian publishing house that printed my poems. Without your creative work, we might be thousands of miles apart and never meet in the realm of poetry.

Born in Shanghai in 1952, Zhao Lihong is a poet, writer and calligrapher. He is the director of China’s Writers Association, vice-president of the Shanghai Writers Association and the publisher of the monthly journal ‘Shanghai Literature’ as well.

He holds a degree in Chinese literature from East China Normal University where he is a professor in modern literature and creative writing. He also lectures at shanghai Jiao Tong University. He won the Golden Key of Smederevo Prize for poetry in 2013, and received International Poetry Prize of the Mihai Eminescu International Academy for his works in 2019.

Zhao has published more than 80 award-winning books in poetry, prose and journalism, and his works have been translated into English, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian, Arabic, Farsi, etc.

‘The Little Mountain Goat’ was the second book which was reviewed at the session. However, before that, No’ei, the director of Gunia Publishing House reported on the translation of books by Mr. Tao in Iran and added: “Mr. Tao is the incumbent director of Liaoning Literature Museum, a member of the Children's Literature Committee of the China Writers Association and a member of the Cultural Masters and Four Groups of Talents in his country.”

Then, Mehrabi the translator described his encounter with the book: “When I first read the text, I imagined that the main character of the story “Little Goat” was fictitious, but the further I went, the more I realized that the animal was real as a companion of the author's childhood. That was very interesting and cherished for me not as the translator of the book but as a reader.”

“The writing style of Chinese literature is also quite visible in this work because it does not attempt to bring the reader directly into the story. The story enjoys an interesting and pleasant development; the boy’s love for the little goat makes the story quite engaging. It is as if it teaches people to love their fellow man. But going to school and the boy being far from the goat makes the story a little sad!”

Mehrabi went on to say: “The destruction of the rural environment in the story and the arrival of modernity to the area are the themes which like the other works of the author make it outstanding. Attention to nature and ruralism is also quite evident in this work.”

At the end of the session, the message of Xue Tao to the Iranian audiences was read: “Dear Iranian readers, the adult and young, I’m Xue Tao, the writer of ‘The Little Mountain Goat’. When I was a kid, this little mountain goat in the book was my close friend. We were playing together in a field of my hometown and went to visit our neighbors there. That was an unforgettable time of my life.”

“However, one day, the little goat went missing. Since that day, the goat has been living in my memory. After these years, I wrote ‘The Little Mountain Goat with my emotion. I wish the little mountain goat can be with you when you go through the fields of Iran, and also go through your childhood.”