On May 29, 2025, a ceremony was held in Room 108B of the Confucius Institute at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo to award the participants in the III Translation Competition from Chinese to Bulgarian and vice versa, named after the prominent translator, writer, teacher, and public figure Petko Hinov, who passed away on January 3, 2022.
The competition is jointly organized by the Department of Classical and Eastern Languages and Cultures at UVT, the Department of Chinese Studies at Sofia University, the Confucius Institutes in Veliko Tarnovo and Sofia, the Petko Hinov Foundation, and with the support of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bulgaria.
This year, 13 translators participated with a total of 19 translations across four categories:
- Contemporary Chinese poetry
- Contemporary Chinese prose
- Translation of a poem by Petko Hinov
- Translation of a short story by Petko Hinov
The awardees included university professors, students, and enthusiasts of Chinese culture from various Bulgarian and international universities. The translations were evaluated anonymously by a highly qualified jury of Sinology experts:
Assoc. Prof. Polina Tsoncheva, PhD – Dean of the Faculty of Modern Languages and Head of the Department of Classical and Eastern Languages and Cultures at UVT
Assoc. Prof. Antonia Tsankova, PhD – St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University
Chief Assist. Veselin Karastoychev, PhD – Lecturer in Chinese literature and translator
Official guests at the event included Ms. Wang Min – Counsellor and Deputy Head of the Embassy of the PRC in Bulgaria, and Mr. Yang Tian – Head of the Education Department at the PRC Embassy. Petko Hinov’s entire family attended the ceremony – his wife Li Xiao, their four children, his parents, and his sister. A short video titled “My Bulgaria, My China” was shown, presenting the life of Petko Hinov.
Jury members Assoc. Prof. Polina Toncheva, PhD and Chief Assist. Veselin Karastoychev, PhD, shared personal memories of Petko Hinov and reflected on this year’s edition of the contest. Mr. Karastoychev also spoke about his personal experience with the texts of Yu Jian – the Chinese author whose work was among the contest materials to be translated.
Attendees had the opportunity to view an exhibition of panels featuring family photographs from Petko Hinov’s life, as well as highlights of his greatest achievements, both nationally and internationally. Among them stood out the Special Contribution to Chinese Books Award, a state honor of the PRC established by the General Administration of Press and Publication. This award recognizes publishers, writers, and translators for their significant contribution to the dissemination, translation, and publication of Chinese books and for promoting cultural exchange between China and other cultures. It was established in 2005 and has since been awarded to only 22 individuals, including Petko Hinov. The award is presented at the Great Hall of the People during the Beijing International Book Fair.