Remembering Israel Epstein and the Spanish edition of China Today

Editor's note: Israel Epstein was a journalist who joined the Communist Party of China. Though a foreigner, he spent almost his entire life in China, witnessing the country's profound changes throughout the 20th century. Xu Zhonglin, former director of the Spanish-language edition of China Today, shares his memory of Epstein. This article was originally published in the August 2019 collection of essays, My Years with the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

In memory of Comrade Israel Epstein on the 14th anniversary of his passing

In early 1959, I was living in a shared dormitory in the middle building of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration compound. Every morning, I would see Comrade Israel Epstein (1915–2005) coming out of the Experts' Building (the eastern building in the compound), walking his beloved dog. Whenever he encountered us young people playing basketball, he would wave and greet us. He was always warm and approachable.

To be honest, after joining the English-language magazine China Reconstructs (now China Today) in the late 1950s, I had relatively little direct contact with Comrade Epstein, whom we affectionately called Aipei. My main responsibility at the time was helping prepare the launch of the magazine's Spanish edition. Yet, after working in the same organization for nearly three decades, I came to know him through years of observation and understanding, and he left an exceptionally deep and lasting impression on me. In particular, in the 1990s, Epstein and the Spanish edition of China Today became bound together by a fate that would prove crucial to its survival.

As is widely known, Epstein was a veteran journalist with extensive knowledge and rich life experience. His years in journalism gave him both a wealth of practical experience gained through hardship and a rigorous theoretical grounding. In a role responsible for international news reporting, he not only understood the outside world but also possessed a profound knowledge of China's history and contemporary realities.

When I started working in the late 1950s, I was new to China's international communications work. Concepts like tailoring a publication to its target audience, writing with a clear purpose, identifying readership and defining a publication's mission were all unfamiliar to me. While the leaders of our organization regularly offered guidance and instruction, Epstein's books, speeches and articles also gave me tremendous insight and inspiration.

From Opium War to Liberation, written by Epstein and translated from English to Spanish by a Chilean expert at Foreign Languages Press in 1959, was the first of his works I encountered. The book offered a remarkably incisive account of China's century of modern history and became an important introductory text for foreign readers seeking to understand the country.

In the years that followed, through studying Epstein's talks and writings, including his lecture How to Conduct International Communications, delivered within the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, I gradually came to understand a range of fundamental principles and methods of publication, such as approaching issues from an international perspective, maintaining China's own perspective while communicating with foreign audiences and tailoring content to the needs of specific readerships.

His thinking on the integration of translation and original writing also helped drive reform and development in China Today's Spanish edition. Epstein advocated training editors and journalists to write directly in foreign languages while encouraging translators with a talent for writing to produce original articles as well. Following this approach, from the 1980s onward, the Spanish edition of China Today devoted more personnel and resources to original feature writing, encouraging and training translators to conduct interviews and write articles directly in Spanish.

In retrospect, Epstein was not only a guiding light for China's international communications work but also the person who first introduced me to its professional principles and practices.

In his personal life, Epstein was a witty, humorous and remarkably optimistic man. I remember that in the late 1950s, at a National Day celebration organized by our magazine, he performed a sketch in which he played a weightlifter. With his short stature and sturdy build, he certainly looked the part of a strongman. Before the audience, he repeatedly lifted an enormous, seemingly heavy barbell over his head, earning enthusiastic applause. But as the performance drew to a close, Epstein began twirling the barbell above his head. He swung it with such force that one of the weights suddenly came loose and fell off. Only then did everyone realize that the barbell was made of paper, while the weight was actually a wastepaper basket cleverly disguised with a little makeup.

Whether lecturing or chatting with others, Epstein had a gift for lively, accessible language. He was adept at using apt and thought-provoking analogies to explain complex ideas and everyday phenomena. His many amusing anecdotes about the use of English and the art of translation are well known. I would like to recall a few incidents from my own experience.

In 1988, I accompanied a Spanish journalist on a visit to Beijing. Epstein's wife, Huang Huanbi, arranged for me and the journalist to interview Epstein at the Beijing Friendship Hotel. We had a pleasant conversation. Later, when Epstein saw me, he jokingly remarked, "You see, I'm like an old antique in Liulichang (now better known as Liulichang Street, a famous cultural street in Beijing). Whenever foreign guests come to visit, I'm brought out for them to look at."

On October 9, 1996, I was invited to attend a ceremony at the National Museum of Chinese History (now the National Museum of China), east of Tiananmen Square, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the formation of the International Brigades. Among those present were Bulgarian doctor Ianto Kaneti and British professor David Crook, both veterans of the International Brigades who had later come to China to participate in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Epstein was also there, as one of the people most familiar with the historical ties between the International Brigades and China.

After the ceremony, I helped the elderly Epstein down the museum's long flight of steps. As we walked and chatted, he kept grumbling about his legs: "These legs of mine are such a nuisance! They're just like certain officials – they can only go up, never down."

That day, I rode home in Epstein's car. Everyone chatted and laughed along the way. Huang Huanbi pointed to me and said, "This is our Xiao Xu from the magazine, though I suppose we should call him Old Xu now." Epstein immediately corrected her: "No, no! Why call him Old Xu? He should be addressed as Elder Xu!"

In June 1995, the authorities unexpectedly decided to discontinue the Spanish edition of China Today (formerly China Reconstructs), citing changes in the situation in Latin America. Everyone on the Spanish edition was bewildered by the decision. Since its launch in 1960, the Spanish edition had operated successfully for 35 years. It had been received warmly by readers across Latin America and generated positive reviews from various sectors of society. By then, it had become an important window through which the people of Latin America could learn about contemporary China, as well as a bridge fostering communication and mutual understanding between the peoples of China and Latin America. China's international communications work targeting this region clearly needed to be strengthened, not weakened, let alone discontinued.

Unable to understand the decision, the colleagues from the Spanish-language edition jointly wrote a letter to the higher authorities asking for an explanation and to appeal the decision. The letter was delivered to Epstein through the person in charge of the edition. When Epstein learned that the Spanish edition was about to be shut down, he was both shocked and saddened. He could not understand why such a major decision had been made without consulting him. As the magazine's honorary editor-in-chief and a then member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), he felt he could not stand idly by. He immediately wrote to Li Ruihuan, then chairman of the CPPCC, who had just returned from a visit to Latin America. In his letter, Epstein pointed out that the situation in Latin America was developing favorably and that there was much work to be done there. China's communications efforts in the region should therefore be expanded, not curtailed. Epstein also emphasized that China Reconstructs (now China Today)had been founded and developed with the personal attention and direct support of then Premier Zhou Enlai and Soong Ching Ling, a former honorary president of China and the wife of Chinese revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat-sen. As one of the magazine's pioneers, he felt a responsibility to report the situation to the country's leaders and live up to the trust they had placed in the publication.

Meanwhile, following outreach and appeals by colleagues on the Spanish edition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (now evolved into the Ministry of Commerce) and the Ministry of Culture (now evolved into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) all called for the edition to be retained. During the summer, a meeting in Beijing of Chinese ambassadors to Latin American countries also issued a similar appeal.

After two months of concerted efforts and strong calls for reconsideration, the higher authorities finally reversed their original decision. There is no doubt that Epstein, as a highly respected figure, played a pivotal role in this outcome. History shows that his letter and appeal to the central leadership helped save the Spanish edition of China Today from coming to an abrupt end. From then on, Epstein and the Spanish edition shared a bond that was crucial to the publication's survival.

Today, it is gratifying to see that the Spanish edition of China Today has continued to thrive and has survived for nearly six decades since its early years. In October 2004, the magazine finally completed its localization efforts, establishing overseas offices in Mexico and Peru and arranging for printing and distribution locally. This enabled the Spanish edition to tailor its topics and content more closely to the needs and interests of local readers, significantly enhancing its relevance and effectiveness. Looking back, we cannot help but feel deeply grateful for Epstein's dedication to our Spanish edition and for the decisive role he played in saving it at a critical moment.