地中海盛夏的热浪笼罩着雅典，城市街头依然熙熙攘攘，当地居民和游客穿梭其间。走进室内，便能暂时躲避户外的炎热。在这里，希腊知名作家、翻译家迪米特里斯·索塔基斯（Dimitris Sotakis）回顾了自己多年来以文学连接中国与希腊的创作和翻译生涯。
迄今为止，他已将十余部中国小说翻译成希腊语，而他自己的文学作品也被译成包括中文在内的十二种以上语言。
希腊作家、翻译家迪米特里斯·索塔基斯（Dimitris Sotakis）接受采访时留影。（摄影：Patrick Shead-Simmonds）
谈起中国，索塔基斯的眼中顿时闪烁着兴奋的光芒。
“我与中国的第一次接触是在2004年雅典奥运会期间。”他说，“当时，我遇到了几位中国游客。”
回忆起这段最初的相遇，他认为，那是一次令自己深受启发的经历，也由此点燃了他进一步了解中国的渴望。
第二年，他前往北京语言大学学习。
索塔基斯并没有将学习局限于课堂，而是努力融入当地生活，从中国人的日常生活、饮食文化到传统习俗，尽可能地感受中国社会的方方面面。
“最令人惊喜的事情，就是探索这座城市，走进街边的小店，与当地人聊天。”他说。
对索塔基斯而言，前往中国是一场冒险，也是一次探索未知世界的旅程。
“对我来说，中国就像另一个宇宙。那里有太多值得发现的事物，汉字和词语的词源蕴含着极其复杂的内涵，文化更是丰富多彩。”他说。
他还表示，中国让自己的人生变得更加完整，使他发现了某些在希腊无法找到的东西。
随着中国文学翻译工作的深入，索塔基斯对中国和中文的热爱也与日俱增。
“作为一名作家，刚开始从事翻译工作时，我其实并不喜欢这份工作。”他说，“但随着时间的推移，我逐渐发现，翻译同样是一个充满魔力的过程。”
他翻译的作品包括中国作家曹文轩的获奖小说《青铜葵花》，以及艾米的《山楂树之恋》。后者后来还被改编成电影。
最近，索塔基斯完成了中国先锋派作家残雪的《赤脚医生》和《新世纪爱情故事》两部作品的希腊语翻译。
他表示，残雪独特的写作风格深深吸引着自己，尤其是她善于营造一种神秘而诡异的文学氛围。
尽管翻译《新世纪爱情故事》的过程曾让他感到“创造性的头痛”，但这部小说仍然是他最喜爱的残雪作品。
“这部小说描绘了新世纪中，随着人们思想观念的变化，爱情所呈现出的一种新的道德观念。”他说，“每个人都在努力建立自己的社会生活，而爱情是其中最重要的部分。”
作为作家，索塔基斯迄今已出版约14部长篇小说，以及一部短篇小说集。
他认为，希腊作家通常更倾向于采用现实主义或历史叙事的文学创作方式，而他自己则更喜欢在作品中探索荒诞性。
“我的书描绘的是真实生活，但总会加入一些出人意料的变化。”他说，“这些作品探讨的是人类在这个世界上对幸福的追寻，而主人公则在混乱之中拼命寻找自我。”
2024年，他的小说《完美仆人》（The Consummate Servant）由中国新世界出版社出版中文版。
小说讲述了一名男子因无法妥善管理自己的生活，于是雇用了一位仆人，希望借此恢复家庭生活的秩序。
“然而，以一种非常奇特的方式，这两个人逐渐交换了彼此的位置。从某种意义上说，他们最终融为一体。”索塔基斯介绍道。
2026年4月，索塔基斯受邀前往重庆大学，参加第三届文明交流互鉴国际学术研讨会。
访问期间，他有机会与众多对希腊文学和希腊语感兴趣的学者及学生交流。
“文学是一种沟通方式。”索塔基斯说，“它是一种能够打破隔阂、将世界各地的人们联系在一起的艺术形式。”
索塔基斯认为，许多优秀的中国文学作品至今尚未被翻译成希腊语，实在令人遗憾。
目前，他正在翻译中国明代作家吴承恩的《西游记》。这部作品被誉为中国古典文学四大名著之一。
展望未来，索塔基斯希望能够更多地参与中国与希腊之间的文化交流，尤其是通过将更多中国作家的作品翻译成希腊语，让希腊读者有机会深入了解中国文学与文化。
“我始终努力成为连接希腊与中国的一座桥梁。”他说。
“这并不容易，因为从地理位置上看，两国相距遥远。但我认为，在精神和思想层面，我们彼此非常接近。”
Under the heat of the Mediterranean summer, the streets of Athens remained bustling with life as locals and visitors made their way through the city. Stepping indoors offered a moment of respite. Here, renowned writer and translator Dimitris Sotakis reflected on a career that has connected the literary worlds of Greece and China. So far, he has translated more than 10 Chinese novels into Greek, while his own works have been translated into more than 12 languages, including Chinese.
Dimitris Sotakis, Greek writer and translator, poses for a photo during an interview. (Photo/Patrick Shead-Simmonds)
Sotakis' eyes lit up when he talked about China. "My first encounter with China was during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens," he said, "where I met a few Chinese tourists." He looked back on this early encounter as a revelation that ignited his desire to discover more about China.
The following year, he went to study at Beijing Language and Culture University. Rather than confining his learning to formal education, he immersed himself in everything from the people and food to Chinese traditions. "The most amazing thing was exploring the city and talking to local people in little shops," he said.
For Sotakis, going to China was an adventure, a journey into the unknown. "To me, China is like another universe. There are so many things to discover, so much complexity to the etymology of the words and so much richness in the culture," he said. He also credited China with completing a part of himself, allowing him to discover something he could not find in Greece.
Sotakis' love for China and the Chinese language deepened through his work as a translator of Chinese literature. "As a writer myself, when I first started translating, I did not enjoy the work," he said. "As time went by, however, I found translation to be an equally magical process." Books he has translated include Cao Wenxuan's award-winning "Bronze and Sunflower" and Ai Mi's "Hawthorn Tree Forever," which was later adapted for the screen.
More recently, Sotakis finished translating the avant-garde writer Can Xue's "The Barefoot Doctor" and "Love in the New Millennium." He said he was captivated by her unique writing style that creates an eerie atmosphere. While "Love in the New Millennium" gave him a "creative headache" during the translation process, Sotakis considers it his favorite work by Can Xue. "It describes a new moral approach to love in a new century as people's mentalities shift," he said. "Everybody is trying to build a social life, and love is the most important aspect."
As a writer, Sotakis has published about 14 novels, as well as a collection of short stories. While Greek writers tend to take a more realistic and historical approach to literature, he prefers exploring the absurd in his work. "My books describe real life with a twist," he said. "They deal with the human quest for happiness in this world, and the protagonist is desperately trying to find himself in the chaos."
In 2024, his novel "The Consummate Servant" was published in Chinese by New World Press. The book tells the story of a man who struggles to manage his life and subsequently hires a servant to help restore order to his home. "In a very strange way, however, these two men change places with each other. They become one, in a way," Sotakis said.
Sotakis was invited to Chongqing University in April 2026 for the third Global Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations. During his visit, he had the chance to meet many scholars and students interested in Greek literature and language.
"Literature is a way to communicate," Sotakis said. "It is a form of art that breaks down barriers, uniting people across the world."
Sotakis feels it is a pity that many great Chinese books have yet to be translated into Greek. Currently, he is translating Wu Cheng'en's "Journey to the West," regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
Looking ahead, he wants to take part in more cultural exchanges between China and Greece, especially by translating more books by Chinese writers into Greek. "I always try to be a link between Greece and China," he said. "It is not easy because geographically the two countries are far away from each other, but I think mentally we are very close."
来源：人民网 People’s Daily Online
编译：中希时报
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